Olympic champion despite having vertigo — the paradox of Philipp Raimund, gold on the small hill at the 2026 Olympics

Philipp Raimund won Olympic gold on the small hill despite suffering from vertigo

Philipp Raimund was crowned Olympic champion on the small hill on Monday at the Milan‑Cortina 2026 Games, a title all the more remarkable because he has publicly admitted in recent months that he suffers from vertigo. Raimund had never won a World Cup event and was competing at his first Olympic Games when he produced two big jumps to take the gold.

This fear has already caused him problems on the jump: in March 2025 he was forced to withdraw from a World Cup round in Planica (Slovenia). “Generally I control this fear, and it’s not a problem for jumping, but from time to time my body reacts without me controlling it (especially in flight),” he wrote on Instagram at the time. “I lose control and for about one and a half seconds I only watch myself — I’m a spectator of my jump.”

He works with a mental coach

To cope with that fear on the inrun and in the air, the 25‑year‑old German has surrounded himself with help. “I work a lot with a mental coach and I’m in good hands. It’s going well,” he told a Swiss media outlet. That work helps him relax and approach the jump without panic — in a sport where fear is often present for jumpers.

The Frenchman Valentin Foubert, who finished fifth on the small hill on Monday, echoed that idea. “When you’re up high and the wind is blowing, the whole inrun moves. It’s super high, you’re all tense, it’s frozen and you could fall at any moment — you see that the volunteers aren’t comfortable. But we’re always afraid,” he told Franceinfo. Foubert and Raimund were due to return to the hill on Tuesday for the team event, and the large hill competition follows from Thursday.

Source: L'Équipe (Louis Rousseau) — published 10 February 2026