Ski jumping: the four surprises of the Four Hills Tournament

While established leader Domen Prevc is moving toward his first overall Four Hills Tournament win with long jumps at the top, several lesser-known athletes have been attracting attention behind him. One of them recently stole some of the spotlight from the established names with very long jumps, another celebrated his first World Cup victory in Innsbruck.

With just under 40 points advantage, Slovenian Domen Prevc sits at the top of the Four Hills Tournament overall standings. After finishing second in the third event in Innsbruck, his first overall title in the Tour now appears likely to go to him on sporting merit.

Knocking closely behind him on the Bergisel were Japan's Ren Nikaido and Austria's Stephan Embacher. In the overall ranking the two rising names are contesting the remaining podium places together with Jan Hörl and DSV jumper Felix Hoffmann. Below we take a closer look at additional personalities who have impressed in the 74th edition of the Tour.

Stephan Embacher (Austria)

The 19-year-old home favorite almost pulled off a huge coup at the first Austrian event. After jumps of 130 and 127.5 metres he missed his first World Cup win by only 0.7 points. "A pity, but it was truly a mega day," Embacher said after jumping in front of 22,500 spectators in Innsbruck; he said he was "really satisfied." He finished third in Innsbruck, as he had already in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

His best career result before this season had been second place in Falun last November. He made his World Cup debut about two years ago as part of the national group in Innsbruck and impressed immediately with a 13th place on his home hill. In junior competition he has collected six gold medals at Junior World Championships. Since the season began he has been a regular Top-10 finisher and has posted nine Top-10 results since late November, plus two hill records (Engelberg and Garmisch). He is third in the Tour standings and trains at the well-known Stams ski boarding school; one of his coaches is former German head coach Werner Schuster, who expects a big career for him.

Ren Nikaido (Japan)

A little more than twelve points behind Prevc in the standings is Ren Nikaido. The 24-year-old had his big moment in Innsbruck where he converted two strong jumps into his first individual World Cup win — and in doing so prevented Domen Prevc from attempting a Grand Slam (four wins in four events). Before this season Nikaido’s best Tour placing had been 12th (2023/24).

He is no pure newcomer: he debuted in the World Cup in February 2020 and has previously won a Grand Prix (summer series) event in Râșnov 2022. He also stood on top with Japan’s mixed team early this Olympics season in Lillehammer. After his Bergisel victory he underlined his form: "I’m glad I could show two good jumps today," he said modestly, adding with a smile that "they still weren’t perfect."

Kacper Tomasiak (Poland)

Poland has produced several Four Hills winners in recent years (for example Dawid Kubacki 2019/20 and Kamil Stoch the following edition), but the great veterans are not in their old form and a new generation is needed. One promising candidate is 18‑year‑old Kacper Tomasiak from Bielsko‑Biała. Now a member of Poland’s A‑squad this winter, Tomasiak is currently the country’s best-placed athlete in the Tour — eighth overall — and sits well ahead of his senior teammates in the World Cup standings.

His best results this season include two fifth places at the home World Cup in Wisła and before Christmas in Engelberg, plus Top-10s at both Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Innsbruck during the Tour. At 18 he is carrying hopes for a new era of Polish jumping, though whether a major breakthrough will come this season remains to be seen.

Jason Colby (USA)

The USA is not usually associated with top-level ski flying and ski jumping, but the American jumpers have improved their results in recent years. After a long drought Erik Belshaw returned a Top-10 in March 2024 and names like Tate Frantz and Kevin Bickner have since produced Top-10 results. Nineteen‑year‑old Jason Colby has also taken a leap forward in his second full World Cup season: within two weeks he posted a seventh place in Engelberg and a ninth in Innsbruck.

Colby was disqualified in Garmisch-Partenkirchen for an incorrectly sized suit and so lags in the Tour standings, but his Engelberg and Innsbruck results show a rapidly rising American. He is not yet close to producing the first USA World Cup win in over three decades, but with continued progress — and perhaps a bit of luck in Bischofshofen — he could keep moving up the list.

Context and calendar

While Domen Prevc is the standout leader of this year’s Tour, these four athletes — Stephan Embacher, Ren Nikaido, Kacper Tomasiak and Jason Colby — have been the pleasant surprises of the 74th Four Hills Tournament. The article also notes other notable names around the Tour standings such as Jan Hörl and Felix Hoffmann, and references recent stops like Oberstdorf, Garmisch‑Partenkirchen, Innsbruck and the upcoming Bischofshofen finale.