Tschofenig takes Four Hills ski jumping title after veteran teammate Kraft short on final leap

BISCHOFSHOFEN, Austria (AP) — Ten years after he last won the Four Hills ski jumping tournament, Stefan Kraft let victory slip away with the final jump of the last competition on Monday.

The 31-year-old Kraft was made to wait for several tense minutes for strong winds to subside before his second jump, with Austrian teammate Daniel Tschofenig waiting at the bottom of the Bischofshofen hill leading the event and the overall Four Hills standings.

Kraft landed at 137.5 meters, three meters short of Tschofenig’s technically better jump, and scored fewer style points from the judges. It dropped first-round leader Kraft to third in Monday’s competition and third overall.

Tschofenig, whose first career individual win was just one month ago, added victory in Bischofshofen to his New Year’s Day win in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, to amass enough points for the prestigious Four Hills title at age 22.

Second overall, and second in Monday’s event, was Jan Hörl who soared to the longest jump in both rounds, 143 meters in the second after a 140.5, though with fewer points from the judges.

Tschofenig takes Four Hills ski jumping title after veteran teammate Kraft short on final leap | iNFOnews.ca — Stefan Kraft, of Austria, reacts after his second round jump at the fourth stage of the 73rd Four Hills ski jumping tournament in Bischofshofen, Austria, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Austria swept a 1-2-3 finish in the Four Hills standings 10 years after last taking home the golden eagle trophy, when Kraft won his only title in 2015.

Kraft came into Monday’s final event leading the standings after winning the Four Hills opener at Oberstdorf, Germany, on Dec. 29 and again at Innsbruck, Austria, on Saturday.