The Four Hills Tournament has been captivating crowds for over 70 years! In 1953, the ski jumping elite met for the first time in Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the traditional New Year’s Day ski jumping event. Since then, thousands of winter sports enthusiasts have made the pilgrimage every year to the other competitions in Oberstdorf, Innsbruck and the final in Bischofshofen, where Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi triumphed in 2024. SnowTrex knows when and what happens there and now provides details on all stages of the 2024/25 Four Hills Tournament.
The competitions of the Four Hills Tournament 2024/2025
| Date | Ski resort | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 28.12. - 29.12.2024 | Oberstdorf | Germany |
| 31.12.2024 - 01.01.2025 | Garmisch-Partenkirchen | Germany |
| 03.01. - 04.01.2025 | Innsbruck | Austria |
| 05.01. - 06.01.2025 | Bischofshofen | Austria |
History of the Four Hills Tournament
Since its inception in 1953, the Four Hills Tournament has developed into one of the most prestigious events in the ski jumping calendar and has established itself as an integral part of the Ski Jumping World Cup. The first jump of the first tournament in 1953, which was the only time to date that all four jumps were held in one calendar year, took place here in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on 1 January. The winner at that time was Asgeir Dølplads from Norway. His compatriot Jakob Vaage achieved the same feat at the very first New Year’s Day jump in 1922.
In the second edition of the Four Hills Tournament in 1953/54, the order of the venues was changed to Oberstdorf, Garmisch, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen. To this day, this order has remained the same, from the start of the tournament in the Allgäu region to the New Year’s Day jump and the Bergisel jump to the final on Epiphany. Incidentally, the record for the most overall victories has been held by Finland’s Janne Ahonen since 2008 with five overall victories. He is followed by German ski jumping legend Jens Weißflog with four overall victories, and third place in the all-time rankings is shared by Helmut Recknagel (GDR), Bjørn Wirkola (Norway) and Kamil Stoch (Poland) share third place in the all-time rankings with three Tour victories each. The latter is also one of only three athletes to have achieved the feat of winning all four jumps in a single Tour edition. In addition to Stoch (2017/2018), this ‘Grand Slam’ was also achieved by Germany’s Sven Hannawald (2001/2002) – the first ski jumper in history to do so – and Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi (2018/2019).
Four Hills Tournament opener in Oberstdorf
Hill height: 140 m
Inrun length: 108 m
Hillsize: 137 m
The Schattenbergschanze is one of the most important ski jumps in the world: since 1987, the facility has hosted the ski jumping competitions of the Nordic World Ski Championships three times (most recently in 2021). With a hill size (HS) of 137 m, the ski jump below the Nebelhornbahn cable car is now one of the five facilities most frequently used for world championships, alongside Oslo, Innsbruck, Lahti and Falun. In addition, around 30,000 fans gather here every year when the Four Hills Tournament opens at the World Championship Ski Jumping Arena Oberstdorf Allgäu at the end of December.
It is impossible to overlook the fact that the atmosphere is always particularly good due to the high expectations surrounding the opening jump of the Four Hills Tournament in Oberstdorf.
However, Oberstdorf is not only known for its ski jump, but also as one of the most important German winter sports centres. As a result, several ski resorts are clustered around the ‘southernmost point of Germany’. This adds up to a total of 128 kilometres of slopes in the two-country ski region of Oberstdorf-Kleinwalsertal. These include the Fellhorn-Kanzelwand, Söllereck, Walmendingerhorn, Ifen and Heuberg-Arena ski resorts. Incidentally, the Nebelhorn is also home to Germany’s longest downhill run, at 7.5 kilometres!
New Year’s ski jumping in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Hill height: 149 m
Inrun length: 103.5 m
Hillsize: 142 m
It is beautiful, elegant and a new landmark of the city: in the winter of 2007/2008, the modern new building of the Great Olympic Ski Jump (142 m HS) replaced the previous Olympic Ski Jump, which had been built in the run-up to the 1936 Olympic Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Around 30,000 spectators are drawn here every year for the traditional New Year’s ski jumping event.
