Olympic ski jumper disqualified over 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 crucial to his time at the 2026 Winter Games.

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

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

“I used new shoes for training, which by the way I wasn’t very happy with, but I kept them,” he tells 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 first round jump of the ski jump men’s normal hill individual at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Predazzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

The penalty was issued after he qualified for the final.

Slovenia’s Domen Prevc took a gold medal in the event with a total of 301.8 points. The Japanese Ren Nikaido got the silver, and the Polish Kacper Tomasiak got the bronze.

Tschofenig’s Austrian teammate Jan Horl finished fifth.

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

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It will be back to the World Cup and training for the 2030 Games for Tschofenig now. He has more than 20 podium finishes in World Cup competitions and was among the team event medalists at the 2025 and 2023 World Championships.