Domen Prevc Just SHOCKED the Ski Jumping World and WINS Olympic GOLD!

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The 2026 Winter Olympics in Winter Olympics 2026 delivered one of the most dramatic and statistically significant days in recent Winter Games history on February 14, as ski jumping, alpine skiing, and figure skating each produced outcomes that reshaped medal tables and national narratives. From Slovenia’s commanding flight on the large hill to Brazil’s historic breakthrough in giant slalom and Kazakhstan’s golden moment on Olympic ice, the Games in Milan and across northern Italy showcased both technical excellence and the unforgiving margins that define Olympic competition.

Domen Prevc Soars to Gold on the Large Hill

In men’s large hill ski jumping, Slovenia’s Domen Prevc delivered a final-round performance that decisively altered the standings. Competing in rainy and unstable conditions, Prevc launched a 141.5-meter jump in the second round, setting a new hill record at the Olympic venue and propelling himself into first place overall.

After the opening round, Prevc was not leading the competition. Several jumpers had posted strong distances and clean landings, tightening the leaderboard heading into the decisive final attempts. Under the Olympic format, each athlete’s result is determined by the combined score of two jumps. Points are awarded for distance and style, while wind compensation and gate adjustments are factored in to account for changing environmental conditions.

Rainfall throughout the event affected both the inrun track and the landing slope. Shifting winds required athletes to make real-time adjustments in timing and body position. Despite these variables, Prevc’s final jump maintained exceptional height and stability in flight before a controlled landing. The 141.5-meter mark not only surpassed previous bests on the hill but also proved decisive when added to his first-round score.

Once the final competitor completed his jump and the official results were confirmed, Prevc stood atop the podium as Olympic champion. The gold medal marked his first individual Olympic title and added to Slovenia’s strong tradition in ski jumping across multiple Games cycles.

Born in 1999, Prevc comes from a family deeply associated with international ski jumping success. Prior to Milano Cortina, he had recorded podium finishes in FIS Ski Jumping World Cup events. However, Olympic gold represented the highest achievement of his career to date. His performance on the large hill, one of the premier disciplines of the Winter Olympics, will be remembered as one of the defining results of the ski jumping program in 2026.

Brazil Makes History in Giant Slalom

If Prevc’s victory was a display of technical mastery under pressure, the men’s giant slalom produced a milestone of historic proportions. On the slopes of the Stelvio Ski Center in Bormio, Lucas Pinheiro Braathen completed two runs with a combined time of 2:25.00 to win gold — securing Brazil’s first Winter Olympic medal and the first Winter Olympic gold ever for a South American nation.

The giant slalom format requires competitors to complete two timed runs on a course marked by a series of gates set at varying distances. The times from both runs are combined to determine final standings. The Olympic course in Bormio began at 1,619 meters above sea level and featured a vertical drop of 390 meters. Snowfall and deteriorating visibility added difficulty as the race progressed.

Braathen set the pace in the first run, clocking 1:13.92 and establishing a 0.95-second lead over Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt, the defending Olympic champion in the discipline. In alpine skiing, margins under one second can separate multiple podium positions, making Braathen’s advantage significant but far from secure.

As snowfall intensified in the second run, maintaining composure became critical. Braathen protected his lead with a controlled and technically precise descent, finishing with the fastest combined time of the day. Odermatt secured silver, 0.58 seconds behind, while Switzerland’s Loic Meillard claimed bronze.

Born in Oslo in 2000, Braathen previously competed for Norway on the World Cup circuit, capturing the overall slalom title in 2023 and earning multiple victories in slalom and giant slalom events. In 2024, he switched his sporting nationality to Brazil. The Milano Cortina Games marked his first Olympic appearance representing the Brazilian flag.

Brazil had participated in the Winter Olympics since 1992 but had never reached the podium prior to 2026. With 14 athletes competing in five sports at these Games, the nation entered without winter medal history. Braathen’s triumph altered that record permanently. Official Olympic statistics now list Brazil among Winter Olympic gold medal nations, and South America has its first medal in Winter Games history.

In post-race comments, Braathen described the moment as difficult to fully comprehend, emphasizing the long-held dream of Olympic gold. His performance not only delivered a personal career highlight but also reshaped the geographic boundaries of winter sports achievement.

Figure Skating Drama: Shcherbakov Rises, Malinin Falls

The men’s singles figure skating competition delivered another dramatic reversal of expectations. Entering the event as one of the favorites, American skater Ilia Malinin — widely known for landing the quadruple axle in international competition — finished eighth after multiple falls in the free skate.

Olympic figure skating results are determined by the combined scores of the short program and the free skate. Points are awarded for technical elements and program components, with base values assigned to jumps and spins. Under International Skating Union rules, each fall incurs a one-point deduction in addition to negative grades of execution.

Malinin’s programs leading up to the Olympics had been built around high-difficulty quad jumps designed to maximize technical scoring potential. However, during the free skate in Milan, several falls disrupted his rhythm and accumulated costly deductions. Despite entering with one of the strongest technical resumes in the field, the compounded scoring reductions placed him well outside medal contention.

In contrast, Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov delivered a clean and technically ambitious free skate. His program included multiple quadruple jumps and a triple axel–quadruple Salchow combination, one of the most difficult sequences currently performed in men’s skating. Shaidorov’s combined total of 291.58 points — a personal best — secured the gold medal.

Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama earned silver, while compatriot Shun Sato took bronze, completing a podium that reflected both technical precision and compositional strength.

Shaidorov’s victory carried national significance. It marked Kazakhstan’s first Olympic figure skating gold medal and its first Winter Olympic gold since 1994. Clean execution and the absence of major errors proved decisive in a competition where technical ambition must be matched by stability.

Malinin later acknowledged his disappointment, noting that errors in the free skate unfolded rapidly and limited his ability to reset mid-program. His eighth-place finish represented one of the most surprising results of the men’s singles field.

A Day of Shifting Narratives

Across three disciplines, February 14 at the 2026 Winter Olympics demonstrated how quickly Olympic narratives can change. Prevc rose from behind to set a hill record and capture Slovenia’s gold. Braathen transformed Brazil’s winter sports history with two precise runs in giant slalom. Shaidorov capitalized on clean execution to seize figure skating gold as a pre-event favorite faltered.

Each result underscored the core principle of Olympic sport: performance on the day determines legacy. Weather shifts, execution errors, and fractions of a second separate triumph from disappointment. Official records now reflect Prevc as large hill champion, Braathen as Brazil’s first Winter Olympic gold medalist, and Shaidorov as Kazakhstan’s historic figure skating winner.

As the Milano Cortina Games continue across Italy’s venues, these outcomes stand among the most statistically and symbolically significant achievements of the 2026 Winter Olympics — moments where precision, resilience, and timing converged to reshape the medal table and expand the global map of winter sport success.