The Slovenian Domen Prevc won the Four Hills Tournament by a wide margin. His triumph is also a reward for a tough fight. Because he was once considered a ski jumping sensation, but then fell off and struggled in mediocrity.
Domen Prevc is only one jump away from a big victory. About that prestigious triumph that many had expected of him nine years ago, but when everything finally turned out differently. About the success that his older brother Peter celebrated ten years ago. He is now standing at the bottom of the Paul-Außerleitner-Schanze in Bischofshofen and looking up at Domen Prevc, the 26-year-old current ski jumping dominator. He has a lead of more than 40 points in the overall ranking of the Four Hills Tournament – a world of ski jumping lies between him and the rest.
And then it starts, jumps off, sails through the air – and lands at 138.5 meters. That’s not enough for the day’s victory, which goes to Austrian Daniel Tschofenig, who relegates Prevc to second place. But overall this means: The Slovenian withstood the pressure to travel to the traditional event as the top favorite and a little later raised the Golden Eagle into the sky for overall victory. The Austrians Jan Hörl and Stephan Embacher complete the podium. “It’s a very special moment. I’m totally overwhelmed by all the emotions,” said Prevc.
With the success of the 26-year-old Slovenian, there are now two brothers on the winners’ list of the Four Hills Tournament for the first time – a historic coup. In addition, Domen Prevc rewarded himself for a long fight, for persevering through tough years with weak competition results in which he – the former prodigy – lost touch with the best. Nine years ago, at 17, Prevc had already traveled to the tour as the top favorite, but was already one of the beaten ones in Oberstdorf – 26th place, 50 points behind. At that time, the ski jumping world was puzzled: What’s wrong with Prevc? Now she’s wondering: How does he do that?
From a German perspective, the Four Hills Tournament ends better than last year, when Pius Paschke was the only one in the top ten overall in sixth place and no German was on the podium anywhere. Nevertheless, the overall balance is sobering.
The team’s bright spot: Felix Hoffmann, who came in third for Oberstdorf’s only podium finish and was the best German in the overall ranking with sixth place. Philipp Raimund also made it into the top ten in eighth place. There is a big gap behind them – on the one hand to Pius Paschke (23rd) and from him again to Andreas Wellinger and Karl Geiger, who continue to fight for the connection and did not make it into the second round of any of the tour competitions.
An impressive ski jumping dynasty
It was a tour that was almost like a frenzy for the Slovenian: He won in Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen with a huge lead, but as second in Innsbruck, just 0.5 points behind the Japanese Ren Nikaido, had to put aside his hopes of the Grand Slam with four wins, but extended his lead in the overall standings. And now second place in Bischofshofen. A spectator’s poster in Garmisch-Partenkirchen described it quite aptly: “Prevc, gravity’s worst nightmare,” it said.
The competition bows to him – and has done so since the beginning of the tour, to which he traveled as the leader of the overall World Cup. “To see that he is such a high flyer is brutal,” said Raimund after the New Year’s competition. “He makes brutally good jumps and has a feeling of flight that I can only dream of. He does that incredibly beautifully.”
So how does he do it? Why is Domen Prevc currently jumping so strongly, so consistently and so superiorly? He himself doesn’t see it as a big mystery. “You keep asking me about my secret,” says the 26-year-old. “My secret is that I worked consistently, persistently and hard all summer long. From April to the first day of the winter season.” However, others did that too.
A big building block that has led him to success is his family. “We’re a crazy bunch of ski jumpers,” he once said. The new tour winner is part of a ski jumping dynasty. His eldest brother Peter, overall World Cup winner and ski flying world champion, has now resigned and is part of the coaching team. His other brother Cene was part of the Slovenian team that won Olympic silver in 2022 (like Peter Prevc) – he was not. And his younger sister Nika is currently shaping women’s ski jumping. At the moment, no one can ignore the name Prevc at the ski jumps around the world. Talent, courage and willingness to take risks as well as a feeling for flying – that’s what defines them, this amazing Slovenian ski jumping family. However, when it comes to risk-taking, Domen stands out.
“Domen jumps like Verstappen drives Formula 1,” it was said
After his phenomenal start to his career, however, he had to fight hard and, above all, for a long time for this success. When he made his World Cup debut in November 2015 at the age of 16, he jumped straight to eighth place. Shortly afterwards he landed on the podium behind his brother Peter. “Domen is something completely extraordinary. In terms of flying, it’s probably the best thing ever. This is Prevc 2.0,” enthused the then German national coach Werner Schuster. A year later, the young Prevc took the ski jumping world off its feet and amazed people with four World Cup victories before the 2016/2017 tour.
Nobody jumped more spectacularly or more aggressively. “The way he flies is phenomenal – comparable to Kazuyoshi Funaki in his prime,” said Jens Weißflog. By the way, Funaki was called the Harakiri jumper. Schuster said: “Domen jumps like Max Verstappen drives Formula 1. He has mastered the limit.” Prevc’s V-style was extremely wide, his head bent extremely far forward so that he was almost below the skis. Some people on the coaching tower, it was said, preferred to turn around when Prevc jumped.
His flight system was as ingenious as it was fragile. And he was young. Then the crash during the first tour jumping in 2016/17. “The little one didn’t make it through,” Schuster said. “But he is still an outstanding ski jumper. It’s human nature that this carefree attitude is not enough in a borderline situation.” But from then on it didn’t work anymore. Prevc got into a spiral from which there is no escape in ski jumping. The following winter he only finished 33rd in the overall World Cup. The other places in the overall World Cup over time also don’t read like a success story: 13th, 19th, 22nd, 44th, 18th, 13th, 10th.
Previously between genius and madness, now stable
But since last winter he has been at the forefront again: three World Cup victories, World Cup gold on the large hill and world record in ski flying in Planica with 254.5 meters. The subsequent change to tighter suits for this season didn’t affect him – Domen Prevc mastered it perfectly. With all his experience, with a lot of training, with the help of his brother, with his outstanding talent and skills.
“Ski jumping is difficult,” Wellinger likes to say. Little things in the sequence of movements can change everything in this highly sensitive sport and often lead to a vicious circle. Prevc fought its way out.
Now everything seems to be in the right balance for him. In the past, explains ex-jumper and Eurosport expert Markus Eisenbichler, the Slovenian was “between genius and madness” and lived a bit in his own world. “Now you just notice: He has a plan, he has a system. Even a bad jump doesn’t bother him.” It was a long journey, but one for which Prevc was rewarded this January 6th. “Now,” he said, “I’m going to have a glass of beer. After that, my celebration will be to get as much sleep as possible.”
