Bogataj claims first Olympic ski jumping gold for Slovenia in women's normal hill

CHONGLI, Zhangjiakou, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Slovenian Ursa Bogataj won the first ski jumping gold medal at Beijing 2022, also the first gold for Slovenian ski jumping, in the women's normal hill individual on Saturday.

Katharina Althaus of Germany and Nika Kriznar, also from Slovenia, placed second and third respectively.

The event was considered an open competition before the Games, due to the absence of PyeongChang 2018 gold medallist Norway's Maren Lundby and this season's World Cup leader Marita Kramer of Austria who tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the Games.

Bogataj, ranked the second in the first round, scored 121 points with a jump on 100 meters in the final round, leading her to the top of the podium. Her teammate Kriznar won the bronze thanks to an impressive final jump scoring 118.1 points.

"It was two good jumps and it was enough. The hard work was paid off. Two good friends standing on the podium on Olympic Games is just a dream. Me and Nika feel like sisters. Our dreams came true today," Bogataj said.

German Althaus, the runner-up at PyeongChang 2018, again bagged the silver at Beijing 2022, 2.2 points behind Bogataj. The 25-year-old had a long list to thank after the match.

"I dedicate this medal to all my team members, friends, family and my boyfriend. Without them, I wouldn't stand here," Althaus said.

Sara Takanashi, who finished fourth in Sochi and third in PyeongChang, did not make it to the podium with 224.1 points in the fourth place.

Dong Bing of China, the 31st in the first round, registered the best performance among the Chinese ski jumpers on Saturday, but failed to step into the final round.