VAL DI FIEMME, Italy, Feb 3 (Reuters) - When the Winter Olympics start in northern Italy this week the spotlight in ski jumping will fall on Predazzo in the Val di Fiemme, a venue that has become one of the most technically demanding hills in the sport.
The Milano Cortina ski jumping events will take place at the recently renovated Predazzo Olympic Ski Jumping Hill just north of the village of the same name.
The two main hills will be technically challenging for those seeking Olympic glory, with one measuring 109 metres and the other 143 metres at high altitude in the Italian Alps.
The events run from February 7-16, featuring six competitions including individual and team events in a sport that has become one of the most prestigious disciplines at the Games.
At the top of the men’s rankings is Slovenian Domen Prevc, one of three siblings on whose shoulders much of the country’s ambition rests.
Prevc recently shocked fans when a ski came loose at the top of the hill and slid down the ramp, denying him a jump in the first round in Oberstdorf, Germany, but the 26-year-old continues to lead World Cup standings.
His younger sister Nika Prevc holds the top spot in the women’s World Cup standings and recently set a world record.
She has 13 victories this season and 35 World Cup wins in her career, winning both individual world titles last year in Trondheim, Norway.
JAPAN'S CHANCE
With Slovenia as the frontrunner, recent results suggest that Japanese athletes could challenge the Prevcs with Olympic normal hill Champion Ryoyu Kobayashi hoping to repeat his triumph of 2022.
As World Cup runner-up, he is still ahead of up-and-comer Ren Nikaido. In the women's event, Nozomi Maruyama, who started the season with three wins, is hoping to regain her form to challenge in both singles and teamcompetition.
Austria and Germany should also be in the mix for podium places.
NORWAY SEEK REDEMPTION
Norway, another proud ski jumping nation, will be looking to improve after a disappointing year.
Former head coach Magnus Brevik and two staff members were handed 18-month bans for sewing extra material into the crotch of men’s suits before a race, illegally increasing surface area to aid lift at takeoff in what became a major embarrassment for the Norwegian team.
Defending Olympic large hill gold medallist Marius Lindvik was stripped of a world championship silver medal as a result, while he and teammate Johann Andre Forfang were given three-month suspensions.
(Reporting by Liz Hampton and Tommy Lund, editing by Ed Osmond)
