Grand opening of Predazzo Olympic Ski Jumping hill

Originally published in FIS on July 16, 2025

Local athlete Annika Sieff (ITA) took the first jump from the Predazzo hill that will be used for Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

Sieff inaugurated the HS143 large hill, where the 2026 Olympics will also see women compete on a large hill for the first time. Nordic Combined athlete Iacopo Bortolas then had the first leap from the HS109 hill. Members of the Italian Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined teams, who had previously trained in Innsbruck (AUT) due to construction, followed with their own jumps.

Both Predazzo hills have been extended since Val di Fiemme last staged a FIS World Cup round in January 2020, which featured a men’s Normal Hill event on HS103; the previous year hosted a Large Hill HS135. A planned World Cup return in January 2025 was cancelled because the venue wasn’t ready.

Predazzo will be the fourth stop of the FIS Summer Grand Prix from September 18–20, serving as an Olympic test event. The venue also forms part of the FIS Nordic Summer Festival in Val di Fiemme (September 18–21), alongside the Nordic Combined Summer Grand Prix finale and the Roller Ski World Cup season-ender.

Dignitaries at the opening included FIS Ski Jumping Race Director Sandro Pertile, Predazzo Mayor Paolo Boninsegna, and FISI President Flavio Roda. “Today is an important step for the Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined disciplines in preparation for the upcoming Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026,” said Pertile, noting several teams will practice at the venue in the coming weeks as part of the test event process.

Val di Fiemme native Sieff celebrated the honor: “It was really nice. I’m really happy to have the hill back home again… It feels special to jump here at home, and the hill is really good. The in-run is a little bit flat, but that’s good for me.” She added that training at home will be a major boost and that the Summer Grand Prix will provide the first full test of the hill.

Sieff finished second in last year’s Summer Grand Prix behind teammate Lara Malsiner, who also tested the new hill and said she is excited to have a home venue again.

With the renovated G. Dal Ben Ski Jumping Stadium now operational, Predazzo is set to be a central hub for pre-Olympic preparations and international summer competitions in 2025.