Slovenian ski-mountaineers among the top 20 in the world

The Slovenian national team in competitive ski-mountaineering returned from the Boi Taull 2023 World Championships, held between February 27 and March 5 in Spain, with an excellent team success: Maj Pritržnik climbed to fifth place in the sprints, Luka Kovačič and Klemen Španring were tenth in the pairs race, Klemen Španring was ninth in the ascent, Luka Kovačič and Karmen Klančnik Pobežin were 13th in the mixed pairs, and in the overall teams' standings, they achieved 16th place. Good prospects for the Slovenian national team, as competitive ski-mountaineering with three disciplines will join the Olympic family already at the next Winter Olympics in 2026 in Milan and Cortina.

The Slovenian national team in competitive ski-mountaineering, which operates under the auspices of the Alpine Association of Slovenia, performed successfully at the Boi Taull 2023 World Championships in the Spanish Pyrenees. Nearly 300 competitors from 27 countries competed at the World Championships in five disciplines - sprint, ascent, individual race, pairs race, and mixed relay.


Sprints, which are the youngest and most attractive discipline on standardized courses, individual races, and mixed relays will be disciplines at the ZOI Milan Cortina 2026, and we hope with Slovenian representatives as well.

Maj Pritržnik
- 5th place junior category – sprint

- 19th place junior category - ascent

- 20th place junior category - individual race


Klemen Španring

- 9th place U23 category - ascent

- 10th place senior category - team race (paired with Luka Kovačič)

- 13th place U23 category - individual race

- 19th place U23 category - sprint


Luka Kovačič

- 10th place senior category - team race (paired with Klemen Španring)

- 13th place senior category - mixed relay (paired with Karmen Klančnik Pobežin)

- 19th place senior category - ascent

- 24th place senior category - individual race

- 48th place senior category - sprint


Jon Pritržnik

- 13th place cadet category - ascent

- 28th place cadet category - sprint


Lena Lupša

- 13th place cadet category - ascent

- 14th place cadet category - sprint

- 21st place cadet category - individual race



Karmen Klančnik Pobežin

- 13th place senior women category - mixed relay (paired with Luka Kovačič)

- 27th place senior women category - ascent

- 28th place senior women category - sprint
The most successful Slovenian representative was 18-year-old Maj Pritržnik (TSK LiMa) from Dobrne, who achieved an excellent fifth place among juniors at the World Championships in sprints. This was his second appearance at the World Championships. "My expectations before the championships were not too high, as I competed in a category with one year older competitors. But already in the first race, I exceeded all my expectations, achieving my by far best result at World Championships with 5th place in sprints. The excellent place was motivation for me for the next races. I am leaving the championships with positive feelings and remain very motivated for the upcoming races."

The most experienced Slovenian competitor, 27-year-old Luka Kovačič (Association for the Development of Ski-Mountaineering), this was his fourth World Championships, competed in as many as five disciplines. In his flagship discipline – ascent – he took 19th place, he was much better in the team race and mixed relay. "I went to the World Championships with high expectations and also with a clear idea that the competition is stronger every year, but that's exactly my motivation. I expected the most from the ascent race, which I finished in 19th place. Only a minute separated me from second place, which means we guys were very close and in the end, little things decided the places. In the men's pairs race, Klemen and I recorded a historic Slovenian result. I am proud of our 10th place; in this competition, that is a very big success that is hard to imagine for someone not involved in ski-mountaineering. In the mixed relay, Karmen and I were not afraid of the pressure of big national teams, we achieved first place in final B and in the end overall 13th place, which proves that we have ski-mountaineering at a high level. The fact is that other national teams are progressing very quickly and if we don't catch the Olympic train, we will never patch the hole in Slovenian competitive ski-mountaineering. Now is the time to bite even harder, to systematically arrange things. The only goal is first places, for which every athlete competes."

After seven years and two maternity leaves, 32-year-old Karmen Klančnik Pobežin (TSK LiMa) participated in the World Championships again. "I expected the most from the sprints, where I made it to the quarterfinals and achieved my goal. In the mixed relay, Luka and I achieved a really super result. Good results are motivational baggage for the upcoming season and races."

The selector of the Slovenian ski-mountaineering national team, Robert Pritržnik, is also very satisfied with the results of this year's World Championships. "It could always be even better and we have a lot of reserves. The team is young and promising. Klemen, Maj, Jon, and Lena competed this year with older ones in the category and we expect that next year at the European Championships they will achieve even better results. Everyone did their maximum and with a bit more luck could have been higher in the overall World Championships standings. At this moment, we most need a manager who will secure sponsorship funds so that we can participate in races at all. This year, the conditions for qualification for the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will be known and we believe that we will qualify among the 36 competitors of the Olympic ski-mountaineering caravan."

All competitors, recreational athletes, and spectators who love ski-mountaineering as a sport, you are invited to join us at the race on Zelenica, March 12, 2023. Registrations for Zelenica SkiRaid are open until Thursday, March 9.