Alex Ritson

If you want to know how much ski jumping means to Slovenians, you have to come to Planica.

Ski jumping is awesome enough as it is, with competitors hurtling into thin air at more than 100 kilometres an hour.

But back in the 1930s, Slovenia decided to ramp up the drama even further by creating the giant hill at Planica.

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.