Olympic ski jumper disqualified for boot size

For Michael Jordan, it had to be the shoes. But for one Olympic ski jumper on Sunday, it was his boots that proved important to his participation in the 2026 Winter Games.

Austrian ski jumper Daniel Tschofenig came into the Cortina Games in Milan as one of the favorites to possibly take a gold medal in big hill ski jumping after winning a World Cup gold medal during the 2024-25 season.

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Tschofenig, however, was disqualified from the event because his boots did not meet Olympic requirements. His boots were four millimeters above standard.

“In training I wore new shoes, which, by the way, I was not very happy with, but I kept them,” he told AFP. “Unfortunately, I was naive and didn’t check the sizes. It was incredibly stupid of me.”

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A drone follows Daniel Tschofenig of Austria as he soars through the air during his men’s individual hill ski jumping first-round jump at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Predazzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

The sanction was imposed after he qualified for the final.

The Slovenian Domen Prevc won the gold medal in the event with a total of 301.8 points. The Japanese Ren Nikaido won the silver and the Polish Kacper Tomasiak the bronze.

Tschofenig’s Austrian teammate Jan Horl finished fifth.

Austria’s Daniel Tschofenig walks down the ramp during his men’s normal hill individual ski jumping test jump at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Predazzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

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For Tschofenig it will now be a return to the World Cup and training for the 2030 Games. He has more than 20 podiums in World Cup competitions and was among the medalists in team events at the World Championships in 2025 and 2023.