Winter Olympics 2026: Why ski jumper Daniel Tschofenig was disqualified - bizarre reason Austrian was booted out from qualifying
Updated 15/02/2026 at 13:01 GMT
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Austrian ski jumper Daniel Tschofenig was sent packing early as he failed to reach the finals after he was disqualified following his first jump. The 2025 World Cup champion went into the Games as a favourite but was disqualified shortly after his first jump due to his boot size. Slovenian jumper Domen Prevc won gold in the men's Large Hill individual.
Tschofenig DISQUALIFIED from Olympics ski jumping for size of boots
Video credit: TNT Sports
Austrian ski jumper and medal hopeful Daniel Tschofenig saw his competition come to an early end despite making it into the top eight with his first jump.
In quite extraordinary fashion, Tschofenig was disqualified following his initial effort because of his boot size. The 2025 World Cup champion went into Milano Cortina among the favourites and looked to have recorded a comfortable jump to make it through to the final after bettering his trial round with a score of 137.7 to place in eighth position.
The gold medal was eventually won by Slovenia's Domen Prevc, who scored 301.8 overall, with Japan's Ren Nikaido and Poland's Kacper Tomasiak completing the podium.
However there was late drama before the final when ski jumping faced its first disqualification of the Games for an unusual reason.
"Hang on folks, there are some changes here," said TNT Sports commentator Ian Findlay as the confirmation reached the commentary box.
"We’re just getting news that there has been a disqualification for Daniel Tschofenig."
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Former Slovenian ski jumper Jernej Damjan added: "It’s big news. Daniel Tschofenig out and Hektor Kapustik in, which is good for Slovakia. Tschofenig finally finding something extra and when he does, he gets kicked out."
It would later be revealed that the Austrian hopeful had been disqualified owing to an unusual stipulation in the rulebook, with the judges disqualifying him for his boot size being four millimetres too big.
"The big news just after the first round, Tschofenig disqualified due to boot size, four millimetres over," Findlay said.
"He is out of the competition, the first disqualification we’ve had at these Olympic Games in ski jumping and it meant Hector Kapustik gets in."
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Watch as Prevc clinches Olympic gold with monster large hill leap
Video credit: TNT Sports
Damjan added: "There was a huge improvement compared to training and he found something even more in this first round. He was in eighth place before this disqualification which was not a bad position to be in, he still had a chance to attack."
The 23-year-old had entered his first Olympic Games on the back of a 2025 World Cup victory, having finished top in eight events across a series of 29, and he looked to be continuing that form after picking up victory in Lillehammer in the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in November.
Before the Olympic Games had even gotten underway, there was controversy within the ski jumping camp when it was believed jumpers were manipulating the ski jumping suits by increasing the crotch size of their suits by injecting hyaluronic acid into their penis.
Watch every event of Milano Cortina 2026 live on discovery+. Available across all subscription plans, starting at £3.99.
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