Ski Jumping
Meet the legends of Red Bull Target Jumping
Five iconic names from the world of ski jumping will lead teams at the second edition in Poland. Here's everything you need to know about the captains and the athletes competing.
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Five legends of ski jumping will step into the role of team captain at Red Bull Target Jumping when it returns on April 1, 2026. The event, which rounds off the winter season in Zakopane, Poland, takes place at the iconic Wielka Krokiew, a regular venue on the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup calendar. Meet the captains and the athletes who will be competing below:
01
Adam Małysz
The host and creator of Red Bull Target Jumping, Adam Małysz is a legendary Polish former ski jumper, widely regarded as one of the greatest figures in winter sports. Known as 'The Eagle from Wisła', his dominance in the early 2000s turned ski jumping into a national obsession in Poland.
Małysz officially retired from ski jumping in March of 2011, but it wasn’t long before he was chasing success in a very different sport. He decided to enter the world of rally driving and, in 2012, entered the gruelling Dakar Rally, finishing in 37th place overall. He would then finish 15th in 2013 and 13th in 2014.
Adam Malysz in World Cup competition
© GEPA pictures/Red Bull Content Pool
Despite his success, there is one victory that still eludes him. Having seen his team finish fourth at Red Bull Target Jumping in 2025 – losing by just 1.5m – Małysz will be eager to add a win in Zakopane to his long list of achievements.
Career highlights
- Four World Cup titles
- Four Olympic medals
- Four individual World Championship golds
- First Pole to win the Four Hills Tournament
02
Janne Ahonen
One of Małysz's great rivals, Finland's Janne Ahonen is one of the most successful ski jumpers in history. Known as 'King Eagle' and 'The Man with the Mask', he competed in seven Winter Olympic Games between 1994 and 2018 and dominated the sport for more than two decades.
Adam Malysz and Janne Ahonen will renew their rivalry in 2026
© Kimimasa Mayama / Reuters / Forum
He retired and returned three times before stepping away in 2018 and, like Malysz, has tried his hand at a new sport – enjoying success as a competitive drag racer in Finland.
Career highlights
- Two World Cup titles
- Five World Championship gold medals
- Two Olympic team silver medals
- Five-time winner of the Four Hills Tournament
03
Martin Schmitt
Former German ski jumper Martin Schmitt will head to Zakopane with success etched into his memory, having won two World Cup competitions at Wielka Krokiew. In 2025, he led his team to victory at the inaugural Red Bull Target Jumping, with his own jump in the captains' competition proving decisive.
Martin Schmitt
© Red Bull
A central figure in the sport’s boom in Germany in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he helped bring ski jumping into the national spotlight thanks to his great success.
Career highlights
- Back-to-back World Cup titles (1999, 2000)
- Olympic team gold in 2002
- Olympic team silver in 1998 and 2010
- Four World Championships gold medals
- 2002 Ski Flying World Champion
04
Andreas Goldberger
Andreas Goldberger is one of Austria’s greatest ski jumpers and a defining figure of the 1990s. In 1994, he made history as the first athlete to fly beyond 200 metres – an unofficial milestone after he touched the snow on landing. In 2000, he secured an official world record with a 225-metre jump in Planica.
In 2025, his tactics almost brought success at the first Red Bull Target Jumping event. Despite balancing the distances in such a way that his team reached the target of 1,000m, he ultimately had to settle for second place behind the superior Schmitt.
Andreas Goldberger is an ambassador for the Wings for Life foundation
© Philipp Carl Riedl/Red Bull Content Pool
Since retiring, Goldberger has remained closely connected to the sport as a television expert, youth development advocate and ambassador for the Wings for Life foundation.
Career highlights
- Three World Cup titles (1993, 1995, 1996)
- Two Four Hills Tournament titles
- Two bronze medals at the 1994 Winter Olympics
- 12 major championship medals
05
Thomas Morgenstern
Olympic champion, two-time Crystal Ball winner, world champion and winner of the Four Hills Tournament; Thomas Morgenstern has won just about everything there is to win. Yet, his impressive collection still lacks one winter triumph in Zakopane. In 2025, his team fought fiercely until the very last attempt but were unable to deliver victory.
Having competed at the highest level from 2002 to 2014, Morgenstern was known for his composure under pressure and his versatility on both normal and large hills, traits which helped him earn multiple accolades thoughout his career.
Thomas Morgenstern in full flight
© Ray Demski/Red Bull Content Pool
After retiring in 2014 following two serious crashes, Morgenstern transitioned into professional helicopter piloting and later founded his own aviation company in Austria.
Career highlights
- Three Olympic gold medals (one individual, two team)
- Eight World Championship gold medals
- Two-time overall World Cup winner (2008, 2011)
- 2011 Four Hills Tournament winner
Dig deeper into the world of ski jumping
06
Which athletes are competing at Red Bull Target Jumping?
The five captains of Red Bull Target Jumping 2026
© Red Bull
Having set an unofficial record at Red Bull Target Jumping a year ago, gliding to 150m, Slovenia's Domen Prevc will be one of the biggest stars in Zakopane on April 1, 2026. The two-time Olympic gold medallist will be joined by three more Olympic champions – Japan's Ryōyū Kobayashi, Norway's Marius Lindvik and Andreas Wellinger of Germany.
2023 world champion Timi Zajc of Slovenia, Polish crowd favourite Anze Lanisek and one of Germany's best athletes of the 21st century, Karl Geiger, will also be competing
The entire core of the Polish team, headed by this winter's rising star Kacper Tomasiak, will also take part, along with legends of Polish ski jumping such as Piotr Zyla, Dawid Kubacki and Maciej Kot.
The captains have already made their selections during a draw on March 4 and the athletes have been assigned into their four teams.
Each team will have one goal: 1,000 metres in eight attempts (plus the distance of the captain on the mobile hill). To learn more about the format, click here.
Who's in which team?
Ryōyū Kobayashi celebrates making history in 2024
© Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool
Team Małysz
- Kacper Tomasiak (Poland)
- Piotr Żyła (Poland)
- Vladimir Zografski (Bulgaria)
- Yevhen Marusiak (Ukraine)
Team Schmitt
- Anže Lanišek (Slovenia)
- Dawid Kubacki (Poland)
- Marius Lindvik (Norway)
- Andreas Wellinger (Germany)
Domen Prevc won the Four Hills Tournament in 2026
© Igor Kupljenik/Zuma Press/Forum
Team Ahonen
- Gregor Deschwanden (Switzerland)
- Maciej Kot (Poland)
- Kristoffer Sundal (Norway)
- Karl Geiger (Germany)
Team Morgenstern
- Ryōyū Kobayashi (Japan)
- Pawel Wasek (Poland)
- Timi Zajc (Slovenia)
- Tate Frantz (USA)
Don't miss any of the action at the second edition of Red Bull Target Jumping on April 1, 2026.
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