Ski Jumping
Daniel Tschofenig stuns the ski jumping world at the Four Hills Tournament
With the legendary Four Hills Tournament ski-jumping tournament complete, Austria's new jumping hero emerged with the greatest success of his young career. Find out what led to this moment.
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2025 has started with a real bang for Austria's rising star of ski jumping, Daniel Tschofenig. The 22-year-old won the iconic Four Hills Tournament – the sport's Super Bowl – his biggest career achievement yet! At the penultimate stop in Innsbruck, Olympic champion Stefan Kraft reclaimed the lead, pushing Tschofenig to third overall. Still, Tschofenig shocked everyone at the finale in Bischofshofen by winning the tournament. This is a historic moment for the skier. Find out how Tschofenig reached ski jumping greatness so young.
01
Early career – Goldi Talent Cup route to greatness
Founded by Austrian ski jumping great Andreas ‘Goldi’ Goldberger, the popular Goldi Talent Cup is where young wannabe ski jumpers can get the training and competition experience they need to go on and become a successful pro – and Tschofenig is its star pupil to date.
He made his first jumps alongside Goldberger in 2009 age of of just seven and was able to get a taste of a sport in which he's now leading the world. "It is certainly one of the moments that influenced me the most, because without Goldi, I might not have become a ski jumper at all," Tschofenig recalls.
Tschofenig's technical precision is renowned and his mental strength and ability to deliver top performances at crucial moments has been on display during his world-beating performances to date during the 2024–25 season.
His determination and discipline not only make him a role model for the next generation, but also a beacon of hope for the future of Austrian ski jumping. Since his debut in the World Cup, Tshofenig has developed year-on-year, but early highlights of his career including winning team gold at the 2022 Ski Flying World Championships with the Austria squad.
02
Breaking through
After climbing the World Cup ranks after debuting in 2021 on home soil in Bischofshofen, Tschofenig scored his milestone first podium during the 2022-23 season, but has made the breakthrough to World Cup winner and title contender during the early stages of the 2024-25 season. A string of podium finishes during the early rounds of the series led up to his first-ever World Cup victory on the large hill in Wisla, Poland, on December 7. He followed this up with his second individual victory in Engelberg, Switzerland, shortly before Christmas to firmly establish himself as a legit overall World Cup title contender.
Tschofenig soars during his breakthrough 2023 season
© Jürgen Feichter/Red Bull Content Pool
As a little kid, I used to sit at home in front of the TV and dream about this.
03
Four Hills Tournament 2025
He's also truly lived up to his Instagram profile name 'Tschofenig Airlines' during this year's Four Hills Tournament. At the opening competition in Oberstdorf, he set out a marker with victory in the qualification round, before jumping to third place in the finals. This was just a foretaste for his sensational victory on New Year's Day in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where he flew to a dominant win – his third World Cup victory in total.
In this form, Tschofenig is in the hot seat to for the final two events to win the Four Hills Tournament for the first time. At the same time, he's moved up to the top of the overall World Cup standings for the first time, ahead of his team-mates Jan Hörl and Stefan Kraft.
Tschofenig celebrates his first Four Hills win in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
© JFK/Red Bull Content Pool
"As a little kid, I used to sit at home in front of the TV and dream about this. It's unimaginable," said a jubilant Tschofenig after his victory in Germany. The man from Villach was already in a commanding lead after the first round of jumping and was able to go one better in the second round: "I landed two ideal jumps. The first was already good, but I hit the edge of the second one perfectly and then flew brilliantly."
His impressive form had him leading the tournament and topping the World Cup standings.
Tschofenig takes flight: Soaring towards ski jumping glory
However, in Innsbruck, Stefan Kraft made a stunning comeback, winning the event and overtaking the lead in the Four Hills rankings. Tschofenig finished third, just behind team-mate Jan Hörl, making it an Austrian podium sweep. Now, Kraft, Hörl, and Tschofenig occupy the top three positions in the overall standings, separated by just 1.3 points heading into the final stage in Bischofshofen (AUT) on January 5-6.
Tschofenig is living his dream
© Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Ring
Reflecting on the performance, Tschofenig shared with Austrian television: “Simply brilliant! We know we can jump really well, but a triple victory is something very special. He added: "I can't remember the last time it was this incredibly close!
"Everything is different in Bischofshofen"
After the qualification round in Bischofshofen, Tschofenig admitted, "I haven't quite warmed up yet. I've struggled a bit, but we still have a few jumps left." Bischofshofen presents a different challenge from Bergisel. "Everything is different here," Tschofenig explained. "Flatter inrun, less pressure, so I need to adapt and deliver my best tomorrow." Despite calling his latest jump "okay," Tschofenig remained optimistic.
Daniel Tschofenig has done it! He's a Four Hills Tournament winner
© JFK/Red Bull Content Pool
And his optimism paid off.
I was trying so much on the hill, but each jump was so painful and I was really struggling in training.
Humble yet fiercely determined, Tschofenig made a name for himself in ski jumping history by taking the overall victory in Bischofshofen at the Four Hills Tournament finale. “It’s unbelievable. I was trying so much on the hill, but each jump was so painful and I was really struggling in training, but as the competition came it clicked and I knew what I had to do,” said Tschofenig, who also took his World Cup win-tally to three and now leads the overall series standings. An incredible achievement in the young skier's career!
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