Grief Instead of Celebration: Katharina Schmid’s Olympic Career Ends in Tears

Katharina Schmid buried her face in her hands and cried uncontrollably. She had just missed the second round in her last Olympic competition — the very Games for which she had postponed retirement. What began for Schmid as the honour of carrying Germany’s flag at the opening ceremony ended in a sporting low point.

"It just hurts, I knew it would be difficult. The hill doesn't suit me," Schmid said to ZDF with a voice choked by tears. On the large hill in Predazzo her jump measured only 96.5 metres — effectively a crash in flight — and strong tail wind contributed to an early end of flight. Even 10.9 wind compensation points could not make up for it. With Norway’s Anna Odine Strøm taking her second Olympic gold of the Games, Schmid finished 41st and missed the cut for the second round. "I would have liked to have had a second jump. That it ends like this hurts and will hurt for a while," she said.

ARD expert Sven Hannawald lamented the conditions: "If you're already not in form, and then this ugly tail wind comes along — it can't end like that for such a big Olympic career. It's so bitter," and ARD commentator Philipp Sohmer added that the ending was heartbreaking.

Schmid — a seven-time world champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist (Pyeongchang and Beijing) — acknowledged those past successes were cold comfort on the evening in Predazzo. She said she had considered retirement before the season and that finishing third in the 2024/25 overall World Cup had made her reflect. Still, she felt the passion to continue and had wanted the Milan–Cortina Games to be a grand farewell. Instead the Games turned into a sporting nightmare: 16th on the normal hill and now 41st on the large hill.

There were brighter moments to hold on to: Schmid was honoured as Germany’s flag-bearer at the opening ceremony, a memory she said she would always treasure. Team-mate Selina Freitag offered consolation, praising Schmid’s contribution to the sport and suggesting she can look back on her career with a smile.

Schmid still has five World Cup events left on her schedule; afterwards she will end her career as a ski jumper. The Oberstdorf native will surely try to avoid another disappointment like the one in Predazzo.

Event: Olympic Winter Games Milan–Cortina 2026 — Women's large hill (Predazzo)