PREDAZZO, Ita. — Canadian ski jumper Abigail Strate opened her Olympic campaign with an 11th-place finish in the women’s normal hill event on Saturday in Predazzo, Italy, delivering a strong start in her first competition of the Games.
The 24-year-old Calgarian, who was on a medal-winning flight path coming into her second Olympic Winter Games, posted a total of 240.4 points after her two attempts on the HS107 jump. Strate covered distances of 93.5 and 95.5 metres.
“A bit of a disappointment today but knowing I have friends and family to run to, slowly it will bring me back to earth.,” said Strate.
Ski jumping results are determined by a combination of distance and style points.
Norway’s Anna Odine Stroem took the first gold medal in ski jumping competitions at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. The Norwegian soared to 267.3 points, edging Slovenian ace, Nika Prevc, by 1.1 point. Prevc settled for the silver medal at 266.2. Japan’s Nozomi Maruyama rounded out the women’s podium in third place at 261.8 points.
Strate has enjoyed a dream season in 2025-26, climbing onto the World Cup podium five times including back-to-back silver-medal finishes in her last two competitions before launching into her second Olympic Games.
Four of Strate’s podium finishes this year have come in large hill jumping. The women’s large hill ski jumping event will make its Olympic debut, February 15, at the 2026 Winter Games.
“I’m obviously really grateful to have that second chance on the large hill at these Olympics,” added Strate. “I think I can jump even better on the large hill. Hopefully I can refocus and get ready to jump well there. I have a little bit of redemption to chase now.”
Calgary’s Nicole Maurer also had a strong outing in her Olympic debut. The 26-year-old, who has been steadily climbing up the international ski jumping rankings, placed in a tie for 19th spot on Saturday at 226.6 points.
“It means so much. I’ve been working for the last 20 years for this moment. I’m glad when I finally had this opportunity, I showed up and put two good jumps together,” said Maurer. “I’ve been struggling a lot at the previous events before the Olympics so to be able to come here and show good jumps means a lot to me.”
Canada’s Natalie Eilers came up short in her bid to secure a spot in the final round of 30, but the day still marked a significant comeback after missing the entire last season due to a leg injury.
“I’m trying to find the right words, but I don’t think there are any. I’m just in awe,” said the 27-year-old Eilers. “Today is a result of years and years of hard work, set back after set back. It is one of the best days of my life – never thought I’d say that about a day that I didn’t make second round – but it is. I’m excited for the big hill and getting the opportunity to do it again.”
