Slovenian siblings aim to make ski jumping history at Milan Cortina Games

A remarkable image captured sixteen years ago shows a teenage Peter Prevc watching over his three younger siblings—Nika, Domen, and Cene—as they pose on a sofa, mimicking ski jumping positions. Today, that childhood moment has transformed into Olympic reality, with three of the four siblings now Olympic medalists after Nika claimed silver in the women’s normal hill competition at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games.

“At that time I didn’t know that the photo would be so great and so historical,” said photographer Gorazd Kavcic, who took the picture for a Slovenian newspaper. “I hope Domen will bring the Olympic medal home so the four of the Prevcs own Olympic medals. It’s amazing.”

The Prevc siblings have become national heroes in Slovenia, though their fame has largely remained within ski jumping circles internationally. The Olympic debut for both Nika, 20, and Domen, 26, could change that, particularly as Domen enters Monday’s men’s competition as the world’s top-ranked male ski jumper.

The family’s journey began over two decades ago in Dolenja Vas, a small village in southern Slovenia. Peter, now 33, initially got bored with conventional skiing and started building increasingly ambitious jumps to make the sport more exciting.

“They got bigger and bigger and when I was around 10 years old the jumps were already 25 meters long, and I was kind of enthusiastic for it,” Peter explained. “My father saw my enthusiasm and he drove me to the ski jumping club.”

His siblings followed his lead, drawn by the evident joy Peter found in the sport. By the time Kavcic captured the now-iconic photo in 2010, Peter had already entered the World Cup circuit while his younger siblings were either learning to jump or, like Nika, eager to begin.

“My childhood dreams are coming true,” Nika said after securing her silver medal. “Now I will continue and go on.”

Cene, the second-oldest brother at 29, attributes the family’s extraordinary success to the values instilled by their parents—their father, who owns a furniture business and works as a ski jumping judge, and their mother, a librarian. The siblings were taught to excel at whatever they pursued.

Slovenia’s robust development program for promising ski jumpers has also played a crucial role. All four siblings attended a specialized school in Kranj, northern Slovenia, where academic education is scheduled around daily training sessions, according to team spokesperson Tomi Trbovc.

The family’s Olympic accomplishments are already substantial. Peter is a four-time Olympic medalist who won gold in the mixed team event at the 2022 Beijing Games. Cene shared a team silver with Peter in Beijing. Both brothers have since retired from competition, though they remain connected to the sport—Peter now heads equipment development for the Slovenian team, while Cene works as a television commentator and performs stand-up comedy.

Nika and Domen represent the family’s active competitive legacy. Both are reigning World Champions on the large hill, with Nika also holding the title for the normal hill. The siblings hold records for the longest jumps ever recorded in their respective categories and have dominated the current World Cup season.

Despite entering Saturday’s event as the heavy favorite, Nika’s technical mistakes on takeoff and landing cost her the gold medal, which went to Norway’s Anna Odine Stroem. Even in victory, Stroem acknowledged Prevc’s dominance, saying she had assumed the main competition was for second place behind the Slovenian star. “We get to ski-fly and watch Nika almost never land,” Stroem remarked, referencing Prevc’s exceptional abilities on the largest jumping hills.

With her silver medal, Nika became the first woman to join a brother—two brothers, in her case—as Olympic medalists in ski jumping. If Domen medals in Monday’s men’s normal hill event, it would mark the first time a brother and sister have earned medals in ski jumping at the same Olympics.

The siblings could potentially join forces in Tuesday’s mixed team event, depending on the outcome of Domen’s individual competition.

Despite the family’s exceptional legacy in the sport, there’s one Prevc who won’t be following in her siblings’ footsteps. The youngest, Ema, has shown no interest in ski jumping. “She never even had a slight interest to perform in ski jumping,” Cene joked. “The only smart one in the family.”