Germany’s ski jumpers have nothing to do with winning the Four Hills Tournament in the 2024/25 season. Things were completely different 35 years ago. At the final in Bischofshofen there will be a “German-German” duel. In the end, a young Black Forester triumphs in the best year of his career: Dieter Thomas.
Since Sven Hannawald’s Grand Slam in 2002, Germany has been waiting for a winner at the Four Hills Tournament. In 1990, an even longer dry spell broke out in German ski jumping history – in West Germany, to be precise.
Since Max Bolkart in 1960, no jumper from the Federal Republic has managed to win the prestigious German-Austrian ski jump series. 30 years later, the signs before the start in Oberstdorf are not necessarily such that anything will change.
With Ernst Vettori, Heinz Kuttin and Andreas Felder, three Austrians lead the overall World Cup standings – a parallel to the 2024/25 tour, in which the ÖSV Adler Stefan Kraft, Jan Hörl and Daniel Tschofenig fought for victory.
But back to 1989. In Oberstdorf there is no red-white-red to be seen, instead there is a German festival at the Schattenbergschanze. 20-year-old Dieter Thoma wins the opener ahead of Josef Heumann. Jens Weißflog, model jumper of the dissolving GDR, completed Germany’s triple victory a few months after the fall of the Wall.
The starting signal for an exciting tour. At the New Year’s competition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, stylist Weißflog hits back and crawls to within 2.5 points of Thoma. The young Black Forester then showed nerves in the third competition in Innsbruck and only came sixth at Bergisel.
Weißflog takes the lead in the overall ranking with second place and is heading to Bischofshofen as the big favorite as a two-time tour winner and 6.5 points ahead of Thoma.
Four Hills Tournament 1989/90: Thomas was very lucky
However, everything turns out differently at the Paul-Außerleitner-Schanze. Weißflog literally crashes and only finishes eleventh. Thoma, on the other hand, hit a real bombshell in the second round with 111.5 meters and took overall victory ahead of the Czech Frantisek Jez.
“The decisive factor in my victory was Innsbruck,” recapitulated Thoma years later in “Welt”: “I didn’t have such a good competition there. That annoyed me so much that I really wanted to win the competition in Bischofshofen. It was good for me “Not to be in the lead after three competitions.”
What followed his triumph was “brutal,” said the now 55-year-old. “I was only 20 years old. The attention was enormous and my reputation increased.”
Thoma withstood the pressure 35 years ago. A few weeks after the tour, he was crowned ski flying world champion in Vikersund.