ski jumping The dominators of the Four Hills Tournament
In the history of the Four Hills Tournament, Ryoyu Kobayashi is the eleventh ski jumper who started with three stage wins – he was the third ski jumper in the history of the Four Hills Tournament to complete the “Grand Slam”. In addition to him, Sven Hannawald and Kamil Stoch also succeeded. We give an overview.
Olaf B. Björnstad (Norway – 1953/54)
Placement in Bischofshofen: 3.
Total place: 1.
In the second year of the tour’s history, Björnstad reached for the flawless triumph. In Bischofshofen he then lost to Austria’s legend Sepp Bradl and his compatriot Arnfinn Bergmann. But he didn’t let the overall victory be taken away – it was to remain the only notable success in Björnstad’s career.
Helmut Recknagel (GDR – 1958/59)
Placement in Bischofshofen: 15.
Total place: 1.
Three-time tour winner, two-time world champion, one-time Olympic champion: Recknagel won almost everything, but it wasn’t enough for the “Grand Slam” for the East German ski jumping icon, despite five daily wins in a row. Recknagel won the last two competitions of the 1957/58 tour and the first three in 1958/59. But then he fell in the first round from Bischofshofen, the day’s best in the second jump was only enough for 15th place, but the overall victory was not in danger.
Max Bolkart (BRD – 1959/60)
Placement in Bischofshofen: 4.
Total place: 1.
When the GDR aces around Recknagel were not allowed to compete in the tour at the behest of their sports leadership because the GDR flag and anthem had been declared illegal on West German territory, Bolkart seized the moment and marched through the first three competitions. As with Recknagel the year before, the series in Bischofshofen broke with fourth place, but like his East German rival, Bolkart won the tour.
Toralf Engan (Norway – 1962/63)
Placement in Bischofshofen: 4.
Total place: 1.
Engan’s collection of successes also extended from the tour to the World Championships to the Olympics, but he didn’t make it through either – he finished fourth in Bischofshofen. The lead in the overall standings was nevertheless opulent at 51 points.
Bjorn Wirkola (Norway – 1968/69)
Placement in Bischofshofen: 2.
Total place: 1.
No one was as close to the quadruple victory as Wirkola before: The great Norwegian finished second in Bischofshofen behind his Czech rival Jiri Raska – with the overall triumph in mind, he no longer jumped with the last risk at the end. However, Wirkola’s sporting activities were unique: in 1971 he became Norwegian football champion as a striker with Rosenborg Trondheim.
Bjorn Wirkola (Norway – 1968/69)
Placement in Bischofshofen: 2.
Total place: 1.
No one was as close to the quadruple victory as Wirkola before: The great Norwegian finished second in Bischofshofen behind his Czech rival Jiri Raska – with the overall triumph in mind, he no longer jumped with the last risk at the end. However, Wirkola’s sporting activities were unique: in 1971 he became Norwegian football champion as a striker with Rosenborg Trondheim.
Kazuyoshi Funaki (Japan – 1997/98)
Placement in Bischofshofen: 8.
Total place: 1.
Unlike his tragic compatriot Kasaya, Funaki was allowed to compete in Bischofshofen. Eighth place for the man with the probably most beautiful “V” in ski jumping history was nothing more than an industrial accident: 26 years after Kasaya’s hasty departure, Funaki was the first and only Japanese to win the tour.
Sven Hannawald (Germany – 2001/02)
Placement in Bischofshofen: 1.
Total place: 1.
2.5 points for eternity: At the high point of German ski jumping history, after victories in Oberstdorf, Garmisch and Innsbruck, Hannawald was still in the lead after the first round in Bischofshofen – even clear after a jump of 139.0 m. The eighth round of the tour was “Hannis” the weakest, but after anxious waiting the “1” lit up – the Finn Matti Hautamäki was the equivalent of one and a half meters behind.
Janne Ahonen (Finland – 2004/05)
Placement in Bischofshofen: 2.
Total place: 1.
Three years after Hannawald, Ahonen, in second place, was six points short of victory in Bischofshofen. But the Finn holds another record that could last for many years: he won the tour five times. A sixth will not be added, the 41-year-old ended his career in the fall. Probably final this time.
Kamil Stoch (Poland – 2017/18)
Placement in Bischofshofen: 1.
Total place: 1.
There were two: When Stoch landed in the most exclusive club in the ski jumping world, Hannawald stormed into the outrun and hugged the Pole. “Now there are two of us,” said Hannawald. Stoch seemed a little overwhelmed at first, but only warmed up later. How fitting: In the evening, Poland’s athlete of the year 2017 was chosen, and the winner there was Kamil Stoch – ahead of Robert Lewandowski.
Ryoyu Kobayashi (Japan – 2018/19)
Placement in Bischofshofen: 1
Total place: 1.
Before the season, Kobayashi didn’t have a single World Cup win under his belt, and even in 2016/2017 he hadn’t even made it into the second round in the entire winter. But suddenly the Japanese jumps everything into the ground. And what does Kobayashi say? “I’m just thinking from jump to jump”. With this strategy, the 22-year-old joined Hannawald and Stoch and won all four competitions of the tour.
Ryoyu Kobayashi (Japan – 2018/19)
Placement in Bischofshofen: 5th
Total place: 1.
In the 2021/22 season, the Japanese fought his way out of his slump of the previous year and is jumping as confidently and strongly as in his successful 2018/19 season. At that time he came out of nowhere at the Four Hills Tournament and won all four jumps. This time he was already considered one of the top favourites. He then directly won the start in Oberstdorf and didn’t show any weaknesses in the New Year’s competition either. In Innsbruck the wind threw a spanner in the works and Kobayashi got the third win of the day. But the jumping was caught up in Bischofshofen. The Japanese also won the first competition there. The Grand Slam in Bischofshofen at the Dreikönigssprunge didn’t work out. Daniel Huber from Austria won, Kobayashi was fifth. Nevertheless, he won the 70th Four Hills Tournament.
You can read all the important news about the Four Hills Tournament and ski jumping here.
Last updated: