Thomas Morgenstern facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Thomas Morgenstern
Morgenstern in 2014
Country	Austria
Born	(1986-10-30) 30 October 1986 (age 38) Spittal an der Drau, Austria
Height	1.84 m (6 ft +1⁄2 in)
Personal best	232 m (761 ft) Planica, 19 March 2011
World Cup career
Seasons	2003–2014
Individual wins	23
Team wins	16
Indiv. podiums	76
Team podiums	31
Indiv. starts	245
Team starts	31
Overall titles	2 (2008, 2011)
Four Hills titles	1 (2011)
Nordic titles	1 (2006)
Medal record Men's ski jumping Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 3 1 0 World Championships 8 2 1 Ski Flying World Championships 3 0 2 Total 14 3 3 Olympic Games Gold 2006 Turin Individual LH Gold 2006 Turin Team LH Gold 2010 Vancouver Team LH Silver 2014 Sochi Team LH World Championships Gold 2005 Oberstdorf Team NH Gold 2005 Oberstdorf Team LH Gold 2007 Sapporo Team LH Gold 2009 Liberec Team LH Gold 2011 Oslo Individual NH Gold 2011 Oslo Team NH Gold 2011 Oslo Team LH Gold 2013 Val di Fiemme Team LH Silver 2011 Oslo Individual LH Silver 2013 Val di Fiemme Mixed team NH Bronze 2007 Sapporo Individual NH Men's ski flying World Championships Gold 2008 Oberstdorf Team Gold 2010 Planica Team Gold 2012 Vikersund Team Bronze 2004 Planica Team Bronze 2006 Bad Mitterndorf Individual
Updated on 10 February 2016.

Thomas Morgenstern (born 30 October 1986) is a famous Austrian former ski jumper. He competed from 2002 to 2014 and is known as one of the most successful ski jumpers ever.

Thomas won the overall World Cup title twice. He also earned 23 individual wins during his career. He won the Four Hills Tournament and the Nordic Tournament once each. Thomas has an amazing eight gold medals from the World Championships. Three of his gold medals are from the Winter Olympic Games.

Thomas Morgenstern's Ski Jumping Journey

Thomas Morgenstern started his ski jumping career in the Continental Cup. He won three out of four events there. His first big World Cup competition was the 2002–03 Four Hills Tournament. He finished 10th overall in that tournament.

Just five days later, he won his first World Cup event in Liberec. The next summer, he won the Ski jumping Grand Prix for the first time.

Early Career and First Challenges

At the start of the 2003–04 season, Thomas had a big accident in Kuusamo. A strong gust of wind hit him, causing him to flip in the air and land hard. Luckily, he only had minor injuries and quickly got back to competing.

He finished fourth in the Four Hills Tournament that season. Thomas also won his first team medal, a bronze, at the Ski-Flying World Championships.

Winning World Championship Gold

In the next season, Thomas won two gold medals at the Nordic World Ski Championships. These were in both team events: normal hill and large hill.

Olympic Glory and More Medals

During the 2006 Winter Olympics, Thomas won two gold medals. He won in the individual large hill and the team large hill competitions. He also earned a bronze medal in the individual event at the Ski-Flying World Championships. This was a very successful year for him.

In the 2006–07 season, he won another team gold medal at the Nordic World Ski Championships. He also got his first individual medal at the World Championships, a bronze in the normal hill event. Just like in 2003, Thomas won the Ski Jumping Grand Prix again.

Becoming World Cup Champion

The 2007–08 season was amazing for Thomas. He won the first six competitions, which was a new record! He also tied the record for most wins in a row.

In early 2008, Thomas won a gold medal at the Ski-Flying World Championships. He then won the overall World Cup title for the first time. He was 233 points ahead of his rival, Gregor Schlierenzauer.

Continued Success and More Wins

The 2008–09 season didn't see him win any individual competitions. However, he still won a team gold medal at the Nordic World Ski Championships.

In the 2009–10 World Cup, he won two more individual events. More importantly, he won gold medals in the team events at the Ski-Flying World Championships and the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Another World Cup Title and Four Hills Win

The 2010–11 season started very strong for Thomas. He won four of the first six competitions. He also won the Four Hills Tournament for the first time.

