Four Hills Tournament

Date	Image	Place	Hill name	K-Point	Hill size	Hill record
29 or 30 December		Oberstdorf, Germany	Schattenbergschanze	K-120	HS 137	143.5 m (2003) Sigurd Pettersen
1 January		Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany	Große Olympiaschanze	K-125	HS 142	144.0 m (2021) Dawid Kubacki
3 or 4 January		Innsbruck, Austria	Bergiselschanze	K-120	HS 130	138.0 m (2015) Michael Hayböck[1]
6 January		Bischofshofen, Austria	Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze	K-125	HS 142	145.0 m (2019) Dawid Kubacki

Traditionally, the order of the tournament competitions has been: Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Innsbruck, Bischofshofen – with the following exceptions:

• 1953: Garmisch-Partenkirchen was the first, and Oberstdorf the second event.
• 1956–57, 1961–62, 1962–63: Innsbruck was the second event, and Garmisch-Partenkirchen third.
• 1971–72: Innsbruck was first, and Oberstdorf third.
• 2007–08: The Innsbruck event was cancelled due to bad weather, and replaced with an additional competition at Bischofshofen.

One of the tournament's peculiarities is its qualifying system. Unlike other ski jumping events where the best 30 competitors in the first round qualify for the second round, all Four Hills events follow a knock-out system first introduced for the 1996–97 season.

The 50 competitors are divided into 25 pairs. All 25 winners of these duels plus the five best losers qualify for the second round. It is theoretically possible that a competitor who finishes the first round 12th will not qualify for the second round (if he loses his internal duel, five lucky losers and winners of their duels have better results) while the one with the 49th first series result may still qualify (if his "rival" has the worst result). On the other hand, jumpers are less likely to be disadvantaged by a possible significant change in weather conditions between the start and end of the first series. A change in the direction and speed of the wind can make it impossible for the best jumpers to produce a good result. In the event of significantly worse conditions during the second half of the first series, the possibility exists that most of the best jumpers would be eliminated by bad luck alone. Directly pairing rivals reduces the impact of these conditions. In this competition format the qualifying series are valued as well, since jumpers with a better qualification result will have the opportunity to compete against jumpers with worse result. Therefore, it is not enough for a jumper to be among 50 best jumpers in qualifications (with whatever result), but it is better for him to achieve a result as good as possible.

The first jumper in the competition is the one who qualified 26th, followed by his pair who qualified 25th. The next pair has 27th and 24th from the qualification, one after that 28th and 23rd etc. The last pair has last qualified jumper against qualification winner.

If qualification is postponed until the day of competition, the knock-out system is not used, and competition follows regular world cup rules. Because of that in the 2007/08 tournament, the knock-out system was used only in Oberstdorf.

