Norway ski jumper Stroem wins second gold at Milan-Cortina in women's large hill

PREDAZZO, Italy, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Anna Odine Stroem clinched her second gold medal of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on Sunday, winning the women's individual large hill ski jumping event ahead of teammate Eirin Maria Kvandal.

Stroem, who captured the normal hill gold eight days ago, delivered a dramatic comeback to top the podium once again.

After trailing Kvandal in second place following the first round, the 27-year-old produced a superb second jump to earn a competition-high 148.1 points and secure victory with a total of 284.8. Kvandal took silver with 282.7 points.

"It's incredible. The first one (normal hill) was amazing and I still can't believe that. Now I have two," said Stroem. "We have worked so hard for this, pushing for this (large hill) competition and we actually got it. It's so incredible we get to jump it and I am so happy."

Nika Prevc, widely regarded as the favorite heading into the event, struggled to find her best form. She ranked fifth after her opening jump before responding with a strong second-round performance, soaring 127.5 meters to score 143.2 points - the second-highest mark of the day behind Stroem's decisive leap. The Slovenian totaled 271.5 points to claim bronze.

China's Zeng Ping and Liu Qi both advanced to the final round. Zeng placed 21st overall, while Liu finished 26th. Zeng managed an impressive 133-meter jump in the final round but fell upon landing, costing her valuable points.