Nearly 24 years on: Germany needs a miracle at the Four Hills Tournament

German ski jumping fans have waited since 2002—when Sven Hannawald famously won all four events—for another Four Hills Tournament champion. There have been near misses over the years: Hannawald himself lost to Janne Ahonen in 2003, Michael Neumayer took third in 2007/08 behind Ahonen and Thomas Morgenstern, and in 2015/16 Severin Freund fell short of Peter Prevc. Other German contenders such as Andreas Wellinger, Stephan Leyhe, Richard Freitag (whose heavy Innsbruck crash derailed his duel with Kamil Stoch), Karl Geiger and Markus Eisenbichler have all been beaten, often by Stoch or Dawid Kubacki. Even last season’s surprise surge from Pius Paschke faded during the TCS.

This winter, Germany’s usual leaders are struggling. Wellinger and Geiger are well below their best—evident in Oberstdorf qualifying, where Wellinger was only 39th and Geiger failed to make the competition. Their World Cup overall standings (32nd and 46th) reflect that downturn.

Hope instead rests with form revelations Felix Hoffmann and Philipp Raimund, sitting 6th and 4th in the World Cup and already owners of several podiums this season. In Oberstdorf qualifying Hoffmann placed 12th and Raimund 2nd—encouraging results. Yet pressure could be a decisive factor; last season Paschke’s form dipped right when the TCS began.

Above all, one obstacle looks insurmountable: Domen Prevc. The World Cup leader has been operating at a level above the field for most of the season. He won Oberstdorf qualifying by over 10 points with a single jump and remains the clear favorite to take the Golden Eagle—exactly ten years after his brother Peter Prevc won the tournament. Raimund’s rueful smile after Domen’s jump said it all.

While the Four Hills history is full of shocks, the article questions whether Hoffmann or Raimund can produce one now. Monday’s competition in Oberstdorf should reveal whether Germany’s long wait might finally end this season—or whether the drought will continue.