Kamil Stoch: five things you didn’t know

With three Olympic gold medals in ski jumping Kamil Stoch is Poland’s most decorated Winter Olympian.

Reaching his athletic zenith at the age of 30, Stoch became the second person in history to complete a clean sweep in the Four Hills Tournament in January 2018 before then following it up with a third Olympic gold and the overall World Cup title by the season’s end.

Thanks to his many sporting feats and humble personality, the honours never seem to stop coming for the flying four-time Olympian.

Twice, in 2014 and 2017, the Pole was awarded Sports Personality of the Year in his country, besting Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski and then three-time Olympic hammer throwing champion Anita Wlodarczyk respectively.

But did you know that as a boy the two-time Crystal Globe winner used to practise ski jumping off the roof of his family home?

In preparation for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics here are five things you likely did not know about Kamil Stoch.

1- Kamil Stoch: Liverpool Football Club's star supporter

There are football fans – those that like the sport, maybe follow it and can keep up with idle conversation.

Then there are football fans – those that breathe the game, idolise its figures, follow every moment using push notifications and watch it whenever and by whatever means necessary.

When it comes to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool Football Club, the three-time Olympic champion is the latter – a die-hard fan.

After one day watching ‘The Reds’ play, the Pole took a liking to their style, and after reading up on their history, decided he would back the club.

Now his love for Liverpool has become an infamous obsession; Stoch is known for searching his team’s results even during his own competitions.

Speaking in an interview with the Olympic Channel podcast at PyeongChang 2018 the ski jumper even admitted he once tried to recruit Lewandowski on behalf of his club:

“I told him [Lewandowski] ‘Oh could you go to the Liverpool next year?’ Maybe you could also support them.”

However, it isn’t all one-way traffic between Stoch and the Premier League side; Liverpool have on occasion congratulated the Pole on his Olympic successes.

With a Jamie Carragher signed shirt and a visit to Anfield ticked off, all that’s now left on Stoch's dream list is to get the approval of Jurgen Klopp himself.

2- Ski jumping off the roof – for fun

Growing up surrounded by the majestic Tatra Mountains, a life involving snow was an inevitability for a young Stoch.

At just three years old he started to learn how to ski and soon enough discovered an insatiable appetite for thrills that come with his sport.

The ski jumping prodigy could often be found on the roof or on the land behind his family home building his own makeshift jumps with friends and then practising his leaps over and over.

Stoch's father recalls how his son would come into the house at around 10 o’clock at night to ask him if he could measure the distance of his jumps.

To keep going after dark the two would work with candlelight to make sure not one moment was missed.

The day the flying Pole's uncle gave him his first set of skis, bindings and boots was when his parents knew that their son’s passion for the sport was truly like no other.

Procured from a warehouse in a local sports club, the young boy was so delighted he took his second-hand gifts up to his room and, although they were slightly rusty, he even went to sleep that night holding them.

3- He attended a school with other Winter Olympians

Getting to the top of the ski jumping game requires a lot of preparation from a very young age.

For the sensational Stoch that meant attending SMS Zakopane – a ‘Sports Championship School’ dedicated to educating and nurturing talent for those interested in winter sports.

A total of 85 alumni have represented Poland in the Winter Olympics from Sarajevo 1984 to PyeongChang 2018, and between them they have won a total of 16 medals.

Stoch attended the school during something of a ‘golden era.’

Olympic speed skating silver and bronze medallist Luiza Zlotkowska was at the school at the same time as him.

Reflecting on the early days in a documentary for EuroSport she shared: “Kamil was a year below my grade, and I remember there was something about him even at this young age… it was obvious he would become a great champion.”

4- The immortal Kamil Stoch

Though he may only be 34 years old, and still soaring at the top of his game, so adored is Stoch by his country he has already been immortalised – and in more ways than one.

After his two golds in the normal hill and large hill at Sochi 2014 the Pole was part of a stamp collection entitled: ‘Polish gold medallists.’

Then in 2017, when Poland’s team took the ski jump team world title at Lahti, the Polish Post Office couldn’t help once again heralding one of their favourite winter sports heroes and he made it onto a stamp for a third time.

It’s not just on a national scale that Stoch receives the love either, he is also considered a legend in his own hometown.

After his Olympic exploits in Russia, residents of Zab, where the Pole grew up, handed the newly crowned double Olympic champion a cornerstone and pine timber for his new home.

Once Stoch and his wife Ewa Bilan-Stoch built their home, the local council decided to change the name of some of the town’s streets.

Cue Kamila Stocha Street which, coincidentally, is also where you will find his home.

5- Kamiland: home of the Kamil brand

If it wasn’t already enough to have two sports personality awards, three dedicated postal stamps and a street named after him, the Polish sporting superstar also boasts a shop and a museum dedicated to his career so far.

The ‘Kamiland’ shop which can be found online, sells seasonal winter sports apparel while the ‘Kamiland’ museum, which can be found in Zakopane – home of Poland’s premier ski resort, meanwhile offers and up-close-and-personal take on Stoch’s career and displays all his medals and trophies from over the years.

The Beijing 2020 Winter Olympic Games are set to take place from February 4 - February 20, 2022. Find out more on Olympics.com website, app, and @Olympics social media handles on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.