Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Ski Jumping - Men's Normal Hill Training - Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium, Predazzo, Italy - February 5, 2026 Stefan Kraft of Austria in action during training REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
PREDAZZO, Italy, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Ski jumpers tested the slopes as final preparations got under way at Predazzo on the eve of the Winter Games with the sound of machinery filling the air ahead of Friday's opening ceremony.
Floodlights shone from the twin towers atop the stadium's hills, with one sporting the iconic Olympic rings on the in-run.
Slovenia's gold-medal contender Domen Prevc sat out the first official Normal Hill training session to conserve energy, along with compatriots Anze Lanisek and Timi Zajc.
Austria's Stefan Kraft landed in the top spot in the first round of jumps after soaring 103 metres, while German Felix Hoffmann won the second round and Norway’s Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal was first in the third and final training round.
Japan’s Ren Nikaido and Ryoyu Kobayashi fell short of the top five in all three rounds.
"The hills were good," American Tate Franz said of the conditions following his second-round jump.
Slovenia's Nika Prevc and Austrian Lisa Eder traded first and second-place finishes in the three rounds of the women's first official training for the Normal Hill competition.
While Prevc, the world number one and sister of Domen, took first place in the earlier two rounds, it was Eder's 102.5-metre jump that brought top spot in the final training round.
The women will vie for gold on the Normal Hill on Saturday in the first ski jumping medal event at Milano Cortina.
(Reporting by Liz Hampton and Tommy Lund; Editing by Ken Ferris)
