Ski jumper Timi Zajc expelled from Four Hills after new disqualification

The Four Hills Tournament event turned dramatic when Slovenian ski jumper Timi Zajc was disqualified before a jump on New Year’s Day after a second consecutive disqualification, resulting in a red card that removes him from the tournament.

NRK quotes experts and athletes who say the reason was tighter and unexpected equipment controls carried out on the hill before start. Viaplay commentator Petter Tenstad, and expert Anders Jacobsen, reacted strongly when the news broke. Several jumpers told NRK the checks at the top of the hill — including measuring suit leg length — came as a surprise compared with the more common checks done after the jump.

Marius Lindvik said the new, more thorough scanning at the top “caught many off guard.” Lindvik demonstrated how athletes reacted when the additional checks were performed. Anže Lanišek, a teammate of Zajc, said they did not expect this but must be prepared for spot checks at any time.

Slovenia’s coach Robert Hrgorta said his team filed a protest, arguing the suit had not been scanned before measurements, meaning officials could not be sure they measured the same suit that would be used in competition. Equipment controller Mathias Hafele told NRK that the dress Zajc handed in was measured and that Zajc was not allowed to start; the disqualification stands.

According to NRK’s experts, Zajc’s suit was four millimetres too short in the leg measurement. Maren Lundby said Zajc had been pushing the legal margins and that the new system makes borderline suits riskier: two warnings lead to exclusion from the tournament. Hafele acknowledged such surprise controls can happen and smiled that unexpected checks may recur.

Zajc had placed third in the opening Four Hills event but was disqualified afterwards. When disqualified again before his jump on 1 January 2026 he received a second yellow card and therefore must miss the next two events — effectively ending his Four Hills campaign with only two competitions left.

TV images from Germany showed Zajc packing his skis and being driven away in a car while other athletes continued to compete. Jan-Erik Aalbu, the Norwegian jump boss, called the situation tragic for Zajc and for ski jumping. NRK notes he is the first athlete ever expelled from the Four Hills Tournament for rule breaches in this way.

Other athletes were also affected by the top-of-hill controls. U.S. jumper Jason Colby was denied start because his suit was twelve millimetres too short, and Turkey’s Fatih Arda Ipcioglu was disqualified on step measurement after the first round.

Domen Prevc won the event, his second straight Four Hills victory, moving strongly toward the overall title. For Norway it was a disappointing day: Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal finished best of the Norwegians in 16th, the country’s worst New Year’s Jump result since 2002.

On the women’s side, Abigail Strate of Canada won in Oberstdorf with a first jump of 136 metres, ahead of China’s Ping Zeng and Germany’s Selina Freitag. Anna Odine Strøm was the best Norwegian woman in sixth after recovering from a disqualification earlier in the week. Silje Opseth slipped from third after the first round to 12th; Eirin Maria Kvandal was 17th. Nika Prevc moved from 17th to fourth and won the Two Nights Tour overall.

Photo captions in the original article show equipment controller Mathias Hafele checking suits and images of Slovenian jumpers Timi Zajc and Domen Prevc. The piece includes quotes from athletes, coach Robert Hrgorta, equipment controller Mathias Hafele and NRK experts like Maren Lundby.