Martin Koch

Austrian ski jumper and ski-flying specialist who won Olympic team gold at Turin 2006 and held Austria's national distance record.

Born on 22 January 1982 in Villach, Austria, Martin Koch began his FIS World Cup career in 1999 and developed into one of the sport's foremost ski-flying specialists, competing on the largest hills where jumps regularly exceed 200 metres. He finished in the top three at ski jumping competitions 18 times across his career, with his first individual victory coming on 8 January 2011 at Harrachov. Koch's finest team achievement came at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, where he won gold as part of Austria's team large hill event, contributing to the country's dominant generation of ski jumpers during the mid-2000s. He added three gold medals in the same team event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, in 2009 and 2011, and won further gold medals in team ski flying at the 2008, 2010 and 2012 Ski Flying World Championships, along with an individual silver at the 2008 edition. On 11 February 2011 at Vikersund, Koch recorded a personal-best jump of 241.5 metres, which became the Austrian national distance record until it was surpassed by his compatriot Gregor Schlierenzauer at the same venue. Koch's career included five individual World Cup wins and 23 individual podium finishes from 271 starts. Koch retired from competitive ski jumping in 2014 after a 15-year World Cup career, and has since worked as a co-commentator and pundit for Austrian television coverage of the sport.

Ski-flying specialist known for strong performances on the largest hills

A respected ski-flying specialist and key member of Austria's dominant mid-2000s ski jumping team