From Grand Slam to burn-out

6 January, 2002: the fourth and final competition of the Four Hills Tournament. At 3.56 pm and 30 seconds, German Sven Hannawald - the last jumper – pushed himself off on the Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze in Bischofshofen. 25 seconds later, he had made history.

Until that moment, no athlete had managed to win all four competitions. But that day, in front of 15 million TV spectators, Hannawald broke the mould. Victory in Oberstdorf; victory in Garmisch; victory in Innsbruck; and then -  at 3.56 pm and 55 seconds – victory in Bischofshofen as he set a telemark into the snow at 131.5 metres, putting him 2.5 points ahead of Finland's Matti Hautamäki.

Following his extraordinary success, "Hanni" was everywhere: on posters, on TV, on almost every newspaper cover. Hanni-mania was at its peak – and the perfectionist at the centre of it all always wanted more: "I gave my body a break, but in my head it was all about ski jumping: 24 hours a day, seven days a week," Hannawald later revealed. After a successful competition, he immediately thought about the next one. On holiday, he couldn't bear the silence around him. "I felt like a rushed animal."

In 2004, he then suffered a burn-out, followed by the end of his active career in 2005 at the age of 31. Hannawald now works as a management and commentator – but to everyone who loves ski jumping, Hanni will always be the Four Hills legend and one of the true greats.