Four Hills Tournament: He broke both legs – now he’s making history

Status: 07:35 a.m.| Reading time: 4 minutes

Ein ski jumpers from Turkey? That sounds unusual. It was by no means easy for Fatih Arda Ipcioglu and he is still far from top conditions. And yet: At the opening competition of the Four Hills Tournament in Oberstdorf, he attracted a lot of attention and can now go into the qualification in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Friday with a lot of self-confidence (2 p.m. ZDF / Eurosport).

Ipcioglu was the first Turkish ski jumper ever to make it into a final round, ultimately finishing 29th in Oberstdorf and receiving World Cup points for it – a historic success. With this, the 24-year-old ski jumper also bought the Olympic ticket for Beijing (from February 4, 2022). It will be his second winter games.

“I celebrated it as if I had won,” he reveals to WELT. And proudly says: “I made history. It can carry on like this. I still have a lot to do. ”

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Even ski jumping legend Sven Hannawald (47) says: “The more nations there are, the better. If he continues to train so well for two years, then he can regularly collect points in the World Cup. ”Words that motivate Ipcioglu. “It makes me incredibly proud to hear something like this from him. It’s so good when the successful athletes acknowledge that, ”says Arda, who comes from the Turkish winter sports center Ezurum.

460 jumps a year – a fraction of the stars

“Everyone hears Turkey and thinks of sun, beach and summer vacation. But we have snow and mountains. My hometown is at over 1500 meters, ”he says. The city in eastern Anatolia has even applied for the Olympic Games in 2026, but the IOC has chosen Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy).

What’s behind his success? Among other things, his new coach, Frank Nejec (34). The Slovenian trains the Turkish team with six athletes and worked out a curious plan in the summer: “We’re doing it in small steps. We train on average for 40 to 50 days in Slovenia, then the boys go back home. They can only do athletic training there, ”says Nejec, who was assistant coach for the Slovenian national team for nine years. Because: Ezurum does have a hill, but it is not prepared.

Ipcioglu has 460 jumps all year round – the stars from Germany, Austria and Poland do that in summer alone.

Ski jumping? His parents were against it

But how do you become a ski jumper as a Turk? “I jumped for the first time 13 years ago. I was a good skier as a kid, then I discovered my passion for ski jumping, ”he says. His parents protested. “My mother said: don’t go there, you can’t do that, it’s far too dangerous. ‘”

Seven years ago he broke both legs while training: “It’s like this: If you get up and carry on, anything is possible. If you stay in bed, it’s over. I got up, ”says Ipcioglu, who is supported by the Turkish government. Sponsors are not (yet) in line. While top nations have four jump suits for the Four Hills Tournament alone, he has to get through the whole season with them.

“We work closely with the American team. At the moment we are producing the suits ourselves, ”says his trainer. How good can Arda get? “Everything is possible. We still have a lot of work to do, but physically he has all the prerequisites. “

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The Turkish eagle studies sport at home and is currently writing his master’s thesis. “For the time after that. Then I’ll become a teacher, ”he says. Because: He can’t make a living from ski jumping. His 29th place in Oberstdorf brought him 200 euros into the box. “I don’t jump for the money, but of course it is even more motivating when you earn something with it.”

Now it’s time to stick with the tour: “The goal now is always to reach the finals of the top 30. If my mother has my way, then even more. She’s now dreaming of jumping on the podium. “

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