Austria wins Olympic ski jumping super team gold after snowstorm halts final

Austria Wins Inaugural Olympic Ski Jumping Super Team Gold After Weather Cancels Final Round

Austria’s Jan Hoerl and Stephan Embacher claimed gold in the first-ever Olympic men’s super team large hill ski jumping event at Milan Cortina 2026 on Monday, but the victory came under chaotic circumstances. Heavy snowfall in Predazzo, Italy, forced officials to cancel the third round with three jumpers still to compete, awarding medals based on second-round standings.

The decision to halt competition brought Austria its first ski jumping medal of these Games after a frustrating 10-day stretch that had seen the traditional powerhouse fail to reach the podium in every previous event.

A Storm Ends the Competition

With the final six jumpers preparing for their third attempts, intense wet snowfall blanketed the Predazzo ski jumping facility, making it increasingly difficult to clear the in-run after each jump and causing repeated delays.

“We had this sudden, heavy snowfall, wet snowfall, and we were trying to clean the track, but we saw immediately that we lost the speed in the in-run,” FIS Race Director Sandro Pertile explained, according to NBC Olympics. “With these conditions it was really unfair to continue.”nbcolympics

Austria had dominated from the start. Hoerl opened with a 137.5-meter jump, while Olympic rookie Embacher landed the longest jump of the competition at 139 meters in the second round. Poland claimed silver with 547.3 points, led by 19-year-old sensation Kacper Tomasiak, who has medaled in every ski jumping event at these Games. Norway edged Germany by just 0.3 points for bronze.clickondetroit

Relief and Frustration

“The last 10 days were hard for our team so it was the last chance today,” said Hoerl, who was part of Austria’s gold-medal team at Beijing 2022. “We knew that, so we kept focused. It’s amazing, unbelievable.”espn

For Embacher, 20, it was a dream debut. “My first time and to be Olympic champion is unbelievable,” he said.clickondetroit

Germany’s Philipp Raimund, the normal hill gold medalist, expressed disappointment at finishing fourth. Slovenia’s Domen Prevc, who won gold in the large hill and mixed team events, was unable to add to his medal haul. “It was almost third place, but overall it is a bit sour for me,” Prevc said, attributing the team’s finish to his poor landing in the second round.espn

Norway’s Johann Andre Forfang supported the officials’ decision despite its benefit to his team: “When the snow got that dense, the speed went too much down to continue”.reuters