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Simon Ammann
Simon Ammann (2011).jpg
Ammann in 2011
Born (1981-06-25) 25 June 1981 (age 43)
Grabs, Switzerland
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Ski club SSC Toggenburg
Personal best 239.5 m (786 ft) National record
Vikersund, 2017
World Cup career
Seasons 1998–present
Individual wins 23
Indiv. podiums 80
Indiv. starts 510
Team starts 54
Overall titles 1 (2010)
Nordic titles 1 (2010)
Medal record
Representing  Switzerland
Men's ski jumping
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 4 0 0
World Championships 1 1 2
Ski Flying World Championships 1 0 0
Total 6 1 2
Olympic Games
Gold 2002 Salt Lake City Individual NH
Gold 2002 Salt Lake City Individual LH
Gold 2010 Vancouver Individual NH
Gold 2010 Vancouver Individual LH
World Championships
Gold 2007 Sapporo Individual LH
Silver 2007 Sapporo Individual NH
Bronze 2009 Liberec Individual NH
Bronze 2011 Oslo Individual LH
Men's ski flying
World Championships
Gold 2010 Planica Individual
Updated on 1 January 2025.

Simon Ammann (/ˈsiːmɒn/; born 25 June 1981) is a Swiss ski jumper. He is one of the most successful athletes in the history of the sport, having won four individual Winter Olympic gold medals in 2002 and 2010. His other achievements include winning the 2007 Ski Jumping World Championships, the 2010 Ski Flying World Championships, the 2010 Nordic Tournament, and the 2010 Ski Jumping World Cup overall title.

Career

Ammann made his debut at the age of 16 during the 1997–98 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup season. He qualified for the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, where he finished 35th.

Before the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Ammann crashed and suffered injuries during training in Willingen. Despite this, he won a gold medal in both the individual normal hill and large hill competitions, being only the second athlete to accomplish this feat (Matti Nykänen having done so in 1988). During the Olympics, Ammann gained international attention not only for his victories but also for his youthful and bespectacled appearance on the podium that many compared to Harry Potter. In addition to acquiring Swiss stardom he also made appearances on American talk shows, such as the Late Show with David Letterman (on 20 February 2002).

Ammann also won the ski jumping event at the Holmenkollen Ski Festival in 2002 and 2007. This earned him the Holmenkollen medal in 2007 (shared with Frode Estil, Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset, King Harald V, and Queen Sonja of Norway).

He made his third Olympic appearance in 2006 in Turin, Italy.

On 24 February 2007, he won his first medal at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with a victory in the individual large hill in Sapporo, Japan. Ammann would follow this with a silver medal in the individual normal hill the following week. Ammann would complete his set of medals with a bronze medal in the individual normal hill event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, Czech Republic.

In 2010, competing in his fourth Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, Ammann won the gold medal in the individual normal hill event, becoming the first athlete in Olympic history to win gold medals in the individual normal hill event at two Olympic Games. He also won a gold medal in the individual large hill event, thus becoming the first athlete to win gold medals in both individual ski jumping events at two Olympic Games, as well as the most decorated Swiss Olympic athlete of all time.

In March 2010, Ammann became the overall winner of the 2009–10 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, winning all four events at the Nordic Tournament and nine World Cup events in one season overall. He finished the season by becoming the ski flying World Champion in Planica. His 236.5 metres (776 ft) fourth round jump was the longest jump of the event, and also the second longest jump in history at the time.

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, he was selected as flag-bearer for the Switzerland Winter Olympics team.

On 6 January 2015, Ammann was injured on his second-round jump in Bischofshofen during the final stage of the 2014–15 Four Hills Tournament. His representation has since stated that his condition is stable, with most of the damage being on his face.

Ammann also competed in the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics, with his best finish being eleventh place in the normal hill event in 2018.

In February 2024, in Lake Placid, he made his 500th individual start in the World Cup.

World Cup

Standings

 Season  Overall 4H SF RA NT JP
1997–98 70 48 — N/A — 67
1998–99 — 63 — N/A — —
1999–00 45 70 — N/A — 45
2000–01 — — — N/A — N/A
2001–02 7 6 N/A N/A 4 N/A
2002–03 28 24 N/A N/A 13 N/A
2003–04 13 14 N/A N/A 3 N/A
2004–05 23 37 N/A N/A 27 N/A
2005–06 17 13 N/A N/A 21 N/A
2006–07 3 3 N/A N/A 3 N/A
2007–08 9 15 N/A N/A 20 N/A
2008–09 2 2 3 N/A 3 N/A
2009–10 1 5 3 N/A 1 N/A
2010–11 2 2 5 N/A N/A N/A
2011–12 11 19 3 N/A N/A N/A
2012–13 14 27 10 N/A N/A N/A
2013–14 7 3 4 N/A N/A N/A
2014–15 11 17 — N/A N/A N/A
2015–16 15 11 15 N/A N/A N/A
2016–17 29 44 24 11 N/A N/A
2017–18 19 29 11 12 N/A N/A
2018–19 24 13 13 6 N/A N/A
2019–20 35 27 — 32 N/A N/A
2020–21 41 47 — N/A N/A N/A
2021–22 41 37 40 35 N/A N/A
2022–23 47 — 32 25 N/A N/A
2023–24 52 32 — — N/A N/A

Wins

No. Season Date Location Hill Size
1 2001–02 17 March 2002   Norway Oslo Holmenkollbakken K115 LH
2 2006–07 2 December 2006   Norway Lillehammer Lysgårdsbakken HS134 LH
3 18 March 2007   Norway Oslo Holmenkollbakken HS128 LH
4 2008–09 29 November 2008   Finland Kuusamo Rukatunturi HS142 LH
5 7 December 2008   Norway Trondheim Granåsen HS140 LH
6 13 December 2008   Italy Pragelato Stadio del Trampolino HS140 LH
7 20 December 2008   Switzerland Engelberg Gross-Titlis-Schanze HS137 LH
8 29 December 2008   Germany Oberstdorf Schattenbergschanze HS137 LH
9 2009–10 6 December 2009   Norway Lillehammer Lysgårdsbakken HS138 LH
10 18 December 2009   Switzerland Engelberg Gross-Titlis-Schanze HS137 LH
11 20 December 2009   Switzerland Engelberg Gross-Titlis-Schanze HS137 LH
12 17 January 2010   Japan Sapporo Ōkurayama HS134 LH
13 3 February 2010   Germany Klingenthal Vogtland Arena HS140 LH
14 7 March 2010   Finland Lahti Salpausselkä HS130 LH
15 9 March 2010   Finland Kuopio Puijo HS127 LH
16 12 March 2010   Norway Lillehammer Lysgårdsbakken HS138 LH
17 14 March 2010   Norway Oslo Holmenkollbakken HS134 LH
18 2010–11 1 January 2011   Germany Garmisch-Partenkirchen Große Olympiaschanze HS140 LH
19 22 January 2011   Poland Zakopane Wielka Krokiew HS134 LH
20 13 March 2011   Finland Lahti Salpausselkä HS130 LH
21 2013–14 29 December 2013   Germany Oberstdorf Schattenbergschanze HS137 LH
22 2014–15 28 November 2014   Finland Kuusamo Rukatunturi HS142 LH
23 29 November 2014   Finland Kuusamo Rukatunturi HS142 LH

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Simon Ammann para niños

  • List of Olympic medalists in ski jumping
  • List of FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in ski jumping
  • List of FIS Ski Flying World Championships medalists in ski flying
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