The men’s ski jumping events commence Feb. 9 at Milan Cortina 2026 with the individual normal hill competition.

Normal hill has been contested at the Winter Olympics since 1964, but just once per season on the World Cup circuit. In comparison, there are around 25 large hill events each year. Thus, some athletes may find it difficult to adjust to a smaller hill size. Normal hills tend to be at least 85 meters long, while large hills are over 110 meters in length. At these Olympics, the normal hill is 107 meters (around 351 feet) — longer than the length of a football field. The large hill is 141 meters (approximately 462 feet).

Here’s what we can expect to see…

Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi is the Olympic champion in normal hill and is the favorite to win gold once more. Kobayashi has won six World Cup events in the past year.

Marius Lindvik of Norway is the defending Olympic gold medalist in the large hill event. He also holds the world title in normal hill, proving just how versatile he is.

It would be foolish to overlook Slovenian contender Domen Prevc. He’s competed in only six normal hill World Cup events, placing 13th at best. Yet, as the reigning world champion in large hill, Prevc bagged nine large hill World Cup wins in the past month. Two of those were at the storied Four Hills Tournament, setting him up to win the prestigious Golden Eagle as the overall tournament leader.

Prevc hails from a talented ski jumping family. His two older brothers, Peter and Cene Prevc, won Olympic medals at the Beijing Games. His sister, Nika Prevc, won Olympic silver in the women’s individual normal hill contest on Feb. 7. If Domen Prevc gets onto the podium, the Prevc family will be the first to have four siblings each earn a medal at a Winter Olympics. 

Fellow Slovenian Anze Lanisek could be in podium contention after his World Cup victory last month in Zakopane, Poland.

Austrians Stefan Kraft, Stephan Embacher and Jan Hoerl are expected to add heat to the field. Kraft won the sole normal hill World Cup event in 2025. He’s a three-time world championship medalist in the discipline but hasn’t reached the podium in the past few seasons. Embacher and Hoerl have also posted impressive results, with both reaching four World Cup podiums this season.

Philipp Raimund and Andreas Wellinger of Germany could also be in the mix for a medal. Raimund has seen five World Cup podiums this season, and Wellinger is a three-time world championship medalist in normal hill.

Kevin Bickner is the only returning ski jumper on the American team. He retired after the Beijing Games but returned to competition after the U.S. partnered with Norway to share ski jumping and Nordic combined training facilities, resources and coaches. The improved training opportunities could result in the U.S. earning its first medal in this event. No Americans advanced to the final at the 2022 Winter Olympics, and Bickner led the Americans with his 25th-place finish at the PyeongChang Games in 2018.

American Jason Colby has had a career-best season that included two top-ten World Cup finishes in the past two months. Colby and teammate Tate Frantz will be making their Olympic debuts.

Find out if Kobayashi can fend off Domen Prevc to win back-to-back Olympic titles when the men's individual normal hill contest starts at 12 p.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 9, on NBCOlympics.com and Peacock.