Four Hills Mourns Ski Jumping Legend Max Bolkart

The Four Hills Tournament mourns the loss of one of its legends: Max Bolkart from Oberstdorf, the first West German and to this day the only Bavarian winner of the Four Hills Tournament (1959/60), has passed away at the age of 92.

Bolkart was among the most successful ski jumpers of the post-war period, alongside the famous Oberstdorf jumping trio of Sepp Weiler, Heini Klopfer, and Toni Brutscher. During his tournament victory in the 1959/60 season, Bolkart narrowly missed the legendary Grand Slam. He won in Oberstdorf, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and Innsbruck, but finished fifth in the final event in Bischofshofen. As is well known, it wasn’t until over 40 years later that Sven Hannawald achieved the feat of winning all four events in one tournament (2001/2002).

“With Max, we lose the last legend of an impressive generation. Through his Olympic appearances, he brought recognition to Oberstdorf and our ski club on the world stage. He was a true ambassador for the sport of ski jumping,” said Georg Geiger, chairman of the Oberstdorf Ski Club (SCO), about the honorary member of the SCO. Max Bolkart took part in the Winter Olympic Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo (1956, fourth place), Squaw Valley (1960, sixth place), and Innsbruck (1964, 37th place). In addition to his Four Hills Tournament victory in 1959/60, Bolkart also finished third overall in the tournament twice (1956/57 and 1962/63) and became German champion four times.

Even into old age, Max Bolkart remained active for the Oberstdorf Ski Club and the tournament community. Until just a few years ago, he led VIP and visitor groups through the Große Schattenbergschanze and the Heini Klopfer ski flying hill and provided musical entertainment at SC Oberstdorf ski jumping events with his shawm, a woodwind instrument. “Those performances, too, are legendary and unforgettable,” said Georg Geiger.