Young, promising athletes from all over the world will compete in the valley below Ponce in ski jumping, nordic combined and cross-country skiing from 5 to 11 February 2024. The opening ceremony will evoke memories of the unforgettable opening of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica 2023 and will take place on Sunday, 4 February 2024 at 6 pm at the Square of the Winners (Trg Zmagovalcev) in Kranjska Gora.
The first Junior World Championships were held in 1977 in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland, and Planica 2024 will mark the 47th consecutive Junior World Championships. It will also be the third World Championships to be hosted by Slovenia, the first being held in 2006 in Kranj, and a year later Planica co-hosted the Championships with Tervisio, Italy. The championships in Kranj were the first in history where U23 competitors also competed for cross-country skiing honours.
For only the second time in history, 24 sets of medals will be awarded in Planica 2024, 5 each in ski jumping and nordic combined and 14 in cross-country skiing, including seven in the U23 category.
The Valley of the World Championships will be home to the best young athletes who recently reached the top of their respective competitions at the Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, including Slovenian ski jumping heroes Taja Bodlaj, Ajda Košnjek, Enej Faletič and Urban Šimnic, as well as Nordic Combined athletes Teja Pavec and Tia Malovrh.
Did you know?
- At the World Youth Championships, Ema Klinec has the most medals among the female ski jumpers with 8, while Nika Prevc is the second most successful with seven medals. Jurij Tepeš is the most successful among the jumpers with 5 medals, the same number as the Austrians Heinz Kuttin and Stefan Kaiser
- Gregor Schlirenzauer became the 2006 Junior World Ski Jumping Champion in Kranj, the most successful competitor in the history of the World Cup with 53 victories
- At the 2007 Junior World Championships in Planica, Slovenia won the gold medal in the team competition, with Mitja Mežnar, Jurij Tepes and now head coach of the Slovenian ski jumping team, Robert Hrgota, and cycling champion Primož Roglič as members of the winning team.
All events are free of charge. Welcome home, welcome to Planica!
