December 14, 2025

Snow has a way of telling the truth. This weekend it whispered three little headlines: the Slovenians jump like kangaroos with PhDs, Norway collects 10 km skate victories the way your aunt collects souvenir spoons, and biathletes celebrate like livestock—peaceful, victorious livestock.

1) Domen the Dominator

Domen Prevc took a victory lap and then another one, sweeping Klingenthal to extend his World Cup lead and make the rest of us wonder if gravity filed for a transfer. In the second comp, he won by a comfy cushion over Japan’s Ren Nikaidō and Ryōyū Kobayashi, while Austria sighed into its thermos. Stefan Kraft, freshly minted father, finished 11th, which is still excellent for any parent running on three hours’ sleep and a juice box.

Qualifying drama? Norway’s Marius Lindvik popped a monster 142.5 m to “dethrone” Prevc for about five minutes, which in ski jumping is a full melodrama with two acts and an intermission.

2) Davos, where upsets come with altitude

The women’s 10 km freestyle turned into a postcard from the unexpected. Norway’s Karoline Simpson‑Larsen nabbed her first World Cup win by a sneeze, just ahead of Sweden’s Moa Ilar and Astrid Øyre Slind. She cried, her biathlete boyfriend texted, and somewhere a wax tech finally exhaled.

On the men’s side, Einar Hedegart—yes, the ex-biathlete, and no, he doesn’t miss the rifle—steamrolled the 10 km again. He won by daylight, leading an all‑Norwegian podium and making selection for Milano‑Cortina feel like musical chairs with only four chairs and eight very fast Norwegians. Choose your flavor of triumph here: the tidy recap from SVT or the version where he vows to crush rather than nibble margins like a man on a mission.

Bonus Davos delights: sprint queen Maja Dahlqvist finished fourth in a distance race and looked as surprised as the rest of us, while Moa Lundgren literally flew herself to Davos to get a start and did—proof that self‑upgrades aren’t just for airlines.

3) Biathlon: fast hands, steady hearts (mostly)

Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi shot in 85 seconds total and whooshed from 14th to first in Hochfilzen, with Sweden’s Anna Magnusson extending her overall lead in second. Norway’s men turned the relay into a winter parade and, for flourish, the anchor did a bull gesture at the line. When you’re that far ahead, you can afford a little ranch cosplay. Sweden clawed to the podium, Germany flirted with it, and the stadium hot chocolate never had a chance to cool. For the full relay chessboard, see Norway–France–Sweden 1‑2‑3 and how a single penalty loop cost Germany.

Meanwhile in administrative adventures, Russia’s Savely Korostelev snagged a neutral Olympic quota via Davos results. Bureaucracy: the fifth discipline of Nordic sport.

That’s the week: jumps that stretched the horizon, skaters who found extra gears at 1,560 meters, and biathletes banking perfect targets and barnyard impressions. May your bases be fast, your corners un‑icy, and your celebrations tastefully bovine.