“Summer king” Philipp Raimund looks ahead to the Olympic winter

Philipp Raimund is relishing the coming Olympic winter after clinching the overall title of the Summer Grand Prix in Klingenthal. The Oberstdorf jumper joined an illustrious list of past summer winners such as Andi Goldberger, Janne Ahonen, Adam Małysz and Sven Hannawald. “I’m incredibly satisfied,” Raimund said after securing Germany’s first overall win in the mat series since Andreas Wellinger achieved it 12 years earlier. “Hearing the German anthem in Germany is doubly cool,” the 25-year-old added, looking to carry momentum into the snow season that begins at the end of November and culminates with the Olympic Winter Games in Italy.

Germany’s head coach Stefan Horngacher praised Raimund’s early form, noting the team needs a front-runner following the retirements of Markus Eisenbichler and Stephan Leyhe. With Olympic champion Wellinger (30), Karl Geiger (32) and Pius Paschke (35) forming a seasoned core, Raimund’s step forward is timely.

The article also cautions that strength on plastic in autumn doesn’t guarantee success on snow: recent Summer GP winners Wladimir Zografski (2023/24) and Pawel Wasek (2024/25) struggled to play leading roles once the main World Cup season began. Even so, Raimund emphasizes he is excited for winter and aims to translate his summer form into World Cup and Olympic results.