Prevc had jumps of 132.5m and 131m for his second medal in Sochi, after grabbing the silver on the normal hill last Sunday.

In fourth place after the first round, Prevc's second effort in unfavourable wind conditions allowed him to leapfrog Severin Freund of Germany for the the last podium place.

Despite recording the top score of the second round, the 21-year-old Slovenian could not close the gap to the leaders Stoch and Kasai, who did enough to retain their places from the first round.

"I made a couple of mistakes today," Prevc said after the competition, adding that he enjoyed his first medal more than today's.

Prevc has established himself as a competitor for major competitions, after having won three medals at World Championships prior to the games in Sochi.

"It's good that I've won two different medals [in Sochi] to mix it up a bit. A medal is a medal and I was beaten by two great jumpers today," he told TV Slovenija after the competition.

Stoch finished with a combined score 278.7 points on jumps of 139 and 132.5 metres, 1.3 points ahead of the Japanese veteran, who had jumps of 139 and 133.5 metres. Prevc was 2.9 points adrift.

As has has become custom at the Games, Slovenian officials rushed to congratulate the medal winner, with President Borut Pahor, Pariamentary Speaker Borut Pahor and Education, Science and Sport Minister Jernej Pikalo among those sending well wishes.

"You're our star," Pahor wrote in a cable to Prevc, adding that he wished that "your calm and collected nature and competitive spirit will allow you to continue your path to the summit".

The bronze is Slovenia's fifth medal of the current Games - its best ever outing at Winter Olympic Games, where it has won 16 medals to date.

Prevc has a chance to add to his medal collection in the team event next week, where he will be joined by today's finalists Jernej Damjan (13th) and Jurij Tepeš (23rd).

The fourth team spot could still be open after Slovenia's No. 2 jumper Robert Kranjec appeared to be bothered by a knee injury sustained in training ahead of the normal hill event today. He failed to make the second round and finished 37th.