Three U.S. ski jumpers leapt into the top 15 at the men's and women's World Cups in Zakopane, Poland, and Ljubno, Slovenia, respectively, during the weekend of Jan. 9-11, adding to a growing list of accomplishments made by a rapidly-improving American squad this season.

After jumping to 20th place at the weekend's opening normal hill competition in Ljubno on Jan. 10, Annika Belshaw improved 13 spots in her second event, leaping 82 meters (269 feet) in her first jump and 79.5 (about 269 feet) in her second for 7th place. With her jumps, she became the first U.S. woman to crack the top 10 since the 2016-17 season, when Nita Englund and Sarah Hendrickson both notched top-10 finishes.

Belshaw, who opened the season by winning her ninth national title, is the highest-ranked American woman on the World Cup circuit in 27th.

Just behind her in 28th is teammate Paige Jones, who secured her first-ever top-15 finish in Ljubno, jumping to 14th in the weekend's first event. Her performance marks the third time this season that Jones has improved her career-best result, having reached the top 20 for the first time at the Wisla World Cup on Dec. 4 (19th) and landing in 17th in Villach, Austria, on Jan. 6.

American Sandra Sproch also competed in Ljubno, finishing 34th in both events.

At the men's World Cup in Zakopane, two-time Olympian Kevin Bickner posted 129 meters (423.228 feet) and 139 meters (456 feet) to secure 10th in the large hill — his best finish of the season and his highest individual finish since the Willingen World Cup in January 2025, where he also placed 10th in the large hill. His jump in Zakopane marks just the second time he has cracked the top 10 in an individual World Cup event.

Jason Colby, the only other American man to compete in Zakopane, finished 37th. However, as the World No. 26, he still owns his position as the highest-ranked American man. Bickner is 38th.

In late December, 19-year-old earned a career-best 7th place, securing the highest finish for a U.S. man on the World Cup stage in over two decades.

The United States' newfound success comes three-and-a-half years into a historic partnership with the Norway, the nation which created ski jumping, in which the two countries agreed to share resources, training staff, technology, and more in an attempt to grow the sport worldwide and snap the United States' century-long Olympic medal drought. Since the cooperation began in 2022, U.S. athletes on both the ski jumping and Nordic combined teams have seen a dramatic spike in success on the international stage.

The 2025-26 Ski Jumping World Cup continues with a women's event in Zhangjiakou, China, Jan. 16-17, and a men's competition in Sapporo, Japan, Jan. 16-18.

Ski jumping at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics begins Feb. 7.