The 23-year-old, who lifted the 2025 World Cup title, had safely progressed from qualifying and was considered a strong medal contender.

However, routine equipment checks revealed his boots exceeded the permitted size by four millimetres, resulting in automatic disqualification.

Rported by the BBC, explaining the mistake, Tschofenig said he had switched to a new pair of boots during training despite not being fully satisfied with them. He conceded that failing to remeasure them under competition pressure proved costly. “I was naive and didn’t measure it. It was extremely stupid, but rules are rules,” he said.

Although he posted 137.7 points in the opening round, the infringement nullified his performance and opened the door for Slovakia’s Hektor Kapustik to move into the final.

Slovenia’s Domen Prevc went on to secure gold, while Japan’s Ren Nikaido claimed silver and Poland’s Kacper Tomasiak earned bronze.

In the women’s large hill individual event, American jumper Annika Belshaw was also disqualified after her skis were measured at more than one centimetre beyond the allowable limit. Like Tschofenig, the 23-year-old had advanced to the final but was prevented from competing due to the rules breach.