Slovenian ski jumper Domen Prevc won the New Year's jump of the Four Hills Tournament in Garmisch-Partenkirchen convincingly, further extending his lead in the overall standings. In front of 22,000 spectators, he triumphed with jumps of 143 and 141 meters ahead of Austrians Jan Hörl and Stephan Embacher. In the background, baseless accusations from Norwegian media against Austrian Manuel Fettner's binding caused a stir.
Domen Prevc demonstrated his superior form once again in the second competition of the 2025/26 Four Hills Tournament. On New Year's Day, the 26-year-old jumped 143 and 141 meters on the Great Olympiaschanze in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, winning by more than 15 points ahead of Jan Hörl. Stephan Embacher completed the podium in third place. The top Germans, Felix Hoffmann and Philipp Raimund, finished sixth and seventh with solid performances, including 134 and 136 meters for Hoffmann as well as 134 and 135 meters for Raimund. National coach Stefan Horngacher was satisfied: "With sixth and seventh, we can be content."
In the overall standings, Prevc leads by about 35 points (roughly 20 meters) over Hörl, with Hoffmann fourth and Raimund sixth. Veterans Andreas Wellinger and Karl Geiger again missed the final round, placing 32nd and 33rd. Wellinger commented: "The verdict is not good, not bad. From the jump quality, I thought more would come out." He added: "Currently, we have too many who drop out before the second round. That's the sober reality."
Besides the sporting action, a controversy made headlines. Norwegian media like "Dagbladet" published a photo of Manuel Fettner's binding and speculated about its illegality. The FIS quickly clarified: The binding has been approved for about ten years and is adapted to Fettner's special boot, offering no advantage. Coach Andi Widhölzl explained: "This change was necessary so that it works with his boot at all. There is no advantage." Karl Geiger criticized the accusations: "It's a bad sign when you have cheated yourself and then attribute it to others. That's not necessarily the best human behavior. It simply isn't right." This comes ten months after the Norwegian suit scandal in Trondheim.
Slovenian Timi Zajc was disqualified again for a non-conforming suit and received a red card, barring him from the next two jumps in Innsbruck and Bischofshofen. Geiger on that: "It can happen, but if it's the second time in a row, I have to say: that must not happen." Norwegians like Halvor Egner Granerud were also disqualified. Prevc could become the fourth after Sven Hannawald, Kamil Stoch, and Ryoyu Kobayashi to win all four tournament jumps. Next stop: Qualification in Innsbruck on Saturday.
