Simon Ammann

Simon Ammann (born 25 June 1981) is a Swiss ski jumper.

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.

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.

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.

Before the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Ammann crashed and suffered injuries during training in Willingen.

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.

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

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.

This earned him the Holmenkollen medal in 2007 (shared with Frode Estil, Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset, King Harald V, and Queen Sonja of Norway).

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 m fourth round jump was the longest jump of the event, and also the second longest jump in history at the time.

He married Yana Yanovskaya in 2010.

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.

Simon Ammann was born in Grabs, Switzerland to Margit and Heinrich Ammann and raised in Unterwasser, Switzerland.

He has two brothers and three sisters.