INNSBRUCK, Austria ¨C Japan¡¯s Ren Nikaido edged overall favorite Domen Prevc in a thrilling ski jumping contest at Innsbruck on Sunday, winning the third leg of the Four Hills Tournament by ?0.5 points.

Nikaido¡¯s first-round jump of 131 ?meters proved ?decisive on the Austrian hill. ?Both jumpers landed at 128 meters in the second round, where Prevc earned higher style marks, but it was not enough to close ?the gap.

Austrian Stephan Embacher delighted the home crowd by taking third, just 0.7 points behind Nikaido.

¡°I ?am really glad I could show two good jumps,¡± said ?Nikaido after sealing ?his first World Cup victory. ¡°Of ?course, they were not perfect, but ?still ?it was enough to win.¡±

Nikaido¡¯s breakthrough success denied Slovenia¡¯s Prevc a rare Grand Slam after his wins in the opening two legs.

¡°I made some mistakes,¡± Prevc admitted, though he remains in control of the overall standings with one event to go.

¡°To be honest, ?sometimes ?you are just not the best. There were some other guys who did ?better. Ren deserves it more than I do today, he was really in form. It was super nice to watch his ?performance and how he did.¡±

The Four Hills Tournament is a prestigious ski jumping competition made up of ?four World Cup events and has been held annually in Germany and Austria since 1953.

The ?International Ski ?and Snowboard Federation (FIS) confirmed ?on Sunday that the tournament will stage a full women¡¯s competition for the first time in its history during its 75th anniversary edition in ?the 2026/27 season.

Women have previously competed in the Two Nights Tour in Germany but were excluded from the Austrian ?legs due to the lack of floodlights at Innsbruck¡¯s Bergisel hill, required ?for night events.

That obstacle was removed after the ?State of ?Tyrol, the Austrian government, ?the City of Innsbruck and ?Ski ?Austria agreed to finance new floodlights, ensuring the women¡¯s competition can be held at all of the venues.

¡°This marks a true milestone in the history of ski jumping,¡± said FIS president Johan Eliasch, ?calling ?the move a significant step toward closing the gender ?gap in winter sports.