Philipp Raimund cured his fear of heights in an absurd way: “Not pleasant”

Philipp Raimund (25) has a rather unusual job for someone with a fear of heights — he is a ski jumper — and he says the sport has helped him deal with that fear.

Raimund told NRK from Oberstdorf that he has struggled with acrophobia his whole life, and that in some situations his body reacts involuntarily: he loses control for a few seconds and can only observe himself. Last season he even skipped the jump at the huge ski flying hill in Planica because of the fear.

This season he has worked with a mental coach and combined that with exposure therapy — repeatedly throwing himself off extreme heights — and he says that has helped him get control. “Yes, I would say I have cured it with ski jumping,” he says.

Raimund is currently sixth in the Four Hills tournament after two events and is very much in contention for podiums; he has three World Cup podiums this season.

NRK also spoke with former Norwegian jumper Daniel‑André Tande, who says he experienced fear of heights as a junior and remains frightened by heights today. Marius Lindvik says he has heard of other jumpers with the same problem and admits that losing contact with the hill in the air can feel frightening: “It isn’t pleasant. Your first instinct is to get down as fast as possible.” Johann André Forfang is somewhat skeptical about how severe Raimund’s acrophobia really is, arguing that if it affected him badly he likely would have chosen a different career.

After the two German events in the Four Hills tournament the third competition will be in Innsbruck; qualification is Saturday and the competition on Sunday.