70 years of Four Hills jumping - triumphs and falls

The 70th edition of ski-jumping's Four Hills tournament starts on Thursday, reported dpa.

Following are some key moments of the prestigious event in Germany and Austria, ranging from grand slams of wins to jumpers tied on points:

Historic triumph

Germany's Sven Hannawald became the first man to win all four stages of one Four Hills in 2002. Poland's Kamil Stoch repeated the difficult feat in 2018 and the following Japanese jumper Ryoyu Kobayashi also managed the grand slam.

Tied on points

Nothing separated Finland's Janne Ahonen and Czech Jakub Janda in the 2005-06 edition as the two finished after eight jumps tied on 1,081.5 points. But they didn't have to share the car for the winner from a sponsor as each man got one.

The Tour (almost) always takes place.

The 69 editions of the Four Hills have so far only seen one competition cancelled when a storm allowed no jumping in Innsbruck in 2008. The event was moved to Bischofshofen which also hosted the final stage. Some competitions have been held in one round instead of two but never has a Four Hills seen only three events.

Bad falls

American Nicholas Fairall crashed in 2015 qualifying in Bischofshofen, requiring emergency surgery and confined to a wheelchair since then. The next day saw Olympic champion Simon Ammann crash and suffer concussion. Back in 1989, British jumper Michael Edwards, better known as "Eddie the Eagle", broke his collarbone in a fall in Innsbruck and never competed again.

Three wins followed by departure

Yukio Kasaya seemed on course towards a first grand slam in 1971-72 as he won in Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Innsbruck. But the Japanese team then left to prepare for the upcoming home Olympics in Sapporo instead of staying for the Bischofshofen finale. Norway's Ingolf Mork claimed the Four Hills crown while Kasaya took Olympic gold a month later in Sapporo.