PREDAZZO, Italy — Philipp Raimund, a German ski jumper who had never won an individual World Cup medal, never competed at the Olympics, pulled out of a competition in March citing a fear of heights, and who entered Monday’s normal hill ranked sixth in the World Cup standings, is now an Olympic gold medalist.
“It feels absolutely amazing. It is the biggest achievement of my life, the best day of my life so far,” Raimund said.
Poland’s Kacper Tomasiak, ranked 14th, took silver, while Japan’s Ren Nikaidō, ranked third, and Gregor Deschwanden, ranked 24th, tied for bronze.
With only Nikaidō ranked in the World Cup top five going into Monday night, the medalists shocked what quickly became a wide-open field, as top contenders dropped themselves down in the standings with short jumps through a tailwind, a challenge for ski jumpers because it pushes their skis downward, rather than upward, flying through the air.
Raimund knew right as he landed that he’d put up a gold-worthy jump. “It feels absolutely amazing. It is the biggest achievement of my life,” he said. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP via Getty Images)
After the first jump, top contenders like Slovenian medal favorite Domen Prevc, defending gold medalist Ryōyū Kobayashi (Japan) and 2025 worlds gold medalist and trial run leader Marius Lindvik (Norway) landed lower in the standings than expected and entered Jump 2 with ground to make up.
With scores composed of a mix of distance and style, Raimund took advantage of the open field, topping the standings after Jump 1 with a 102.0-meter distance, 135.6-point jump. That meant he would compete last in Round 2, knowing where he needed to fly for gold.
Deschwanden had already surprised the crowd, flying a huge 106.0 meters on his first jump and an even bigger 107.0 meters on his second, tied for the day’’ longest with Tomasiak. Deschwanden hugged Nikaidō when his score flashed, showing the pair tied. Tomasiak moved ahead of the pair with another huge 107.0-meter jump, and fans waited to see if Raimund could top it.
“Zieeeeeehen,” roared the rowdy German crowd, urging Raimund to “pull,” to fly himself through the air as far as he could, body steady, landing secure.
He flew 106.5 meters, landing with a scream to a crowd going wild. When his score flashed — 274.1 for both jumps, 3.4 points ahead of Tomasiak — German fans who had spent all night cheering the same for all their athletes, regardless of performance, hugged each other with joy. Raimund’s team lifted him up, German flag wrapped around his shoulders.
The win is extra sweet for Raimund, who pulled out of a World Cup event in March of 2025, citing a fear of heights that was affecting his physical performance.
“As some of you may know, I am scared of heights,” Raimund wrote on Instagram in German at the time. “I usually have it under control, and it usually isn’t a problem while ski jumping, but from time to time, I have the issue (mainly while ski flying) that my body is reacting without me controlling it.”
Nikaidō, who entered Monday night’s competitions with the highest expectations, remains hungry.
“I really had confidence I could win a medal. I even thought I could take the gold, but I am happy with the bronze,” he said. When asked if he thinks he can win gold in the men’s large hill competition, he had two words: “Of course.”
On the podium, Deschwanden and Nikaidō put their arms around each other, fists pumping in the air as they received bronze.
Once Tomasiak received silver, there was only one thing for Raimund to do, standing atop the podium, gold medal around his neck: He jumped.