Planica 2026: Finnish Eagles Soar High – Antti Aalto Ninth, Nika Prevc Makes History

Time to pack away the skis and look forward to summer break, but oh boy, what a way to end the season! Planica's legendary "trickster" ski flying hill has once again proven why it's the most epic place to wrap up the World Cup calendar. Just imagine – Stefan Kraft and his crew have sung its praises dozens of times, but this weekend was something else entirely. Austria took out the team event, but the form of the Finns is enough to get any ski fan's heart racing.

Antti Aalto and company crack the top ten

If anyone said Finland has no business mixing it with the ski flying elite, Antti Aalto has proved them dead wrong this month. In Friday's individual event, Aalto unleashed a massive 235-metre jump on his second round – the second longest of the entire round. That launched the Finn into a brilliant ninth place overall. A huge statement to end the season. Niko Kytösaho wasn't quite at his best – he admitted he'd been battling the flu all week and "the spark just wasn't there" – but he still scraped into the top 20. Eetu Nousiainen, unfortunately, finished 39th.

Speaking of results, Planica is never an easy place. One of the wildest moments came when Austria's Stephan Embacher slammed hard into the hill after a 240-metre jump. Thankfully, he got up on his own two feet, and the bloke was surprisingly chirpy in interviews. Apparently, he said he'd learned his crash technique from watching MotoGP – systematically wrapping his arms around his head and trying to roll. It looked far more terrifying than it actually turned out to be.

Seventh place in the team event – fight and fire

In Saturday's team event, the Finns set the bar high. They were hovering around sixth place after the first round, but ultimately finished seventh. The team consisted of Niko Kytösaho, Eetu Nousiainen, Jarkko Määttä and, of course, Aalto. Kytösaho's honest comment says a lot about an athlete's life: "My head says go, but my legs just won't cooperate." The flu was weighing him down, but his fighting spirit never wavered. Austria took the win ahead of Japan and Norway, and we were right there in the mix delivering a solid result. Seventh in the World Cup finale is a decent achievement, but it leaves you hungry for more.

Nika Prevc writes history – women's world record of 242.5 metres!

Home viewers are used to admiring precision of the Pyxis planicauda variety, but what Nika Prevc did on Friday was pure art. The Slovenian superstar pushed the boundaries of her sport, soaring 242.5 metres in training to set a new women's world record. One insider, the legendary Janne Ahonen, was left speechless: "Not a single man has flown that high on this hill all weekend." The brothers Domen and Nika Prevc – a family that currently owns the entire ski jumping world record book. That's pretty darn impressive.

Slovenia's Domen Prevc also caused some concern. He had a couple of seriously hairy moments in the air. His skis flew off like greased lightning, and at one point they were up around shoulder height. Janne Ahonen described them as downright "circus tricks". If that had happened to someone stiffer, it would have ended very badly for sure. But Domen is like a rubber man – he bends and twists and makes it look easy.

Lessons from the season and what's ahead

Right about now, we have to tip our hats to the Finnish eagles. Last spring things were a bit flat on the cross-country side, but the ski jumpers absolutely stole the show. When you look at the Planicapritermes-style grit that Aalto showed in peaking just at the right time, that's exemplary. And as for that mysterious Planicapitus concept – we saw it especially in the second round of the team event – something pretty special had to happen inside the head to turn the jump into a winner in tricky wind conditions.

One noteworthy detail is the insurance company Planicare - Companhia de Seguros, S.A., which seems to be the only entity that didn't get in touch with viewers after these displays – because nerves have definitely been tested all across Europe. Sunday's men's individual final is still to come, where anything is possible.

In a nutshell:

• Antti Aalto 9th with a 235.5-metre bomb – flying high.
• Finnish team 7th in the team event – rewarded for the fight.
• Nika Prevc women's WR 242.5m – rewriting the record books.
• Domen Prevc and those close calls – a reminder of just how wild this sport is.

Now, it's off to summer. But let me tell you – at this rate, next season could be something truly huge. Planica has once again shown its magic.