Meet Philipp Raimund, the German ski jumper who is afraid of heights but won a gold medal anyway

Philipp Raimund is afraid of heights.

He's also a world-class ski jumper, which doesn't seem to jive with that first fact. 

But somehow, it works. And on Monday, Raimund won a gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

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Who is Philipp Raimund?

Raimund is a 25-year old German skiier who competed at the 2026 Winter Olympics in the normal hill ski jump.

He won the gold medal in that event on Monday.

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Wait, the ski jumper is scared of heights?

Yes, Raimund has said in the past that he's afraid of heights.

In March 2025, he withdrew from an event in Slovenia and acknowledged that as the reason.

"Many of you already asked, why I'm not flying," Raimund wrote  on Instagram after that withdrawal. "So here comes the explanation. As some of you may know, I am scared of heights."

On Monday, though, Raimund took full flight.

“Usually the issue is that I have too much power in my legs and therefore the movement is a bit unstable,” he told the AP. “So I knew just standing up and just let it fly.”

Raimund's best jump was 106.5 meters and 274.1 points.

He had never won individually on the World Cup circuit, but now the ski jumper who is afraid of heights is an Olympic gold medalist. Amazing.

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