Alex Ritson

One of Europe's smallest countries is hoping to fly higher than the rest at the upcoming Winter Olympics.

Ski jumping is Slovenia's national sport, and they go into next year's Games at Cortina in Italy, holding both the men's and women's world records.

They won the women's individual gold at the last Olympics, and they're hoping this will be the year they can finally claim an individual men's gold medal.

Our Balkans correspondent Guy De Launay went to meet the athletes.

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.