Slovenian siblings Domen and Nika Prevc win Olympic gold in ski jumping team event

PREDAZZO, Italy (AP) — Domen Prevc knew he had done something special when he landed his final jump. He rolled his fists in the air, pointing his fingers skyward and took a bow as Slovenian flags waved and the crowd roared.

Prevc's jump not only helped Slovenia defend its gold medal in the mixed team event at the Milan Cortina Games on Tuesday, but he and his sibling, Nika Prevc, became the first brother and sister to win a medal in ski jumping at the same Olympics.

“This medal is something I wanted since I started ski jumping,” Nika Prevc said. “But today I share it with my team and with my brother and this is even better.”

Norway took silver with a foursome that included a jumper who was suspended last year in a jumpsuit-tampering scandal that caused an uproar in the sport and brought shame to the country that invented it.

Japan captured its third bronze in the third ski jumping event of the Games.

The Prevc siblings arrived for their Olympic debuts as the top-ranked ski jumpers in the world. Both are defending world champions, each has a record for the longest jump and they both sit far ahead of their competition on the World Cup circuit.

But until Tuesday, the normal hill — the smaller of the two ski jumping hills — had not been the place for them to shine. Nika was teary-eyed Saturday after finishing second and Domen, who is not a standout on the normal hill, finished sixth on Monday.

Domen Prevc said he and his sister were inspired by teammate Nika Vodan, the only carryover from the gold medal squad from 2022, who had led off the contest with a 100-meter jump, putting Slovenia in the lead after the first 12 women jumped. Anze Lanisek followed in the next group with a 102-meter jump and the Prevc siblings came on strong each time Japan or Norway threatened.

Norway's team included Anna Odine Stroem, who won the gold medal in the women’s event Saturday, and Marius Lindvik, the reigning world champion who won gold on the men’s normal hill at the Beijing Olympics in 2022. Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal and Eirin Maria Kvandal were also part of the squad.

The Japanese team included Ren Nikaido and Nozomi Maruyama, who won bronze medals in the individual men’s and women’s competitions, and Ryoyu Kobayashi, who won gold in Beijing in 2022. The medal was redemption for Sara Takanashi, who had just missed a medal in the last Olympics, landing fourth in the women's event.

Lindvik said the silver brought redemption for him and took the tarnish off the team. He and teammate Johann André Forfang were suspended for three months last year after their coaches and a staff member were caught on camera tampering with their suits.

“It’s been a very tough year and a lot of ups and downs,” he said. “So it's nice to take the silver together with the team.”

Stitching was added to the suits to stiffen the crotch area, allowing the athletes to fly farther. The manipulation happened before the large hill event but was only discovered later, after Lindvik had won the silver medal. He was subsequently stripped of the award.

Neither Lindvik nor Forfang was charged with knowing about the stitch wizardry, but the international ski federation, FIS, the governing body for ski jumping, said the jumpers “should have checked and asked questions about the nighttime adjustments.”

The sibling record was a second of sorts for the Prevc family. Nika's silver medal in the individual event made her the first woman to join a brother — two in her case — to win Olympic medals in the sport.

The Prevc siblings' older brother, Peter, who has since retired from the sport, had led the Slovenian team to the gold in Beijing in the mixed event, taking advantage of jumpsuit violations by German Katharina Althaus and Takanashi.

Ski jumping has been part of the Olympics since the inaugural Winter Games in 1924, but women were only included for the first time in 2014. The mixed team event debuted in Beijing four years ago.

Peter Prevc paired with brother Cene, who is also now retired, and two others to win silver medals in the men’s large hill team event in Beijing.

Four of the five Prevc siblings now have Olympic medals — and that's the way it will stay because the youngest wants nothing to do with ski jumping.

