“Disrespectful and stupid”
Sven Hannawald rages about ski jumpers
January 4, 2026 – 1:53 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Timi Zajc’s disqualification caused a stir on the tour. Ex-ski jumper Sven Hannawald finds clear words for the Slovenian and his behavior.
Former ski jumping star and current expert Sven Hannawald made a harsh judgment after Timi Zajc’s double disqualification from the Four Hills Tournament. “I have two words for: disrespectful and stupid,” said the former tour winner in an interview with Sport1. “That describes exactly what this guy is. I don’t even know how he thinks or how he was raised.”
Zajc’s suit did not meet the regulations in both Oberstdorf and Garmisch-Partenkirchen. As a result, the Slovenian, who initially took second place in Oberstdorf, was banned for the rest of the tour.
Hannawald can only shake his head at that. “When I see that he even makes fun of the regulations and says: OK, then I’ll just pull my suit a little. I don’t even know what to say,” said the 51-year-old. “I’m really at a loss for words when it comes to examples like this. He generally seems to be very complicated and lives in his own world.”
Hannawald is also “stunned” by an incident involving the women. There the Norwegian Anna Odine Strøm was disqualified because of an extra sole in her socks. The Norwegian team only presented a medical certificate after the competition – an absurdity for Hannawald.
In his opinion, this should be applied to the Fis ski association beforehand. Because: “After that you can come up with all sorts of excuses,” Hannawald continued. “So they’re trying to screw us all?” And: “For me, these are exactly the candidates for whom I look at the results lists from the past and know: crap, crap, crap. They don’t seem to be able to move forward any other way.”