PREDAZZO, Ita. — Battling unpredictable winds on the Olympic stage, Canada’s Abigail Strate did all she could to power her way to an 11th-place finish on the large hill at the 2026 Winter Games in Predazzo, Italy.
The 24-year-old Calgarian, who also placed 11th on the normal hill last week, matched that result on the large hill after posting a total of 243.6 points across two jumps. Strate recorded distances of 117 and 131.5 metres.
After finishing third in the trial round, Strate appeared poised to contend for a second Olympic medal. However, challenging wind conditions proved decisive during the competition round.
“Third in the trial round boosted my confidence. I felt good going into the competition round, but I had no chance with the wind conditions,” said Strate, who was part of Canada’s bronze-medal winning ski jumpers at the 2022 Games. “I got really bad luck. I got in the air and there was no opportunity to fly far. I’m a little disappointed that was taken away from me.”
Strate was sitting in 26th spot after her opening flight. She bolted up to 11th with a strong second jump under more normalized conditions.
“I felt lighter than I have all Olympics. I wanted to end on a good note and prove to myself that I could do it — and I did,” said an emotional Strate. “I finished with a smile, looked at my family, and I’m really proud to end like that.”
Ski jumping results are determined by a combination of distance and style points.
Norway’s Anna Odine Strøm captured her second gold medal of the Games with 284.9 points. Teammate Eirin Maria Kvandal secured silver at 282.7, while Slovenia’s Nika Prevc claimed bronze with 271.5 points.
Strate entered her second Olympic Winter Games in outstanding form. She has enjoyed a breakthrough 2025–26 campaign, reaching the World Cup podium five times. Four of those podium performances came on the large hill. Notably, the women’s large hill event made its Olympic debut in Italy.
“This is a really special moment for all of us,” added Strate. “The women had to fight just to be in the Olympics in 2014, and now we have two events. I’m friends with a lot of these girls – we’ve grown up together. If you open your eyes and pay attention, you see everyone rise and fall, and you realize we’re all human and supportive of each other.”
Calgary’s Nicole Maurer continued her strong Olympic debut, earning her second straight top 20 result. The 26-year-old totaled 222.6 points to finish 20th after flying 121.5 and 126 metres.
“My main goal today was to have fun,” said Maurer. “I just wanted to enjoy it and not focus on the result. I was happy to showcase good jumps to the whole world.”
