Slovenian trifecta in Sapporo
Sapporo, 30 January - Slovenian ski-jumpers swept the podium at the World Cup event in Sapporo on Saturday, as Peter Prevc won ahead of Robert Kranjec and brother Domen Prevc to cement his lead in the overall World Cup rankings.
Planica
Ski jumper Peter Prevc.
Photo: Stanko Gruden/STA
The three already held the top three positions in the first series and defended their rankings with jumps of over 130 metres in the second series.
Peter Prevc sealed his victory with the day's record distance of 136.5 metres, for what was ultimately a 16-point gap to the runner-up.
This is the second Slovenian World Cup trifecta, the previous one coming on the same hill two years ago. At the time Jernej Damjan won ahead of Peter Prevc and Kranjec.
Today's was the eight World Cup win of the season for Peter Prevc, a new record for a Slovenian jumper, and his 14th career win.
It was also the 12th event in a row in which he secured podium position.
Peter Prevc is now firmly in the lead in the overall World Cup rankings with 1,184 points, 383 points ahead of the German Severin Freund.
He said the triple win was "a truly extraordinary day for our team and Slovenia," hopeful that he would perform just as well in Sunday's event.
His younger brother Domen likewise said he was aiming for a high ranking tomorrow. "For the whole season I have sought to do nice long jumps. My technique might seem risky to some, but it is not for me."