Jens Weißflog

Jens Weißflog (; born 21 July 1964) is an East German and later German former ski jumper. He is one of the best and most successful ski jumpers in the history of the sport. He is a two time olympic and nordic world ski champion; also overall world winner.

Career Weißflog was born in Erlabrunn (now a part of Breitenbrunn) in Saxony.

Olympics and Four Hills Tournament As a 19-year-old he won the Four Hills Tournament for East Germany in 1983/84. Weißflog was known as "Floh" (flea in German) due to his slight stature and his light body. That same winter he won the combined World Cup and later the normal hill event at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. The following winter was dominated by Weißflog and the outstanding Finn Matti Nykänen.

The most remarkable part of his career is that he competed at the top level for twelve years. Neither the regime change from East Germany to the unified Germany in late 1990, nor the change in ski jumping techniques from the parallel technique to the V-style around 1993 stopped his success.

In 1994 he won two gold medals in the individual large hill and team large hill events at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, ten years after his first Olympic victory. Controversially, he committed one of the most unsporting acts in winter sports history, when he congratulated Japan's last team jumper with the victory, before the competition was over. The japanese failed miserably with his jump, while Weissflog did not, and thus Germany won the gold. In the next event, Weissflog was duly booed by approximately 40 000 spectators, who all regarded this former act as most unfair play, and a very dirty move. Weissflog responded by flipping the bird to the spectators, who did not warm further to him.

He finished his career in 1996 by becoming the first ski jumper to win the combined Four Hills Tournament four times. Only the Finn Janne Ahonen has surpassed that record by winning the Four Hills Tournament five times. He had also earned five-second-place finishes in the competition over the course of his career. After this achievement he retired from professional sport.

World Championships At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, Weißflog won two golds in the individual normal hill (1985, 1989), three silvers in the individual large hill (1989) and team large hill (1984 and 1995), and four bronzes in the individual large hill (1991, 1993) and team large hill (1985 and 1991). He also won two medals at the FIS Ski Flying World Championships with a silver in 1985 and a bronze in 1990.

Weißflog also won the ski jumping competition at the Holmenkollen ski festival twice (1989, 1990). He was awarded the Holmenkollen medal in 1991 (shared with Vegard Ulvang, Trond Einar Elden, and Ernst Vettori).

Life after the career Today, Jens Weißflog owns a hotel in his home town of Oberwiesenthal and is the main ski jump commentator for German television station ZDF.

World Cup

Standings Season Overall1980/81 — 110 N/A N/A1982/83 16 N/A N/A1983/84 N/A N/A 1984/85 4 N/A N/A1985/8616 22 N/A N/A1986/87 11 7 N/A N/A1987/88 6 N/A N/A1988/89 N/A N/A1989/90 6 N/A N/A1990/91 8 19 N/A1991/92 38 39 — N/A1992/93 11 — N/A1993/94 — N/A1994/95 6 12 14 N/A1995/96 4 8 4

Wins No. Season Date Location Hill Size1 1982/83 6 January 1983 Bischofshofen Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze K109 LH2 1983/84 1 January 1984 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Große Olympiaschanze K107 LH3 4 January 1984 Innsbruck Bergiselschanze K106 LH4 6 January 1984 Bischofshofen Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze K111 LH5 11 January 1984 Cortina d’Ampezzo Trampolino Italia K92 NH6 15 January 1984 Liberec Ještěd A K115 LH7 12 February 1984 Sarajevo (OWG) Igman K90 NH8 24 March 1984 Planica Srednja Bloudkova K90 NH9 1984/85 1 January 1985 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Große Olympiaschanze K107 LH10 17 February 1985 Engelberg Gross-Titlis-Schanze K120 LH11 1986/87 6 December 1986 Thunder Bay Big Thunder K89 NH12 1987/88 24 January 1988 Engelberg Gross-Titlis-Schanze K120 LH13 1988/89 22 January 1989 Oberhof Rennsteigschanze K90 NH14 5 March 1989 Oslo Holmenkollbakken K105 LH15 8 March 1989 Örnsköldsvik Paradiskullen K82 NH16 25 March 1989 Planica Srednja Bloudkova K90 NH17 26 March 1989 Planica Bloudkova velikanka K120 LH18 1989/90 17 December 1989 Sapporo Ōkurayama K115 LH19 1 January 1990 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Große Olympiaschanze K107 LH20 17 January 1990 Zakopane Wielka Krokiew K116 LH21 1990/91 30 December 1990 Oberstdorf Schattenbergschanze K115 LH22 1 January 1991 Garmisch-Partenkirchen Große Olympiaschanze K107 LH23 1993/94 12 December 1993 Planica Bloudkova velikanka K120 LH24 14 December 1993 Predazzo Trampolino dal Ben K90 (night) NH2530 December 1993 Oberstdorf Schattenbergschanze K115 LH26 22 January 1994 Sapporo Miyanomori K90 NH27 23 January 1994 Sapporo Ōkurayama K115 LH28 5 March 1994 Lahti Salpausselkä K90 NH29 27 March 1994 Thunder Bay Big Thunder K90 NH30 1994/95 29 January 1995 Lahti Salpausselkä K114 LH31 1995/96 6 January 1996 Bischofshofen Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze K120 LH32 20 January 1996 Sapporo Miyanomori K90 NH33 17 February 1996 Iron Mountain Pine Mountain K120 LH