"This is crazy"

Thanks to donations: He was the big tour surprise

The Norwegian Benjamin Östvold made a big impression at the Four Hills Tournament.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

He recently collected donations for his sporting career, worked night shifts at the hotel and finally surprised everyone at the Four Hills Tournament. The steep rise of 23-year-old Norwegian Benjamin Östvold ...

The performance of Benjamin Östvold almost went under the radar alongside Austrian dominance like rarely before. The 23-year-old has recently been working night shifts at a hotel near Oslo. He also collected donations via a crowdfunding platform in order to finance his sporting career. And the hard work has paid off...

In the Continental Cup, the second-highest competition class in ski jumping, Östvold attracted attention with a victory in Zhangjiakou, China, at the start of the season and finished third on the podium in Ruka, Finland, two weeks before the start of the tour. Successes that catapulted him into the Norwegian World Cup squad. And he made impressive use of this opportunity. At the tour dress rehearsal in Engelberg, he came 20th on Saturday and eighth on Sunday. Norway's national coach Magnus Brevig then nominated him for the Four Hills Tournament.

Benjamin Östvold has arrived in the World Cup.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

"I don't even know what to say"
Östvold jumped to 13th place in Oberstdorf, 18th place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 19th place in Innsbruck and 6th place in Bischofshofen. He finished the entire tour in 13th place, leaving stars such as Karl Geiger and Ryōyū Kobayashi behind him. He also beat prominent names such as Halvor Egner Granerud and Fredrik Villumstad in the national competition. "It's crazy, I have so many thoughts going through my head. I was so scared at first when I was sitting up there and heard that the guys had jumped 140 meters. But now I'm just happy," he told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. "I don't even know what to say."

15,000 euros prize money earned - hotel job remains (for now)
Östvold no longer has to collect donations. His successes in Engelberg and at the Four Hills Tournament have earned him the equivalent of more than 15,000 euros. "That's great. It means I can look forward to the rest of the season with more confidence," beamed Östvold. However, he has not yet quit his job at the hotel. "I'll be going straight back to work when I leave here," he said with a laugh in Bischofshofen. "I need the money." It remains to be seen how Östvold performs in the next competitions - and whether he can then do without the strenuous job in the hotel.