Ski jumping|Tande crashed badly on the Planica airstrip in 2021.
Hill jumping Olympic champion and multiple world champion of the flying hill Daniel-André Tande end his career. A Norwegian tells about it VG.
Tande, 30, says that the reason behind the decision was a bad fall three years ago.
Tande fell on the Planica airstrip in 2021. His collarbone was broken and he was put into a coma.
The Norwegian star recovered physically from the injury and won eight months later at Holmenkollen. Now, however, he says that the fall left its mark, especially on the mental side.
“The fear of jumping has grown bigger than the joy, so the only right solution is to stop,” Tande told VG.
“I believe that at my best I could still win. However, I know that the fear is too big for me to get to that level. That fear is left over from the fall of Planica.”
Tande says that he cannot break the mental barrier in order to be able to jump at the level he wants.
“I have noticed that my body stiffens as the jump approaches. Even on a 90-meter hill.”
This happens even though Tande doesn’t remember anything about Planica’s accident.
“The whole week in Planica has been wiped out. There is still something left in the body, and it is felt more every year.”
Tande celebrated the Olympic gold in Pyeongchang in 2018. He has one personal (2017) and three World Cup golds won in the team competition (2016, 2018, 2020).
Tande also won silver at the World Cup in Lahti in 2017. In the World Cup, he has won eight races from 2015 to 2022.
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