Ski jumping: Former tour winner Diethart ends his career

Ski jumper Thomas Diethart, the overall winner of the 2013/14 Four Hills Tournament and Team Olympic runner-up from 2014, announced the end of his career on Monday.

“That’s it! Thanks to everyone who supported me. I’ll miss this feeling of flying,” wrote the Tyrolean native of Lower Austria on Facebook. He had lost the connection to the top after heavy falls.

Diethart fell at the end of November 2017 during training in Ramsau and suffered a severe concussion including slight bleeding into the brain, a lung contusion, severe abrasions and a contused facial laceration. “Third try – it still hurts. Maybe I should try something else,” he had then posted under a photo.

At the end of February 2016, a gust of wind in Brotterode (GER) with bruises of the kidneys and lungs as well as facial wounds was somewhat less severe. Shortly before that, the athlete fighting for a comeback was second in the Continental Cup.

The 26-year-old, who celebrated two World Cup victories (Garmisch 2014, Bischofshofen 2014), was no longer a member of any ÖSV squad last season, but trained with groups of the association. His last appearance in a FIS competition was in the qualification for the summer GP in Hinzenbach at the end of September last year.

Diethart told APA that it was a pity that he would like to continue, but would now resign for health reasons. “Three falls in two years is a strong sign that it’s not smart to go on,” Diethart explained. He said that after his experiences he would have to invest one or two years to jump from a jump again without fear.

He was the rising star of the 2013/14 season and finished his first World Cup appearances in Engelberg (“After a spontaneous nomination”) in fourth and sixth place. This opened the door to his tour, which became the favourite of sports fans around the turn of the year.

Diethart wants to start a one-year training as a health, fitness and nutrition trainer in Innsbruck in May. He is also fundamentally interested in training as a trainer in ski jumping.

The World Cup victories of Thomas Diethart