they’ve already sold out. Televisions made ski jumping as much a part of our Christmas holidays as Father Christ- mas, snowmen or New Year’s resolutions, and German channel RTL alone pays 48.9 million euros for the right to broadcast this event for three years, which is not sur- prising when we consider that the programme has even higher viewing figures than the Bundesliga. The order has changed very rarely since the event was founded in 1953, so it all starts in Obersdorf, only for the year to then traditionally begin in Garmisch-Parten- kirchen on 1 st January. Next competition moves on to two Austrian cities – firstly Innsbruck, where the shortest ski jump, Bergisel, is located (3 rd January), and then Bis- choffshofen and the Paul Ausserleitner ski jump, which is named after a young ski jumper who tragically died there (6 th January). Winning all four events is referred to as a grand slam and was first achieved during the jubilee 50 th edition by Sven Hannawald (2001-2002). However, this achievement has become more common in recent years, with Kamil Stoch first repeating the result (2017-2018), which was then achieved again a year later by Ryoyu Kobayashi. The craziest result occurred in the 2005-2006 season, when the legendary Janne Ahonen and Jakub Janda shared first place with the same number of points after a total of eight jumps! This was previously completely unheard of due to the system of the competition, because 50 competitors are divided into 25 pairs in order to qualify at all! Those who win in these direct duels qualify for the next round, along with the five other competitors recording the long- est non-winning jumps. This always allows for extreme- ly diverse results, but also tension from the first minute. The competition is dominated by three nations, each of which have amassed a total of 16 victories. Alongside the hosts Austria and Germany, this also includes Fin- land, which has provided amazing jumpers. Janne Aho- nen is the only ace to have celebrated victory five times in this competition, during the late 1990s and early 21 st century, while Bjørn Wirkola, who was also a profession- al footballer, proved victorious three years in a row, from 1967 to 1969, representing a feat that has never been re- peated. Wirkola and Jens Weißflog share another record, with both having achieved ten victories in this competi- tion, while to date only one man from the Balkans has managed to win this tournament. The man in question is Slovene Peter Prevc, who won all jumps except Ober- dorf in the 2015-2016 season and thus secured the title. During that season he celebrated victory in 15 of the 29 World Cup events and won the title of world champion with his dominant performances. Let’s conclude with one ultimate human achievement. Little-known Polish jumper Dawid Kubacki set a record for ski jumps in January 2019, when he flew as far as 145 metres, with the audience in Bischofhofshofen cheering as he pushed back the boundaries. That is actually precise- ly the charm of these jumps - pushing back the bound- aries, smashing all prejudices and conquering goals that many previously viewed as pure science fiction.
T he Four Hills Tournament takes place each year over the course of only seven days, but we’ve all nonetheless seen this spectacle at least once in our lives. On the first day of the year, following the wonderful sounds of the Vienna New Year’s Concert, this sporting event begins at noon and is watched while viewers enjoy the leftovers of New Year’s dinner. And like all good German stories, this event also emerged in a tavern, or more precisely in the parlour of the Maier house in Garmisch. It was there in 1949 that the decision was made to organise a competition that would compete within the scope of the World Cup, which German jumpers had previously been banned from participating in. Cooperation was agreed between clubs from Innsbruck, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bischofshofen and Obersdorf, and the Four Hills Ski Jump Tournament was officially launched on 1st January 1953, when jumpers first be- gan competing for the prestigious “Golden Eagle” trophy. Nowadays the qualifications and competition day are attended annually by around 130,000 people, and it is im- possible to find tickets after September, by which time
Osvajanje sve četiri etape naziva se grend slem, a prvi put je viđen u jubilarnom 50. izdanju, kada je to uspeo Sven Hanavald Winning all four events is referred to as a grand slam and was first achieved during the jubilee 50 th edition by Sven Hannawald
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