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Over 600 people from the village and surrounding settlements gathered in a large heated tent to watch "The Muscle" - as the 21-year-old Slovenian star ski jumper is affectionately known in Slovenia - come from behind to take third place.

Cool, calm, collected at all times, Prevc has become the hero of the Olympics along with skier Tina Maze and the Slovenian ice hockey team at the Sochi Games.

He did not disappoint his fans with yet another strong performance on Saturday.

"I think that Peter has won over most Slovenians with his jumping and his public demeanour," Jernej Beštner, who heads the local community board, said as celebrations broke out after Prevc's latest medal, his fifth of major competitions despite his tender age.

While Prevc's jumping speaks for itself, his approachable and easy-going nature has won him over even more fans at home, including the media, who have quickly adopted him as their darling.

Stories have made the rounds in recent time about Prevc's down-to-earth nature despite his success on the hill. A recent report said that when not training or competing, he often helps his family chop firewood. "In the summer you have to make sure that you will be able to keep you warm in the winter," he was quoted by the daily Večer.

Hundreds of young people were among those in the crowd in the heated tent put up by the local sports association to support their fellow villager.

"Peter is our hero," said his cousin Brigita Prevc, who never doubted that the jumper would manage to pull out a medal-winning jump after standing in fourth following the first round.

Prevc delivered by leapfrogging into third with the best jump of the second round, sending the crowd in the tent into raptures.

And he made another impression on the media, telling the Slovenian reporter in the arena that he enjoyed his first medal more in his soft-spoken but direct style and later handing her the bouquet he received at the flower ceremony for the podium finishers.