Alex Ritson

The result was an even more extreme version of the sport, which they christened ski flying, and tens of thousands of people make the pilgrimage to Planica every year to watch the climactic event of the season.

To be an elite, elite level, it takes more than just training.

It takes more than just physical training.

You have to have also mental training.

And you have to have something extra that nobody else can provide.

So which parts of the body are you using most?

I would say the head.

LAUGHTER

That was the sound of one of the world's best ski jumpers taking off at more than 87 kilometres an hour on a practice jump at this ski jumping centre in Cran.

Nika Vodan was the overall Women's World Cup champion in 2021.

There's even more of a buzz about Slovenian ski jumping this year because of the Winter Olympics.

Slovenia boasts both the men's and women's world record holders.

Even more remarkably, their brother and sister.

Nika Prejoc is only just out of her teens, but she's already won the overall World Cup title for the past two seasons.

And big brother Doman won two gold medals at the most recent world championships.

It's clearly a huge thing for Slovenia, isn't it, the ski jumping?

Andrzej Lanaszczak has won team golds in the last two world championships and he's aiming for an Olympic title.

He says knowing how to crash is just as important as knowing how to fly.

It's a philosophy which has served Slovenian ski jumpers extremely well over decades of competition.

Don't be surprised if you hear their national anthem multiple times at the Winter Olympics.