Richard Freitag

German ski jumper who finished runner-up in the 2017-18 overall World Cup standings, continuing a family ski jumping legacy begun by his father Holger.

Born on 14 August 1991 in Erlabrunn, Germany, Richard Freitag comes from a ski jumping family: his father, Holger Freitag, competed for East Germany and won his sole World Cup victory at Harrachov in January 1983. Richard made his own FIS World Cup debut at the 2009 Four Hills Tournament in Oberstdorf, and in a fitting piece of symmetry, claimed his first World Cup victory 29 years later at the very same Harrachov hill where his father had triumphed, defeating Thomas Morgenstern and teammate Severin Freund in December 2011. Freitag's career-best season came in 2017-18, when he finished runner-up in the overall World Cup standings, narrowly held off by rivals including Kamil Stoch throughout a closely fought campaign, and won bronze at that year's Ski Flying World Championships. He set his personal-best jump of 243 metres at Planica in March 2018, the same competition weekend in which he continued his consistent form on the largest hills. Freitag competed at World Cup level for 13 seasons from 2010 to 2022, recording 8 individual wins and 23 individual podium finishes from 221 starts, along with 8 team victories from 49 team starts. He also won medals across multiple disciplines at the Nordic World Ski Championships and Ski Flying World Championships throughout his career. Freitag retired from competitive ski jumping in 2022 at age 30, having made his final World Cup appearance in Titisee-Neustadt in January of that year. He remains connected to the sport following his retirement, exploring options within German ski jumping.

Technically consistent jumper strong on both normal and large hills

A consistent performer across a 13-year World Cup career, part of a father-son ski jumping lineage