A CEO, an exotic and Italy’s beacon of hope
They are the surprise flyers on the tour
Naoki Nakamura, Fatih Arda Ipcioglu and Giovanni Bresadola caused a stir at the Four Hills Tournament with their stories.
1/6
Naoki Nakamura inspires with good results – and his relaxed manner.
He’s the good mood bear on the tour. Naoki Nakamura (26) likes to laugh a lot. Also about himself, as he proved during the preparation for the current season. In the summer, the Japanese moved to Germany to further advance his ski jumping career.
Arriving in the new country, he quickly realized that he would probably need a car. So he quickly bought a used Mini with his modest budget. He realized too late that the ski jumping slats would also have to fit into the small car. His luck: The skis go in extremely tight, but reach forward as far as the gear stick. Nakamura captures the whole thing in a YouTube video and proudly grins at the camera.
Sports history made for Turkey
In general: The man from Sapporo is enjoying more and more attention in the World Cup. Also because of his own concept: Because in Japan every ski jumper belongs to a factory team, he quickly founded his own team with “Flying Laboratory”. In this he is not just an athlete, but also CEO. And Nakamura can already show successes. In Ruka he was a sensational third at the end of November.
Fatih Arda Ipcioglu (25) is also amazing. The Turk surprised everyone last year when he jumped into the points at the start of the Four Hills Tournament – and wrote sports history as a student teacher in his country. His good results triggered a real hype in Turkey. The broken pilot, who broke both his legs in training a few years ago, has become a regular World Cup starter. This season he has already scored points in Ruka and in Titisee-Neustadt.
Suddenly Olympic hope
Ipcioglu was not there in Engelberg recently, but Giovanni Bresadola (21) was. The younger brother of the former ski jumper and Nordic combined athlete Davide Bresadola (34) is – after a few years in Nordic winter sports – Italy’s new ski jumping high-flyer. On Sunday he jumped from the Titlis hill to a strong eighth place and thus placed better than ever before.
In view of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, there is great hope in Italy that Bresadola will be able to field a promising local hero. And of course: As he is currently 22nd in the overall World Cup, he is also capable of a coup at the Four Hills Tournament. (mpe)
Four Hills Tournament program
Thursday, December 29:
Oberstdorf (Germany)
Sunday January 1st:
Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany)
Wednesday, January 4th:
Innsbruck (Austria)
Friday, January 6th:
Bischofshofen (Austria)
Thursday, December 29:
Oberstdorf (Germany)
Sunday January 1st:
Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany)
Wednesday, January 4th:
Innsbruck (Austria)
Friday, January 6th:
Bischofshofen (Austria)