An Olympic season concluding often means an end to many ski jumping careers. This season is no exception, as we say our farewells to two legendary Olympic and World Champions.
Austria's
Manuel Fettner and Poland's
Kamil Stoch have announced their retirement at the conclusion of the 2025/2026 season. Fettner's final jump still took him up to 9th at the Ski Flying World Championships in Planica - not bad at the ripe old age of 40. Two years Fettner's junior, Stoch's last jumps took him to 30th place.
Despite their best seasons being far behind them, both athletes' resumes are impressive to behold. Stoch in particular set the world alight at the 2014 Olympic games in Sochi with two Olympic golds, adding one more visit to the top step of the podium to that tally during the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang.
Stoch's other accolades demand equal respect to his Olympic endeavors, with two personal and one team World Championships titles complemented with three victories at the yearly
Four Hills Tournament. Finally, the Pole also managed to win the
ski jumping World Cup twice - all in all a true legend of the sport.
Fettner meanwhile hasn't got quite the same level of resume, but a 2022 Olympic Silver from the normal hill at Beijing will still be fondly remembered along with Austria's team gold at the same Games. In addition, Fettner's mantelpiece will forever be adorned by a World Championship gold medal from the 2013 Team Championship.
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