Last season 30-year-old Damjan was far away from Sochi. For more than a year he waited in vain to score World Cup points. And then finally, at the very last moment, he won his ticket to the Olympics. Coach Goran Janus just couldn't overlook his jumps in Zakopane, Poland, where Damjan helped Slovenia win the team event.

So apart from the foursome Prevc, Kranjec, Tepeš and Hvala, also present in Sochi will be Jernej Damjan. These will be his third Olympic Games. With his experience he will be an important member of the ski jumping team. After all he was present all three times when Slovenia won a bronze medal at World Championships.

Did you ever doubt that you would make it in this year's Olympic team?
I thought a lot about Sochi. You work all summer long just thinking about it. Especially at the beginning of the season, I think I was a bit preoccupied with Sochi. Only after I spoke with a psychologist and agreed that I would maybe have to accept the fact that I may not even go to the Olympics, did I relax. After that things were easier.

So fulfilling the Olympic norm was more of a burden than an incentive...
The pressure is great when you're fighting for something you really, really want. It's always most difficult to fulfill your most sincere wish. To luckily once win a World Cup event is quite easy.

However with every jump in Sochi you will still have to earn your spot to compete in the four-man team event...
After a few jumps I'll quickly see how I stand. We're all quite equal, with the exception of Peter Prevc. He's in top form and I think he's the best ski jumper in the world at the moment. He does deserve a medal.

At the team event in Zakopane you helped Slovenia to victory. Do you agree that Slovenia is a clear favourite to win the gold medal at the Olympic team event?
I'm not thinking about that. I believe that they do consider us to be among the favourites, but it's not as simple as that. It's not like in an athletics relay race, where on the basis of your time result you immediately know you're fast or not. In ski jumping many other factors influence your success. The competition is tough, the differences are small. There are a lot of favourites. Four teams are supposed to fight for the medals – the German, Austrian, Polish team and our team. The Norwegians can also surprise. Everything is possible.

You must be happy to be part of the Olympic family again…
Of course I’m happy. It will be nice to see old friends again and athletes that you only read about. I also hope we'll manage to see an ice hockey game or two. That's another one of my goals as Slovenia's ice hockey team will also be there. However just as in Torino and Vancouver, we will again miss the official opening ceremony, because the following morning we'll already have to be on the jumping hill.