Year	Oberstdorf	Garmisch- Partenkirchen	Innsbruck	Bischofshofen		Overall victory
1953	Erling Kroken	Asgeir Dølplads[lower-alpha 1]	Sepp Bradl	Halvor Næs		Sepp Bradl
1953–54	Olav Bjørnstad	Olav Bjørnstad	Olav Bjørnstad	Sepp Bradl		Olav Bjørnstad
1954–55	Aulis Kallakorpi	Aulis Kallakorpi	Torbjørn Ruste	Torbjørn Ruste		Hemmo Silvennoinen
1955–56	Aulis Kallakorpi Eino Kirjonen	Hemmo Silvennoinen	Koba Zakadze	Yuri Skvortsov		Nikolay Kamenskiy
1956–57	Pentti Uotinen	Nikolay Kamenskiy[lower-alpha 2]	Nikolai Schamov[lower-alpha 2]	Eino Kirjonen		Pentti Uotinen
1957–58	Nikolay Kamenskiy	Willi Egger	Helmut Recknagel	Helmut Recknagel		Helmut Recknagel
1958–59	Helmut Recknagel	Helmut Recknagel	Helmut Recknagel	Walter Habersatter		Helmut Recknagel
1959–60	Max Bolkart	Max Bolkart	Max Bolkart	Albin Plank		Max Bolkart
1960–61	Juhani Kärkinen	Koba Zakadze	Kalevi Kärkinen	Helmut Recknagel		Helmut Recknagel (3)
1961–62	Eino Kirjonen	Georg Thoma[lower-alpha 2]	Willi Egger[lower-alpha 2]	Willi Egger		Eino Kirjonen
1962–63	Toralf Engan	Toralf Engan[lower-alpha 2]	Toralf Engan[lower-alpha 2]	Torbjørn Yggeseth		Toralf Engan
1963–64	Torbjørn Yggeseth	Veikko Kankkonen	Veikko Kankkonen	Baldur Preiml		Veikko Kankkonen
1964–65	Torgeir Brandtzæg	Erkki Pukka	Torgeir Brandtzæg	Bjørn Wirkola		Torgeir Brandtzæg
1965–66	Veikko Kankkonen	Paavo Lukkariniemi	Dieter Neuendorf	Veikko Kankkonen		Veikko Kankkonen (2)
1966–67	Dieter Neuendorf	Bjørn Wirkola	Bjørn Wirkola	Bjørn Wirkola		Bjørn Wirkola
1967–68	Dieter Neuendorf	Bjørn Wirkola	Gariy Napalkov	Jiří Raška		Bjørn Wirkola
1968–69	Bjørn Wirkola	Bjørn Wirkola	Bjørn Wirkola	Jiří Raška		Bjørn Wirkola (3)
1969–70	Gariy Napalkov	Jiří Raška	Bjørn Wirkola	Jiří Raška		Horst Queck
1970–71	Ingolf Mork	Ingolf Mork	Zbyněk Hubač	Ingolf Mork		Jiří Raška
1971–72	Yukio Kasaya[lower-alpha 3]	Yukio Kasaya	Yukio Kasaya[lower-alpha 3]	Bjørn Wirkola		Ingolf Mork
1972–73	Rainer Schmidt	Rainer Schmidt	Sergei Botschkov	Rudolf Höhnl		Rainer Schmidt
1973–74	Hans-Georg Aschenbach	Walter Steiner	Hans-Georg Aschenbach	Bernd Eckstein		Hans-Georg Aschenbach
1974–75	Willi Pürstl	Karl Schnabl	Karl Schnabl	Karl Schnabl		Willi Pürstl
1975–76	Toni Innauer	Toni Innauer	Jochen Danneberg	Toni Innauer		Jochen Danneberg
1976–77	Toni Innauer	Jochen Danneberg	Henry Glaß	Walter Steiner		Jochen Danneberg (2)
1977–78	Matthias Buse	Jochen Danneberg	Per Bergerud	Kari Ylianttila		Kari Ylianttila
1978–79	Yuri Ivanov	Josef Samek	Pentti Kokkonen	Pentti Kokkonen		Pentti Kokkonen
1979–80	Jochen Danneberg	Hubert Neuper	Hubert Neuper	Martin Weber		Hubert Neuper
1980–81	Hubert Neuper	Horst Bulau	Jari Puikkonen	Armin Kogler		Hubert Neuper (2)
1981–82	Matti Nykänen	Roger Ruud	Per Bergerud Manfred Deckert	Hubert Neuper		Manfred Deckert
1982–83	Horst Bulau	Armin Kogler	Matti Nykänen	Jens Weißflog		Matti Nykänen
1983–84	Klaus Ostwald	Jens Weißflog	Jens Weißflog	Jens Weißflog		Jens Weißflog
1984–85	Ernst Vettori	Jens Weißflog	Matti Nykänen	Hroar Stjernen		Jens Weißflog
1985–86	Pekka Suorsa	Pavel Ploc	Jari Puikkonen	Ernst Vettori		Ernst Vettori
