Ski jumping: German team excited for Olympic season opener in Lillehammer

Germany’s ski jumping team enters the 2025/26 season with high expectations as the World Cup opens in Lillehammer and an Olympic winter looms.

Andreas Wellinger, second-best German last season behind Pius Paschke, stresses he only puts pressure on himself and aims to build form and confidence from the start. His 2024/25 campaign began with victory in Kuusamo and ended strongly with world silver in Trondheim and podiums at the ski flying World Cups in Vikersund and Planica.

Paschke, who burst out of the gates last season with five wins in the first eight events, again carries major German hopes despite fading at the Four Hills. Philipp Raimund, fresh off the overall Summer Grand Prix title, is praised by teammates for consistently high-level jumping rather than just frequent entries.

Head coach Stefan Horngacher, in his last season as Germany’s boss before moving aside after the Olympics, sets clear goals: a team title at the Ski Flying World Championships in Oberstdorf and, ideally, medals at the Olympics and a long-awaited German breakthrough at the Four Hills Tournament.

Internationally, Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi and Austria’s Jan Hörl looked strong over the summer, promising a tightly contested winter. With Lillehammer kicking off the World Cup and major peaks such as Oberstdorf ski flying worlds, the Four Hills, and the Olympics ahead, German fans have plenty to anticipate.