Andreas Kofler (born 17 May 1984) is an Austrian former

ski jumper Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fin ...

.
, profile at International Ski Federation, FIS. Retrieved: 9.12.2011

Career

Andreas Kofler grew up in Tyrol, in the

Austrian Alps The Central Eastern Alps (), also referred to as Austrian Central Alps () or just Central Alps, comprise the Main chain of the Alps, main chain of the Eastern Alps in Austria and the adjacent regions of Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy and Slov ...

. He is a member of the ski jumping club ''SV Innsbruck-Bergisel'', together with

Gregor Schlierenzauer Gregor Schlierenzauer (; born 7 January 1990) is an Austrian former ski jumper who competed from 2006 to 2021. He is one of the most successful ski jumpers of all time, having won the Ski Jumping World Cup overall title, the Four Hills Tourname ...

. Kofler won his first individual competition in the World Cup on 4 February 2006. Two days later, he came in second place in the team competition. At the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, Kofler won the silver medal in the individual competition, finishing only 0.1 points behind

Thomas Morgenstern Thomas Morgenstern (born 30 October 1986) is an Austrian former ski jumper who competed from 2002 to 2014. He is one of the most successful ski jumpers of all time, having won the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, World Cup overall title twice with 23 ...

, his teammate on the squad with whom he would later win the Olympic gold medal in the team competition. At the Nordic Ski World Championships 2007 in Sapporo, Japan, Kofler won the gold medal in the team competition and finished in sixth place in the individual competition. At the end of the season, he arrived in second place at the

Nordic Tournament The Nordic Tournament was an annual ski jumping tournament that was a part of the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup. The tournament started in 1997 as a counterpart to the widely successful Four Hills Tournament in Germany and Austria. It is held in Mar ...

, beaten only by

Adam Małysz Adam Henryk Małysz (; born 3 December 1977) is a Polish former ski jumper and rally driver. He competed in ski jumping from 1995 to 2011 and is one of the most successful athletes in the history of the sport. His many accomplishments include ...

. After starting well into the 2007/08 season, finishing in second place behind Morgenstern twice, Kofler crashed twice during competitions, in Engelberg and in Oberstdorf. Despite not being seriously injured, Kofler struggled to shake off his poor form for this and the next season. In the 2009-2010, Kofler came in third place in

Engelberg Engelberg (lit.: ''mountain of angel(s)'') is a village resort and a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. Alongside the central village of Engelberg, the municipality enc ...

, ending his bad streak. During the same season, Kofler managed to win the prestigious

Four Hills Tournament The Four Hills Tournament () or the German-Austrian Ski Jumping Week () is a ski jumping event composed of four World Cup events and has taken place in Germany and Austria each year since 1953. With few exceptions, it has consisted of the ski ju ...

, ahead of

Janne Ahonen Janne Petteri Ahonen (; born 11 May 1977) is a Finnish former ski jumper and drag racer. He competed in ski jumping between 1992 and 2018, and is one of the sport's most successful athletes of all time, as well as one of the most successful fr ...

and

Wolfgang Loitzl Wolfgang Loitzl (born 13 January 1980) is an Austrian former ski jumper. He was the winner of the 2008–09 Four Hills Tournament and the 2009 Normal Hill World Champion. Career He won seven medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships wit ...

, after winning the first event of the tournament in

Oberstdorf Oberstdorf (Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Oberschdorf'') is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in German ...

. Kofler could not meet expectations in the first event (on the normal hill) of the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, coming in 19th place. Nonetheless, he finished in fourth place on the large hill, only one point from the podium, and won the team competition with his teammates Wolfgang Loitzl, Thomas Morgenstern and Gregor Schlierenzauer—his second Olympic gold medal after 2006. During the 2010/11 season, Kofler recorded three individual wins, including the first event of the season in

Kuusamo Kuusamo (; ; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. It is located in Koillismaa, the northeastern part of the Northern Ostrobothnia regions of Finland, region. The municipality h ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Despite a training deficit due to back problems related to his

spinal disc Spine or spinal may refer to: Science Biology * Spinal column, also known as the backbone * Dendritic spine, a small membranous protrusion from a neuron's dendrite * Thorns, spines, and prickles, needle-like structures in plants * Spine (zoology), ...

s, Kofler started the 2011/12 season by winning the first two events, which took place in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

."More gold for Kofler in Lillehammer"
''Eurosport''. Retrieved: 9.12.2011

World Cup

Standings

Wins

Personal life

In 2007, Andreas Kofler started a four-year formation to become a member of the Austrian police force, as part of a program for competitive athletes. In May 2011, Kofler passed his final examinations and hence concluded his formation. His hobbies include

telemark skiing Telemark skiing is a skiing technique that combines elements of Alpine skiing, Alpine and Nordic skiing, Nordic skiing, using the rear foot to keep balance while pushing on the front foot to create a carving turn on downhill skis with toe-only ...

, football, surfing and climbing. Andreas Kofler currently resides in

Thaur Thaur is a municipality in the district of Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol (state), Tyrol located 5 km east of Innsbruck between Rum, Austria and Hall in Tirol. Settlement of the area probably began around 1000 BC but the locat ...

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

.
Biography on personal homepage. Retrieved: 09.12.2011.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kofler, Andreas 1984 births Austrian male ski jumpers Living people Olympic gold medalists for Austria Olympic silver medalists for Austria Olympic ski jumpers for Austria Ski jumpers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Ski jumpers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Skiers from Innsbruck Olympic medalists in ski jumping FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in ski jumping Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics 21st-century Austrian sportsmen