Successful Saturday for Slovenian Sport

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.

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.”

Surprise podium for Slovenia’s Kline at Garmisch downhill

Slovenian Boštjan Kline won a surprise second place in the men’s World Cup downhill in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Saturday, for what is not only the 24-year-old’s first podium but the first top ten finish of his career.

Kline was beaten only by the Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. Beat Feuz of Switzerland was third. Slovenia had a second competitor in the top ten, as Andrej Šporn finished 7th.

Golden Fox: Rebensburg wins Maribor giant slalom, Slovenia’s Drev second

Drev swung to second from 6th to finish ahead of Tina Weirather from Liechtenstein (Photo: Feel Slovenia Facebook)

Slovenia’s Ana Drev came in second the World Cup giant slalom in Maribor on Saturday, 0.32 seconds behind Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany, capping an extraordinary day for Slovenian winter sports.

Rebensburg emerged on top after first-run leader Eva-Maria Brem botched her second run. Drev swung to second from 6th to finish ahead of Tina Weirather from Liechtenstein. The winner said she was glad she recovered having struggled at the third gate. “It’s petty amazing,” she said. As for Drev, she said she “cannot believe it”. “I felt great but did not think I could make the podium.”

The 30-year-old Slovenian, long in the shadow of ski legend Tina Maze, has had an excellent season under the new coach Andrea Massi. She finished second in the previous giant slalom in Flachau, her career best, and seventh in Courchevel in December. She is now seventh in the giant slalom rankings.

Drev’s success capped an extraordinary day for Slovenian winter sports, after Boštjan Kline finished as runner-up in the men’s downhill and Peter Prevc, Robert Kranjec and Domen Prevc secured a Slovenian trifecta in ski jumping in Sapporo.

Source: sloveniatimes.com