1986–87	Vegard Opaas	Andreas Bauer	Primož Ulaga	Tuomo Ylipulli		Ernst Vettori (2)
1987–88	Pavel Ploc	Matti Nykänen	Matti Nykänen	Matti Nykänen		Matti Nykänen (2)
1988–89	Dieter Thoma	Matti Nykänen	Jan Boklöv	Mike Holland		Risto Laakkonen
1989–90	Dieter Thoma	Jens Weißflog	Ari-Pekka Nikkola	František Jež		Dieter Thoma
1990–91	Jens Weißflog	Andreas Felder Jens Weißflog	Ari-Pekka Nikkola	Andreas Felder		Jens Weißflog
1991–92	Toni Nieminen	Andreas Felder	Toni Nieminen	Toni Nieminen		Toni Nieminen
1992–93	Christof Duffner	Noriaki Kasai	Andreas Goldberger	Andreas Goldberger		Andreas Goldberger
1993–94	Jens Weißflog	Espen Bredesen	Andreas Goldberger	Espen Bredesen		Espen Bredesen
1994–95	R. Schwarzenberger	Janne Ahonen	Kazuyoshi Funaki	Andreas Goldberger		Andreas Goldberger (2)
1995–96	Mika Laitinen	Reinhard Schwarzenberger	Andreas Goldberger	Jens Weißflog		Jens Weißflog (4)
1996–97	Dieter Thoma	Primož Peterka	Kazuyoshi Funaki	Dieter Thoma		Primož Peterka
1997–98	Kazuyoshi Funaki	Kazuyoshi Funaki	Kazuyoshi Funaki	Sven Hannawald		Kazuyoshi Funaki
1998–99	Martin Schmitt	Martin Schmitt	Noriaki Kasai	Andreas Widhölzl		Janne Ahonen
1999–00	Martin Schmitt	Andreas Widhölzl	Andreas Widhölzl	Andreas Widhölzl		Andreas Widhölzl
2000–01	Martin Schmitt	Noriaki Kasai	Adam Małysz	Adam Małysz		Adam Małysz
2001–02	Sven Hannawald	Sven Hannawald	Sven Hannawald	Sven Hannawald		Sven Hannawald *
2002–03	Sven Hannawald	Primož Peterka	Janne Ahonen	Bjørn Einar Romøren		Janne Ahonen
2003–04	Sigurd Pettersen	Sigurd Pettersen	Peter Žonta	Sigurd Pettersen		Sigurd Pettersen
2004–05	Janne Ahonen	Janne Ahonen	Janne Ahonen	Martin Höllwarth		Janne Ahonen
2005–06	Janne Ahonen	Jakub Janda	Lars Bystøl	Janne Ahonen		Janne Ahonen Jakub Janda
2006–07	Gregor Schlierenzauer	Andreas Küttel	Anders Jacobsen	Gregor Schlierenzauer		Anders Jacobsen
2007–08	Thomas Morgenstern	Gregor Schlierenzauer	Janne Ahonen[lower-alpha 4]	Janne Ahonen		Janne Ahonen (5)
2008–09	Simon Ammann	Wolfgang Loitzl	Wolfgang Loitzl	Wolfgang Loitzl		Wolfgang Loitzl
2009–10	Andreas Kofler	Gregor Schlierenzauer	Gregor Schlierenzauer	Thomas Morgenstern		Andreas Kofler
2010–11	Thomas Morgenstern	Simon Ammann	Thomas Morgenstern	Tom Hilde		Thomas Morgenstern
2011–12	Gregor Schlierenzauer	Gregor Schlierenzauer	Andreas Kofler	Thomas Morgenstern		Gregor Schlierenzauer
2012–13	Anders Jacobsen	Anders Jacobsen	Gregor Schlierenzauer	Gregor Schlierenzauer		Gregor Schlierenzauer (2)
2013–14	Simon Ammann	Thomas Diethart	Anssi Koivuranta	Thomas Diethart		Thomas Diethart
2014–15	Stefan Kraft	Anders Jacobsen	Richard Freitag	Michael Hayböck		Stefan Kraft
2015–16	Severin Freund	Peter Prevc	Peter Prevc	Peter Prevc	Peter Prevc
2016–17	Stefan Kraft	Daniel-André Tande	Daniel-André Tande	Kamil Stoch	Kamil Stoch
2017–18	Kamil Stoch	Kamil Stoch	Kamil Stoch	Kamil Stoch	Kamil Stoch *
2018–19	Ryōyū Kobayashi	Ryōyū Kobayashi	Ryōyū Kobayashi	Ryōyū Kobayashi	Ryōyū Kobayashi *
2019–20	Ryōyū Kobayashi	Marius Lindvik	Marius Lindvik	Dawid Kubacki	Dawid Kubacki
2020–21	Karl Geiger	Dawid Kubacki	Kamil Stoch	Kamil Stoch	Kamil Stoch (3)

