German ski jumper Philipp Raimund won Olympic gold in Monday’s Normal Hill final in Predazzo, becoming only the fifth athlete from Germany to claim an individual title in the event despite never having reached a World Cup podium.
Raimund Lands Two Clean Jumps for 269.8 Points
The 24-year-old from Oberstdorf flew 102 m in the opening round for 135.6 points, then stretched to 106.5 m in the final jump to finish with a combined 269.8. World Cup leader Domen Prevc of Slovenia and defending champion Ryoyu Kobayashi of Japan both dropped points late, leaving Raimund alone at the top. “Nothing was in my head before the last take-off,” Raimund said. “I just told myself to repeat the first-round rhythm—and it held.”
Four Nations, Four First-Time Olympic Medalists
Poland’s Kacper Tomasiak, 19, took silver in his first full season, while Japan’s Ren Nikaido and Switzerland’s Gregor Deschwanden shared bronze after both broke the 106 m hill record. It is the first time since 1998 that every Normal Hill medalist arrived at the Games without an Olympic podium finish. Tomasiak, who matched Deschwanden’s new mark of 107 m in the decider, said he barely recalls the flight. “I felt pressure at the gate, then everything blurred until the landing hill,” he admitted.
Deschwanden and Nikaido Set New Predazzo Distance Record
Deschwanden’s 107 m leap in the final round equalled the hill record he had reset minutes earlier, while Nikaido’s 106.5 m matched the previous best. Both jumps scored 266.0 points, locking the pair into a tie for bronze. “I never imagined we would share a medal,” Nikaido laughed. Deschwanden, rebounding from a slow winter on the World Cup circuit, called the day “a season saver” and proof that timing beats rankings on sport’s biggest stage.
Five-Point Gap Keeps Medal Order Fluid Until Last Flight
After round one only five points separated Raimund from eighth-placed Prevc, producing the tightest Olympic Normal Hill contest since the two-jump format began in 1988. France’s Valentin Foubert, another rookie, sat just 1.0 point behind Raimund at the halfway mark but dropped to fourth when he reached only 103 m in the final. Tomasiak’s 107 m leap briefly moved him into gold position, forcing Raimund to answer with style marks of 19.0 and 19.5 to clinch the win.
Germany Adds Fifth Individual Olympic Ski-Jumping Title
Raimund joins Sven Hannawald (2002), Georg Hackl (1988), Jens Weißflog (1984) and Helmut Recknagel (1960) as German athletes who have topped an Olympic ski-jumping podium. National head coach Stefan Horngacher praised the squad’s depth, noting that Raimund’s win came less than 24 hours before Germany fields medal favorites in the Mixed Team event. The quick turnaround leaves little time to celebrate, yet Raimund insists the moment will last: “An Olympic gold outweighs any World Cup win—I can live without that trophy now.”
What to Follow Next
- Watch Tuesday’s Mixed Team normal-hill final at 18:45 CET to see if Raimund can double his medal tally.
- Compare Predazzo hill records with upcoming large-hill specifications before Saturday’s men’s individual event.
- Track World Cup standings post-Olympics to gauge whether Tomasiak’s breakout signals a sustained rise.
- Review jump-by-jump scoring sheets on the FIS website to study how style marks shaped the tight medal race.
Source: Original field report, Predazzo, 24 Feb 2026
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