Sven Hannawald reacts to Olympic decision — words that will please Poles

Poles have plenty of reasons to celebrate, and the most to lose from the bizarre ending of the pairs competition were the Germans. Sven Hannawald did not hide his opinion about the decision. “It’s a tragedy for Germany,” he admitted on the spot. He also added something that will please Polish supporters.

The Germans were hit hardest by the annulment of the third round in the pairs contest. “It's just s**t. Many things went wrong. They could have waited 15 minutes,” thundered Philipp Raimund, quoted by BILD. The German was the last to jump in good conditions. Interestingly, Sven Hannawald took a completely different tone on the matter.

Speaking live during ARD’s broadcast, the ski jumping legend said the cancellation was tragic for Germany but stressed a key point: “We don’t want to win such a medal,” Hannawald said. His remark underlined that a victory obtained under disputed conditions would be hollow.

Kacper Tomasiak won his third Olympic medal. In the pairs contest, together with Paweł Wąsek, he finished on the second step of the podium. The article notes that the Polish duo will receive significant financial rewards from the Polish Olympic Committee: the 19-year-old Tomasiak will get PLN 900,000 in cash and PLN 550,000 in tokens for his three medals at the Milan–Cortina 2026 Games.

Further reading and related links in the original piece cover reactions from coaches and other figures — including Stefan Horngacher and Adam Małysz — and provide additional context about the cancelled jump and the conditions during Tomasiak’s final, ultimately annulled attempt.