But more medals for the two still competing are possible. Domen and Nika Prevc still have the large hill event next weekend and the men’s super team event is on Feb. 16.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Siblings Nika Prevc, and Domen Prevc, of Slovenia, pose after winning the gold medal in the ski jumping mixed team competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Predazzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Ren Nikaido, of Japan, reacts after his final round jump during the ski jumping mixed team competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Predazzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Fans watch Nozomi Maruyama, of Japan, soaring through the air during the ski jumping mixed team competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Predazzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.(AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Eirin Maria Kvandal, from left, Marius Lindvik, Anna Odine Stroem, and Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal, of Norway, celebrate after their final round jump during the ski jumping mixed team competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Predazzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Domen Prevc, center, of Slovenia, celebrates with teammates Nika Vodan, Nika Prevc and Anze Lanisek, after winning the gold medal in the ski jumping mixed team competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Predazzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Nika Vodan, from left, Nika Prevc, Domen Prevc, and Anze Lanisek, of Slovenia, pose after winning the gold medal in the ski jumping mixed team competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Predazzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Melania Trump’s seemingly out-of-the-blue statement Thursday denying affiliation with disgraced sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein left people still wondering Friday what prompted the public declaration at a time when the case had receded from the spotlight.

Reading prepared remarks at the White House on Thursday, Melania Trump said she and her attorneys were fighting back against “unfound and baseless lies” in regards to her connections to the late financier, a convicted sex offender who leveraged connections to the rich, powerful and famous to recruit his victims and cover up his crimes.

“The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today,” she said. “The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.”

The first lady didn't take questions from the press after her statement, leaving many with questions:

It's unclear.

The message came as her husband, President Donald Trump, and his administration had finally seemed to move past more than a year of controversy surrounding Epstein, especially as the Iran war had become all-consuming in Washington.

The first lady’s comments almost assuredly will serve to push the story back into the political spotlight even as the president urged the public and media to move on from the case.

Melania Trump seemingly referenced a brief email from 2002 with the sender and recipient blacked out. It begins, “Dear G!” and ends “Love, Melania,” and compliments the recipient on a magazine article about “JE.”

“I know you are very busy flying all over the world,” it says. “How was Palm Beach? I cannot wait to go down. Give me a call when you are back in NY.”

That email was sent the same month that a New York Magazine article was published about Epstein in which Trump called him a “terrific guy.”

Melania Trump said Thursday that she was not friends with Epstein or his confidant and onetime girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, but was in overlapping social circles in New York and Florida. She described an email reply she sent to Maxwell as “casual correspondence” without elaborating.

“My polite reply to her email doesn’t amount to anything more than a trivial note,” she said.

Among other documents released was an image from Epstein’s home showing a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. In that image, inside a drawer among other photos, was a photograph of Donald Trump alongside Epstein, Melania Trump and Maxwell.

Melania Trump noted Thursday that several individuals and organizations have had to apologize for their “lies about me.” Of the examples she cited, the most recent was in October. In that case, book publisher HarperCollins UK apologized to the first lady and retracted passages from a book suggesting Epstein played a role in introducing her and Donald Trump.

MS ​NOW ​reporter Jacqueline Alemany said on social media Thursday that President Trump told her he ⁠did ​not “know anything ​about” ​Melania ​Trump’s statement about ⁠Epstein.

The White House press office did not respond to requests for comment.

Nick Clemens, a spokesperson for the first lady, said the West Wing was aware beforehand that she was making a statement. But he deferred to the West Wing on whether the content of what Melania Trump planned to say was known.

In recent weeks President Trump’s public appearances have largely centered around the war in Iran.

The first lady brought Epstein back to the forefront months after federal authorities released millions of pages of documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law enacted after months of public and political pressure. It requires the government to open its files on the late financier and Maxwell.

Lawmakers initially complained when the Justice Department made only a limited release, but officials said more time was needed to review additional documents that were discovered and to ensure no sensitive information about victims was released.

Several key leaders in Europe have been punished for their affiliation with Epstein but there have been no comparable prosecutions in the U.S.

Most notably, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — Britain's former Prince Andrew — was arrested in February following the most recent trove of files that were released. Mountbatten-Windsor's name frequently appeared in the files, depicting a close relationship with Epstein.

But his arrest didn't have anything to do with sexual impropriety. Instead, he was arrested for allegedly sharing confidential trade information with Epstein.

Melania Trump called on Congress to hold a public hearing centered on survivors of Epstein’s crimes, with a chance to testify before lawmakers and have their stories entered into the congressional record.

“Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public if she wishes,” she said. “Then, and only then, we will have the truth.”

First lady Melania Trump arrives to speak with reporters Thursday, April 9, 2026, in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)