There is no competition that ski jumpers want to win more than the world-famous New Year’s ski jumping event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Accordingly, the competitions there usually end dramatically.
Located at the foot of Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze (2,962 m), Garmisch-Partenkirchen is the number one winter sports resort in the Federal Republic. In addition to the Four Hills Tournament, the Winter Olympics and the Alpine Ski World Championships have also been held here. Winter sports enthusiasts have a choice between the glacier ski area on the Zugspitze and the ‘Garmisch-Classic’ ski area, which is spread across the Hausberg, Kreuzeck and Alpspitze mountains. One highlight is the legendary Kandahar downhill run on the Kreuzeck.
Four Hills Tournament in Innsbruck
Hill height: 134 m
Inrun length: 91.3 m
Hillsize: 128 m
With its futuristic approach tower designed by British star architect Zaha Hadid, Innsbruck’s Bergisel ski jump, with a hill size of 128 m, is the smallest jump facility in the Four Hills Tournament and has become even more of an eye-catcher since its modernisation in 2002. A special feature of the jump is its location on the outskirts of the Alpine metropolis. Its proximity to the city offers a wonderful panoramic view of the city and the surrounding mountains.
Innsbruck is also considered the ‘capital of the Alps’. It is the only city in the world to have hosted the Winter Olympics three times (1964, 1976 and the Youth Games in 2012). Nine ski resorts make up the Olympia SkiWorld Innsbruck. All of them can be reached quickly from Innsbruck with the free ski bus. The Nordkettenbahnen and Patscherkofel, with the Olympic men’s downhill run, are located directly near the city. In addition, there are Axamer Lizum, Muttereralm, Kühtai, Rangger Köpfl, Glungezer, Schlick 2000 and, with the Stubai Glacier, Austria’s largest glacier ski area.
Epiphany ski jumping in Bischofshofen
Hill height: 132.5 m
Inrun length: 118.5 m
Hillsize: 142 m
The Paul-Außerleitner-Schanze (142 m HS) is named after the Austrian ski jumper who crashed so badly here in 1952 that he succumbed to his injuries a few days later. It is one of the largest ski jumps in the Ski Jumping World Cup.
At the end of the Four Hills Tournament in Bischofshofen, the overall winners set new records time and time again
Bischofshofen, the “town with momentum”, lies at the centre of the Ski amadé world. It is only a few kilometres to St. Johann/Alpendorf and Mühlbach am Hochkönig. In good snow conditions, you can even ski as far as Bischofshofen on the eight-kilometre-long “Knappensteig” ski tour descent. Flachau and Grossarl are not far away either.
Record winner of the Four Hills Tournament
| Overall Wins | Name | Nationality | Tournaments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Janne Ahonen | Finland | 1998/99 2002/03 2004/05 2005/06 2007/08 |
| 4 | Jens Weißflog | GDR/FRG | 1983/84 1984/85 1990/91 1995/96 |
| 3 | Helmut Recknagel | GDR | 1957/58 1958/59 1960/61 |
| 3 | Bjørn Wirkola | Norway | 1966/67 1967/68 1968/69 |
| 2 | Kamil Stoch | Poland | 2016/17 2017/18 2020/21 |
| 2 | Ryōyū Kobayashi | Japan | 2018/19 2021/22 2023/24 |
| 2 | Veikko Kankkonen | Finland | 1963/64 1965/66 |
| 2 | Jochen Danneberg | GDR | 1975/76 1976/77 |
| 2 | Hubert Neuper | Austria | 1979/80 1980/81 |
| 2 | Matti Nykänen | Finland | 1982/83 1987/88 |
| 2 | Ernst Vettori | Austria | 1985/86 1986/87 |
| 2 | Andreas Goldberger | Austria | 1992/93 1994/95 |
| 1 | Gregor Schlierenzauer | Austria | 2011/12 2012/13 |
Overall winner of the Four Hills Tournament from Germany
| Name | Number of overall victories | Year | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jens Weißflog | 4 | 1983/84, 1984/85, 1990/91, 1995/96 | GDR and Germany |
| Helmut Recknagel | 3 | 1957/58, 1958/59, 1960/61 | GDR |
