Norway's Maren Lundby won her 29th World Cup event to close the gap at the top of the standings ©Getty Images

Norway's Maren Lundby took her fourth International Ski Federation (FIS) Ski Jumping World Cup win of the season after defeating a strong Austrian contingent at Ljubno in Slovenia. 

Lundby was one of many contenders for the gold, along with members of the Austrian team including Chiara Hölzl, Eva Pinkelnig and Marita Kramer.

Both Austria and the hosts excelled in the team event yesterday, with only four points separating them, but Lundby remained the closest opponent to Hölzl in the overall standings. 

And the two-times World Cup champion made the most of mistakes elsewhere to win with a score of 254.8, more than two points ahead of Pinkelnig. 

There was some home success when teenager Nika Križnar won her third World Cup bronze, making it the third season in a row where she has made a podium. 

Home favourite Nika Križnar made her third FIS Ski Jumping World Cup podium at the age of 19 ©Getty Images
Home favourite Nika Križnar made her third FIS Ski Jumping World Cup podium at the age of 19 ©Getty Images

Hölzl was looking for her fifth consecutive win but turned out to be nowhere near the medals in the end. 

The World Cup leader finished a distance away in seventh, behind another Slovenian, Ema Klinec who was sixth. 

Kramer and Japan's Sara Takanashi completed the top five.

The win for Lundby now brings her within 26 points of the overall World Cup leader, with Pinkelnig in a clear third, 286 points ahead of her closest rival.

The next three legs of the World Cup will be held in Lundby's home nation, with trips to Oslo, Lillehammer and Trondheim coming up.