Beijing - Slovenian ski jumper Timi Zajc finished 6th in the men's individual event on the large hill at the Winter Olympics in Beijing on Saturday, as Norway's Marius Lindvik won the gold medal. Three other Slovenians finished in the top 12 jumpers, setting up the stage for Monday's team event in which Slovenia will be going for a medal.

Lindvik was second after the first run, overtaking the leading Ryoyu Kobayashi in the second run to grab gold, while the Japanese won silver, and Karl Geiger of Germany won bronze.

Zajc was third after the first run with a jump of 138.5 metres, but had a poor performance in the second run to drop to the overall 6th place, earning a total of 273.2 points.

Slovenia's Peter Prevc, who was 13th after the first run, improved to the 10th overall place, followed by his compatriots Lovro Kos (11th) and Cene Prevc (12th).

The good performances for Slovenians come ahead of Monday's team event on the large hill, where the Slovenian team will be among the medal favourites.

"I had a great opportunity, but unfortunately it did not materialise. The entire team is nevertheless strong and we can go sleep peacefully and without worries ahead of Monday's match," Zajc told the national broadcaster TV Slovenija.

Head coach Robert Hrgota was satisfied with what saw today. "Seven great jumps out of eight," he said, noting the 6th place for Zajc and four jumpers in the top 12. "They were all close, and a little bit was missing for a medal."