| Jochen Danneberg | 2 | 1975/76, 1976/77 | GDR |
| Sven Hannawald | 1 | 2001/02 | Germany |
| Dieter Thoma | 1 | 1989/90 | Germany |
| Manfred Deckert | 1 | 1981/82 | GDR |
| Hans-Georg Aschenbach | 1 | 1973/74 | GDR |
| Rainer Schmidt | 1 | 1972/73 | GDR |
| Horst Queck | 1 | 1969/70 | GDR |
| Max Bolkart | 1 | 1959/60 | Germany |
The list of German overall winners of the Four Hills Tournament is long. If you include the winners from the period when Germany was divided, ski jumpers from the GDR and the Federal Republic have won the prestigious competition series a total of 16 times since the first tournament in 1953. This puts Germany in joint first place with Austria and Finland as the countries with the most Tour victories (as of 13 November 2023). The first German overall winner of the Four Hills Tournament was Max Bolkert in 1960.
His compatriots Horst Queck (1970), Rainer Schmidt (1973), Hans-Georg Aschenbach (1974) and Manfred Deckert (1982 – all GDR) as well as Dieter Thoma (1990) and Sven Hannawald (2002 – both Germany) each took first place in the overall standings after the final jump in Bischofshofen. Jochen Danneberg (GDR) won the Four Hills Tournament twice in a row in 1976 and 1977. Helmut Recknagel achieved the same feat in 1958 and 1959, before celebrating his third and final overall victory in 1961. The German record holder with four Tour victories is ski jumping legend Jens Weißflog, who won for the GDR in 1984 and 1985 and stood at the top of the Tour podium in 1991 and 1996 after reunification.
FAQ about the Four Hills Tournament
When will the 2024/2025 Four Hills Tournament take place?
The 2024/2025 Four Hills Tournament will begin with the qualification round in Obersdorf on 28 December 2024, followed by the first competition jump on the Schattenbergschanze hill there one day later. The second stop is the New Year’s Jump in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on 1 January 2024, before continuing in Innsbruck on 4 January and the final taking place in Bischofshofen on 6 January.
Who is the record winner of the Four Hills Tournament?
One name stands out in the history of the Four Hills Tournament: Janne Ahonen. The Finn won the prestigious competition series a total of five times (1998/99, 2002/03, 2004/05, 2005/06 and 2007/08). Behind the record winner is German ski jumping legend Jens Weißflog with four overall victories (1983/84, 1984/84, 1991/92 and 1995/96). He is followed by Helmut Recknagel (GDR), Bjørn Wirkola (Norway), Kamil Stoch (Poland) and Ryoyu Kobayashi (Japan) with three victories each.
Is the Four Hills Tournament broadcast on television?
Yes, in Germany, the public broadcasters ARD and ZDF take turns broadcasting all the jumps of the Four Hills Tournament, including the qualification on the previous day, live and in full length. Eurosport also broadcasts all four jumps, but with commercial breaks.
When did the first Four Hills Tournament take place?
The Four Hills Tournament took place for the first time in 1953 and is still the only edition to have been held within a calendar year. On 1 January 1953, the New Year’s Jump took place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, followed by jumps in Oberstdorf, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen.
Where does the traditional New Year’s Jump of the Four Hills Tournament take place?
As the name suggests, the New Year’s Jump takes place every year on 1 January on the Great Olympic Hill in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It was first included in the Four Hills Tournament in 1953, but the first New Year’s Ski Jumping event took place here in 1922 and was won by Jakob Vaage from Norway. However, the record winner is Martin Neuner from Germany, who triumphed five times in a row in Garmisch between 1924 and 1928.
