Rok Benkovic won gold on the small hill at the Nordic World Championships in Oberstdorf on Saturday, ahead of Jakub Janda of the Czech Republic and Finland's Janne Ahonnen.
The 19-year-old Slovenian took a surprise lead after the first series with the day's longest jump of 101 metres and managed to hold on to first place in the second with 91 metres despite rapidly deteriorating weather conditions.
Benkovic tallied 265 points, 6.4 points ahead of Janda and 7 points ahead of Ahonnen, who has dominated the World Cup circuit this year with 12 wins.
This is a career highlight for the young jumper, and a repeat of the success of Franci Petek, who emerged victorious on the small hill at the 1991 championships in Predazzo.
"I am really happy. I don't know if the wind was a factor, but I had two good jumps. My training was good but I never believed I would be so high up the standings," Benkovic said.
Benkovic was not the only Slovenian at the top of the pack: Jernej Damjan finished sixth, slipping from third place after the first series.
Their performance today raises Slovenia's hopes for a medal at the team competition tomorrow, already buoyed by their second place finish in Pragelato a week ago.
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