Dieter Thoma

Dieter Thoma, one the world’s best ski jumpers in the 1990s, was the nephew of Georg Thoma, who was a very successful Nordic combined skiier in the 60s. At the age of 16 Dieter Thoma won the 1986 World Youth Championships, and in 1989 won his first World Cup jumping event. Only one year later he won the Four Hills Tournament, the first West German to win it since Max Bolkart, almost 30 years previously. Thoma also won the 1989 World Championships in Ski Flying at Vikersund, Norway.

In summer training in 1993 he changed his jumping style to the now modern V-Style and won a team gold at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics and in 1998 at Nagano, also won a bronze medal on the normal hill as well as a silver medal in the team event 1998. Thoma won the 1999 World Championships at Ramsau, and then retired exactly at midnight 31 December 1999 with a so called “Millennium Jump”. He later made his living as a color commentator for the German TV station RTL together with the famous German TV entertainer Günter Jauch (“Who wants to be a Millionaire”). Since 2008 he had worked for the ARD television station.