The tour (almost) always increases
Due to a foehn storm on the infamous Innsbruck Bergisel, a jumping tour had to be canceled for the first time in January 2008. It was made up shortly afterwards in Bischofshofen, where two competitions were held that year. Again and again there was jumping where, depending on the weather and wind, only one round could be held. The fact that there were only three competitions in a Four Hills Tournament has not yet happened.
Heavy falls
The 2015 final in Bischofshofen was a particularly tragic one. In qualifying, the American Nicholas Fairall fell so badly that he had to undergo emergency surgery and was then forced into a wheelchair. The following day, Olympic champion Simon Ammann from Switzerland caught it. Ammann suffered a concussion and had to be taken to hospital, but the veteran continued his career. He is still active today.
A ski jumper from the island
“Eddie the Eagle”, whose real name is Michael Edwards, is cult. In the 1980s, the Brit saw a TV broadcast of the tour on television and decided to take part in the traditional event himself. The short man with the thick glasses almost had a subscription to last place, but his story was selling well. In 1989 he fell in Innsbruck, after which his career ended relatively abruptly.
Three wins and then departure
There was no getting around Yukio Kasaya from Japan on the 1971/72 tour. He won the jumping competitions in Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Innsbruck one after the other. But then Japan’s team left early to prepare for the Olympic Games in Sapporo. Kasaya let the chance of the historic quadruple victory slip by, instead the Norwegian Ingolf Mork dusted off the overall triumph without an individual victory.