The Slovenia Times

Ski-Jumping: Trifecta for Slovenia in Sapporo

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For a second day in row, Slovenian jumpers dominated the proceedings in a field missing some of the big names, who decided not to travel to Japan to get some rest ahead of the Sochi Olympics.

While the red-hot Prevc won on Saturday to take the lead in the World Cup, it was Damjan who was the star on Sunday as he took his first World Cup victory with jumps of 138 and 134 metres for a score of 255 points.

Prevc was 0.6 points behind his team mate, while Robert Kranjec made it an all-Slovenian podium with a score of 253.4 points.

The one-two-three had not been in the offing following the first round of jumps, as Damjan was the only one among the top three in third place. Kranjec was sixth, whereas Prevc was in 9th.

But with the help of some favourable conditions on the hill, the Slovenians dominated the second round to pull off one of the most dominant team performances in recent years.

Damjan was ecstatic with the win: "I've been waiting for a long time for a win and it has finally come. I had some luck with the win and I took advantage of the opportunity".

In addition to the podium places, Slovenia had two other jumpers win World Cup points, with Nejc Dežman finishing 9th and Tomaž Naglič securing 18th place.

After the meeting Slovenian coach Goran Janus would not let the lack of a full field in Japan take anything away from the Slovenian achievements. "The boys did a superb job with their jumps - they were not excellent, they were superb."

"We knew that...the field was lacking some of the jumpers, but we achieved what we came for an are heading home with a lot of points. The next meetings are coming and we must stay on firm ground," Janus said.

Prevc now has 812 points in the World Cup standings to extend his lead over second-placed Kamil Stoch of Poland to 89 points. Austrian Gregor Schlierenzauer, who like Stoch decided to skip the meetings in Japan, is third with 670 points.

"This has been a great weekend. Twice on the podium - a win and second place - and the World Cup lead. I'm happy with my achievements, but the most important thing going forward is that I continue to jump well," said Prevc, who will head into the Sochi Games as a medal favourite.
 

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