Ski Jumping
This is ski jumping: What you need to know about how the sport works
Ahead of the iconic Four Hills Tournament, World Cup-winner Andreas Wellinger explains what ski jumping feels like, what you need to succeed and how to keep it easy despite the very obvious risks.
World Cup-winner Andreas Wellinger knows as well as anyone what it takes to be a ski jumper. The 29-year-old German jumper, who finished third overall in the 2023–24 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup series, can boast four Olympic medals, eight from the World Championships and eight World Cup victories to his name, so who better to guide you through the intricacies of what is without a doubt one of the most uniquely challenging sports on Earth.
Ahead of the famed Four Hills Tournament – ski jumping's classic, storied series of contests – which this year takes place from December 28 to January 6, Wellinger explains what you need to know about this truly astonishing winter sport.
Wellinger soars down the hill in Innsbruck during last year's Four Hills
© Juergen Feichter/EXPA/Red Bull Content Pool
What everyone not a ski jumper thinks about the sport
I think most people tend to think that we're all out of our minds, along the lines of: how can you throw yourself down the ramp and jump forwards almost flat at almost 100kph. But that's what makes ski jumping special - it's totally unique.
What ski jumping actually feels like
Ski jumping is pretty much the coolest feeling you can have. Soaring through the air with the feeling of lightness, like you're really flying, that's what makes it so fascinating.
Watch multi-time Four Hills champion Ryōyū Kobayashi set a new world record ski jumping distance of 291m in the video below:
8 minuta
World’s longest-ever ski jump
Ryōyū Kobayashi and his team went to Iceland, intent on creating a jump big enough to smash world records.
How and when to start ski jumping
Ideally, you should start ski jumping relatively young, because it'' a progression that you have to approach slowly. Jumpers don't go off the big hills straight away, it's more like with diving boards: you first jump off the little 1m springboard, then the 3m, the 5m platform and finally 10m. The jumps gradually get bigger in a similar way with ski jumping. I'd say if you start later than the age of 10, it becomes difficult because the steps you have to make catch up are then very large and difficult, both technically and mentally.
What you need for ski jumping
Courage and humility
As a ski jumper, you definitely need courage and the drive to jump ever higher, ever further and ever faster. At the same time, you need the necessary humility to consciously push yourself to the limit, but not beyond it, because of the risks involved when jumps go wrong.
Ski jumpers need strength that belies their size to truly fly
© Jürgen Feichter/Red Bull Content Pool
You need extremely good stability and strength because the forces acting are enormous
Strength, stability and balance
We're in a sport where light simply flies better, so you just don't see big, muscle-bound ski jumpers. At the same time, you need extremely good stability and strength because the forces acting on us are enormous. You also need really good balance. In addition, everyone has their own personal jumping style, where you try to work out individual strengths and play to them.
Perfectly matched material
Ski jumper's suits, boots and skis have to be perfectly harmonised, so that we're as aerodynamically efficient as possible in the win. That takes a lot of fine tuning and attention to the small details.
Find out more about ski jumping
Why jumping power and timing are so important
The higher the class of jumping hill, the less run-up there is and the less run-up a jumper has, the less speed they can generate. This means that you need the necessary leg power and timing for a proper take-off in order to get distance from your jump. If you don't get the timing right, the take-off will pass you by in split-second and you won't get any distance.
Strong legs and split-second timing are essential to get distance
© Limex Images/Red Bull Content Pool
Strong legs are also a must for those landings after soaring over 100m
© Limex Images/Red Bull Content Pool
The key to success
You have to develop a certain looseness. Ski jumping is a sport in which you can't force anything and the harmony of movement is very important. If you're tense and forcefully trying to put the maximum into your jump, it just doesn't work. The most effective jumps usually look very calm and almost like the jumper's not actually trying. This is perhaps the hardest aspect of jumping to master however, because tension is a natural reaction to what the sport involves.
How to train like a ski jumper
Apart from the technical training on ski jumps, jumpers spend a lot of time in the gym because we need to develop the speed and strength to be able to execute the technical stuff properly. We also do a lot of coordination and stabilising exercises alongside the power stuff.
Staying loose is easier said than done, but vital to going big
© Jürgen Feichter/Red Bull Content Pool
Ski jumping is a sport in which you can't force anything and the harmony of movement is very important
Finding the right balance is key
Above all, I'm looking for a sporting balance. I like being out in nature and surfing is my favourite activity. It allows me to switch off and get the furthest away from my normal daily business, which is mentally draining. I can also do it in the warmth, which is important, because the winter in Germany country is long and cold enough.