In January 2011, he won his first ski flying event. He secured his second World Cup title by finishing fifth in a ski flying competition in Vikersund. At the 2011 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oslo, he won gold on the normal hill. This was his first individual gold medal at the World Championships. He also won two more team gold medals and a silver medal in the individual large-hill event.

Injury and Retirement

On 10 January 2014, Thomas had a serious accident during training. He suffered head injuries. Despite this, he recovered quickly enough to compete in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. There, he won a silver medal with the Austrian team.

On 26 September 2014, Thomas Morgenstern announced he was retiring from ski jumping. His last competitive jump was when he won the silver medal with his team at the Sochi Olympics.

World Cup Standings

Thomas Morgenstern's overall results in the World Cup seasons:

Season	Overall	4H	SF	NT
2002/03	20	10	N/A	9
2003/04	6	4	N/A	9
2004/05	7		N/A	8
2005/06	5	20	N/A
2006/07	6	4	N/A	17
2007/08			N/A	6
2008/09	7	8	18	8
2009/10		6	18
2010/11				N/A
2011/12	7		7	N/A
2012/13	25	16	—	N/A
2013/14	15		—	N/A

World Cup Wins

Thomas Morgenstern won 23 individual World Cup events. Here are some of his victories:

No.	Season	Date	Location	Hill	Size
1	2002/03	11 January 2003	Liberec	Ještěd A K120 (night)	LH
2	2005/06	10 March 2006	Lillehammer	Lysgårdsbakken HS134 (night)	LH
3	2007/08	1 December 2007	Kuusamo	Rukatunturi HS142 (night)	LH
4		8 December 2007	Trondheim	Granåsen HS131 (night)	LH
5		9 December 2007	Trondheim	Granåsen HS131	LH
6		13 December 2007	Villach	Villacher Alpenarena HS98	NH
7		14 December 2007	Villach	Villacher Alpenarena HS98 (night)	NH
8		22 December 2007	Engelberg	Gross-Titlis-Schanze HS137	LH
9		30 December 2007	Oberstdorf	Schattenbergschanze HS137 (night)	LH
10		2 February 2008	Sapporo	Ōkurayama HS134 (night)	LH
11		3 February 2008	Sapporo	Ōkurayama HS134	LH
12		8 February 2008	Liberec	Ještěd A HS134 (night)	LH
13	2009/10	6 January 2010	Bischofshofen	Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze HS140 (night)	LH
14		16 January 2010	Sapporo	Ōkurayama HS134 (night)	LH
15	2010/11	4 December 2010	Lillehammer	Lysgårdsbakken HS138 (night)	LH
16		5 December 2010	Lillehammer	Lysgårdsbakken HS138	LH
17		17 December 2010	Engelberg	Gross-Titlis-Schanze HS137	LH
18		18 December 2010	Engelberg	Gross-Titlis-Schanze HS137	LH
19		30 December 2010	Oberstdorf	Schattenbergschanze HS137 (night)	LH
20		4 January 2011	Innsbruck	Bergiselschanze HS130	LH
21		9 January 2011	Harrachov	Čerťák HS205	FH
22	2011/12	6 January 2012	Bischofshofen	Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze HS140 (night)	LH
23	2013/14	14 December 2013	Titisee-Neustadt	Hochfirstschanze HS142	LH

Awards and Honors

Thomas Morgenstern received many awards for his achievements:

• Gold Merit Badge of Austria: 2004
• Grand Decoration of Austria: 2006
• Austrian Sportspersonality of the year: 2008, 2011
• Part of the Austrian Sportsteam of the year, with the Austrian ski jumping team: 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011
• Carinthian Sportspersonality of the year: 4 times, including 2008, 2010

Images for kids

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  After winning gold medal individually in Oslo 2011.

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  Andreas Kofler, Thomas Morgenstern, Adam Małysz in Oslo 2011 – medal ceremony (men individual, normal hill)

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  Ski flying world cup in Vikersund 2011

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  During the team competition on 2 March 2013.

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  Individual competition on World Championship 2013 in Val di Fiemme on large hill.

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  Medal ceremony at World Championship 2013 in Val di Fiemme (team competition).

See also

In Spanish: Thomas Morgenstern para niños