Bergisel Ski Jumping

LIVE: ÖSV eagle Embacher flies to the lead!

Stephan Embacher celebrated third place in Innsbruck.(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

The winner of the Bergisel Ski Jumping 2026 in Innsbruck is surprisingly Ren Nikaido. The Japanese skied to 131 and 128 m in front of around 21,000 fans on the Bergisel on Sunday and won by a wafer-thin 0.5 points ahead of the overall leader of the Four Hills Tournament, Slovenian Domen Prevc, and 19-year-old Tyrolean Stephan Embacher (+0.7). The latter had led ex aequo with Nikaido after the first round. Jan Hörl finished fourth and Daniel Tschofenig sixth.

Prevc maintained his clear lead in the overall standings. He is now 41.4 points ahead of Hörl and 41.7 ahead of Embacher ahead of the final competition on Epiphany Day in Bischofshofen. Nikaido is 54.1 points behind in fourth place. Last year's overall winner Tschofenig is in eighth place.

Here are the results:

Embacher not disappointed: "It was a mega day"
 19-year-old Embacher missed out on his first World Cup victory by 0.7 points. He was last on the balance beam for the first time in the competition, but there was no room for disappointment for the Tyrolean, who is known as "Bambi" in the team because of his youth. "It was a mega day, really cool in front of the crowd, home podium indescribable", he said in the ORF TV interview. His nerves were fine, he said. "Unfortunately, I was a bit late for the jump." He also didn't lament the fact that he was only 0.7 points behind. "It's a shame, but I know I'm close. We still have one more stop in Bischofshofen, so I'll attack again."

Nikaido was on top after his first ever triumph in the World Cup after two second and one third place. "I didn't think anything, I just jumped as well as I could. I'm speechless," he said. All he said about his first victory was: "I didn't expect to win here."

The podium in Innsbruck: Ren Nikaido (middle) won, ahead of Domen Prevc (right) and Stephan Embacher.(Bild: GEPA)

Hörl with a problem on the take-off
Jan Hörl was a little disappointed with fourth place, especially after a mistake in the second run. "I'm a bit annoyed. It happened to me a bit in the first run that the left ski wasn't biting, and now it's happening again." He still managed to make up for that. "But that's just not enough. The jumps have to be right, and they definitely weren't today." It's all about small things on the hill with a bigger impact. In Bischofshofen there is now nothing left to lose, he said, referring to Prevc's big lead.

Jan Hörl(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

ÖSV head coach Andreas Widhölzl would of course have liked a hat-trick after his team's two recent victories on the Bergisel. "I would have liked Stephan to get his first win on the Bergisel. Jan messed it up a bit, he had a skiing mistake. As a team we were good again, but of course I would have preferred to have two on the podium."

Here is the standings in the tour ranking:

Prevc wants to go into the final "like a child"
It's a shame for last year's winner Kraft, "because he made another cool jump in the trial (run)". "There's not much missing with him." Kraft himself initially raved about the "brutal thriller". "0.7 points separated the top three, I've never experienced that before. I was shaking with our 'Bambi', it was very close. He's doing a mega job." His own performance was mixed. He finished just ahead of 40-year-old Manuel Fettner in 13th place at his Innsbruck farewell. "I was hanging out like a grouse in the second run. It's difficult at the moment, but I can see that there's not much missing."

Overall leader Prevc can hardly snatch the golden eagle now, unless he messes up one of his jumps in Bischofshofen. Prevc: "The jump wasn't as perfect as in Garmisch," he said, referring to the final. "I was a bit nervous today. I'm super happy, second place is great." His outlook for the tour final: "I have to remember why I started ski jumping. I have to have fun and approach it like a kid."