Harsh numbers for Poland’s jumpers ahead of the Four Hills Tournament opener

The Four Hills Tournament opens on Monday in Oberstdorf with five Poles on the start list: Kamil Stoch, Kacper Tomasiak, Piotr Żyła, Paweł Wąsek and Maciej Kot. Despite their rich history at this event, the current signals are not encouraging. Results so far in the World Cup, along with Sunday’s training jumps and qualification in Oberstdorf, place the Polish team far from the group of favourites.

Only a few years ago, when the national team was led by Stefan Horngacher and then Michal Doležal, the Four Hills Tournament (Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen) could be called a Polish specialty. Between the 2016/17 and 2020/21 seasons, Poles won four out of five editions: Kamil Stoch captured the Golden Eagle three times (2016/17, 2017/18, 2020/21) and Dawid Kubacki once (2019/20). Nine years ago Poland came close to sweeping the overall podium, and five years ago they placed four athletes in the final top six.

In the last two editions, however, Poles were not in the fight for the Golden Eagle, and the indicators suggest a similar scenario this time. The article underscores that current ‘hard numbers’ from World Cup performances and Oberstdorf qualifying reflect a gap to the leading nations. Against this backdrop, the spotlight turns to 19‑year‑old Kacper Tomasiak as a bright prospect who could help ‘save the winter’ for the Polish team, while veterans Stoch, Żyła, Wąsek and Kot seek to regain form as the prestigious tournament begins.