2026 Olympic Women's Ski Jumping Normal Hill Preview & Prediction
Updated July 9, 2026
The women’s individual ski jumping normal hill event at the 2026 Winter Olympics is shaping up to be a headline highlight as the Games get underway in northern Italy. The competition will take place at the Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium on February 7 and will feature 50 of the globe’s best aerial athletes vying for Olympic hardware. This marks only the fourth time this event has been contested at the Olympic Winter Games since its introduction in 2014. Before the ski jumping action begins, continue reading to get my Olympic women's individual ski jumping normal hill prediction.
Below are the latest win odds for the gold medal in the women’s normal hill event:
One of the most compelling early storylines for this event is the absence of the defending Olympic champion and several other former medallists. Slovenia’s Urša Bogataj, gold medallist at Beijing 2022, retired after a season-ending injury and will not compete. Former World Cup winners and podium regulars such as Austria’s Marita Kramer and Canada’s Alexandria Loutitt are sidelined due to injury. These gaps have opened the door for a new generation of stars to seize the spotlight.
At the top of the list is Slovenia’s Nika Prevc. She enters the Games as the clear favorite, backed by both her World Cup dominance and recent major championships success. Prevc has been a standout throughout the 2025–26 World Cup season, winning an impressive tally of individual events and leading the overall standings by a significant margin. She also claimed gold at the 2025 World Championships in the normal hill event, reinforcing her status as the athlete to beat and validating the short odds she carries in betting markets.
Another ongoing storyline is the chance for Japan to secure podium hardware. Sara Takanashi, one of the most successful women in ski jumping history, arrives in Italy with a prolific record across her career and extensive experience in Olympic competition. Despite her high historical success rate, the Olympic podium has proved elusive beyond a bronze medal performance in 2018, and this could be one of her final opportunities at an Olympic medal.
Austrian jumper Lisa Eder is also attracting attention. With substantial World Cup podium finishes this season, she looks capable of challenging for top spots if she brings her peak form to Predazzo. Germany’s Selina Freitag and Norway’s Anna Odine Stroem bring strong competitive resumes as well, rounding out a group of athletes who could keep bettors busy with multiple potential outcomes.
Based on current form, ski jumping results, and statistical analysis of recent season standings, here is a look at the key medal contenders heading into the competition.
Pick: Nika Prevc for gold ATS PRO
Confidence: 5/5
I'm not going to overthink this one. Nika Prevc has been operating at a higher level than the rest of the field going into this women's normal hill event and I think that will continue on the biggest stage in this sport. I'll take the Slovenian to claim the gold medal and to prove that she is the best in the world right now with all of the changes that have come in this sport recently.
Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.
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