Interview by: Magdalena Kobus, photos by Pawel Stawowczyk
More and more of them are starting to appear on ski jumping hills across the globe. The last name similarity is no coincidence. Brotherly love seems to be an increasingly popular phenomenon in the world of ski jumping. Are they supportive of each other? Do they share their experiences? What are their relations like, and why did they choose this particular sports discipline? Find out all this and more in the interview series called "Ski Jumping Brothers". As our first pair of related rivals, we've chosen the Austrian duo Stefan and Thomas Thurnbichler. The 24-year-old B team member has been very successful in the Continental Cup, whereas his brother Thomas, 5 years his junior, can count an extraordinary "double jump" and the following comical interview he gave several years ago as his hitherto existing claim to fame. Much has changed since then... if you're curious how much exactly, then feel free to read on and see what they had to say when we talked to them at the CoC competition in Zakopane.
Skokinarciarskie.pl: Stefan, you've been into ski jumping for many years now, were you the one who passed the idea onto Thomas? Did the little guy use to be a bother for you at times while you were training?
Stefan Thurnbichler: (laughs) No, I'm not the one responsible for it. We're just continuing a family tradition... Our grandfather, father and uncle all practiced ski jumping, more or less successfully. It was something natural for us. My brother never really bothered me, although the fact is, at first he was something like a mascot for me as I headed for the jumping hill (laughs).
Thomas Thurnbichler: Stefan was never laughing at me, though, but he encouraged me to ski jump, even when I was not doing all that well.
Skokinarciarskie.pl: So I guess your relations are based on a brotherly friendship, and that you support each other instead of competing against one another?
Stefan: (after exchanging glances with his brother for some time) Well, that's not exactly right... we're brothers, so we communicate well as such, but there certainly is more and more rivalry between us on the hill. But it's the positive kind. I don't want to let myself do worse than Thomas, and he's constantly working on being better and better (also better than me).
Thomas: Sometimes I happen to jump much better than Stefan, which isn't much fun for him, but aside from that, each of us has his own specific goals, and it's not like we're doing anything to spite each other.
Stefan: That's true, lately Thomas has managed to do better than me even in competitions. When he ends up ranking better than me, I feel a little bit like I got my butt kicked (laughs), but then I just know that I have to make up for it next time (laughs).
Skokinarciarskie.pl: You're not doing anything to spite each other, but do you share your expieriences with one another? This question is actually for Thomas: has Stefan, who's been jumping much longer than you, helped you with any difficulties you faced along the way? Especially when you had a lot of media attention after your extraordinary jump?
Thomas: Yes, Stefan is a great brother, he has more experience and when I have a problem I can't solve, he's often the first person I ask for advice or help.
Stefan: The thing about the media is that the interest hits you like an avalanche, it's sudden, but it doesn't last long. That's how it was with Thomas.
Skokinarciarskie.pl: You trained in different training groups for a long time, now this is slowly changing. You're traveling together more often and come back to the same house. Isn't it hard for you to be spending so much time together?
Stefan: We're pretty independent, each of us has his own life. Traveling together doesn't bother us, but it's harder when we happen to have a fight, because then it's harder to get away from each other. But don't be fooled, this is not just a matter of the past few months, because basically, we've always worked together, sometimes more intensively than others, so we're used to it by now.
Thomas: If we don't feel like sharing a room, then we sleep in different rooms, and on the hill we're focused on the jumping, so we don't contemplate much about each other's whereabouts... each of us is thinking about his jumps and focusing on that. Of course, I'm often referred to as "the younger one".
Stefan: Don't complain, because as "the older one", I'm often responsible for you.
Thomas: Thank you very much.
Stefan: And there you have it. Pure brotherhood. (laughs)
Skokinarciarskie.pl: What are your "non-brotherly" and "sports-related" plans for the next weeks, what would you like to achieve?
Stefan: My most important goal is the win in the overall Continental Cup standings. I hope I'll manage to achieve that, although we still have a few competitions ahead of us, so I can't affdord to demonstrate any weaker attempts.
Thomas: I would like to do as best I can in the overall CoC standings and sometime in the future, I'd also like to make my way into the first representation. Although for now, just starting in the Continental Cup seems a more realistic option for me, so I need a few victories here, first (laughs)... and then we'll see.
Skokinarciarskie.pl: Good luck then, and thank you for the interview.
Thomas i Stefan: A brotherly thanks and greetings to the portal and its readers!
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