Notes

Janne Ahonen is the only ski jumper to have won the tournament five times, with wins in 1998–99, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06 and 2007–08. Jens Weißflog was the first ski jumper to reach four wins, winning the tournament in 1984, 1985, 1991 and 1996. Helmut Recknagel, Bjørn Wirkola and Kamil Stoch have the next best record, winning three titles each. Wirkola's victories came in three consecutive years (1967–1969), a record still uncontested.

Janne Ahonen's fourth victory in 2005–06 was also the first time the tournament victory was shared, with Jakub Janda, who claimed his first 4 Hills Tournament crown.

Jens Weißflog and Bjørn Wirkola have both won ten Four Hills Tournament events. Janne Ahonen and Gregor Schlierenzauer are next with 9 victories, followed by Matti Nykänen and Kamil Stoch with seven.

In 2000–01, the 49th edition of the tournament, Adam Małysz beat second placed Janne Ahonen by 104.4 points. This is the biggest winning margin in the tournament's history. He also won all four qualifications that year. The following year Sven Hannawald became the first person to win all four competitions in a single season. In 2017-18 Kamil Stoch has repeated Hannawald's record and year after, Ryōyū Kobayashi became the third person to win all four events.

Three nations each have sixteen victories: Austria, Finland and Germany (including nine victories earned by ski jumpers from East Germany, four - from West Germany and three - from unified German team). Fourth is Norway with ten victories. Poland has five victories. Czechoslovakia and one of its successors the Czech Republic have two victories altogether, as have Slovenia and Japan. USSR has a single victory.

Overall winners

Record overall victories

Overall victories	Name	Tournament(s)
5	Janne Ahonen	1998–99, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08
4	Jens Weissflog	1983–84, 1984–85, 1990–91, 1995–96
3	Helmut Recknagel	1957–58, 1958–59, 1960–61
	Bjørn Wirkola	1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69
	Kamil Stoch	2016–17, 2017–18, 2020–21
2	Veikko Kankkonen	1963–64, 1965–66
	Jochen Danneberg	1975–76, 1976–77
	Hubert Neuper	1979–80, 1980–81
	Matti Nykänen	1982–83, 1987–88
	Ernst Vettori	1985–86, 1986–87
	Andreas Goldberger	1992–93, 1994–95
	Gregor Schlierenzauer	2011–12, 2012–13

During the Four Hills Tournament many national jumpers from Germany and Austria are allowed to qualify for the competition. This allows them to show themselves and get experience. The national jumping team starts first in the qualification.

In 1965, the Polish old-boy jumper, Stanisław Marusarz (silver medal in World Championship, 1938 in Lahti) who was visiting the tournament, asked the jury in Garmisch-Partenkirchen to allow him a showcase jump. After a long debate, the jury agreed. Marusarz, who at this time was 53 years old (and not practicing jumping for 9 years) achieved 66 meters, using borrowed skies and boots and making his try in official suit (in which he attended the New Years Party), which made the crowd applaud.[2]

• Nordic Tournament
• Raw Air
• Planica7

• Four Hills Tournament web site

Media related to Four Hills Tournament at Wikimedia Commons