Sport of the Week – Olympic Ski Jumping

Have you ever wanted to fling yourself off a mountain at 55 miles per hour […]

Have you ever wanted to fling yourself off a mountain at 55 miles per hour and then travel 200 meters in the air before landing nicely on the ground? Well, if this sounds like it’s your thing then Olympic Ski Jumping may be the perfect sport for you. John and Geoff are back with another sport going over the history, best known ski jumpers and how each event is run. Listen now and every Monday for a new sport of the week.

Raw Notes:

Quick overview of what it is

You fly down a hill and jump off a giant ramp. No tricks, you just have to become as aerodynamic as possible and then land without dying.

Where/When did it start

This hasn’t been around for quite as long as others and we’ve already gone over the history of skiing a bit, but the first major jump (that was recorded) was in 1808 and the jumper Olaf Rye (don’t hate me Norway) jumped 9.5 meters
First major ski jumping event was held in 1866
Ragnar Omtvedt went 51 meters in 1913, Sepp Bradl went over 100 meters in 1936, 2015 Peter Prevc went over 250 meters
Many techniques have been developed to help contribute to further distances

Kongsberger Technique, Windisch, parallel, v-style and h-style

Began in the Olympics in 1924

How do you win?

“keeping the skis steady during flight, balance, good body position, and landing.” are all points that are judged
5 judges, high and low are discarded, three runs
Points awarded per meter past the K-point, or how far the jumper must jump, 2 points on Large, 1.8 on Normal

Events

Men’s Normal Hill Individual – K-98

Jump further than 98 meters as best you can. Land flawlessly. No problem.

Men’s Large Hill Individual – K-125

Jump further than 125 meters as best you can. Land flawlessly. No problem.

Men’s Team

A team consists of four members.
Calculated score of all 4 members

Women’s Normal hill individual – K-98 – First run was at Sochi in 2014

Jump further than 98 meters as best you can. Land flawlessly. No problem.

Best Known for the sport

Finland – 10/22
Norway – 9/30
Austria – 6/25
US – 1 medal back in the first winter olmpics in 1924 – Anders Haugen, Norwegian descent

Sarah Hendrickson could win one this year

Terms

K-point
Inrun
outrun
Telemark Landing

Popularity
Fun Facts

Locked in the minds of anyone that watched the wide world of Sports as it was the “agony of defeat” clip in the intro

Slovenia’s Vinko Bogataj in 1970

Skiers shoot off the ramp around 90km/h about 55 mph
Eddie the Eagle, movie about man who in 1988 finished last in both the 70 m and 90 m events.

He became the British ski jumping record holder, ninth in amateur speed skiing (106.8 mph (171.9 km/h)), and a stunt jumping world record holder for jumping over 6 buses.

Most Famous

Sara Takanashi has OVER 50 WORLD CUP WINS, FOUR CRYSTAL GLOBES AND A WINTER YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES GOLD MEDAL TO HER NAME. BUT AFTER FINISHING FOURTH WHEN WOMEN’S SKI JUMPING MADE ITS OLYMPIC DEBUT AT SOCHI 2014, SHE WILL BE AIMING TO TOP THE PODIUM AT PYEONGCHANG 2018, WHERE SHE WILL START AS FAVOURITE ON THE BACK OF SOME IMPERIOUS FORM.

She’s 21

Adam Malysz
4 World Cup titles (a record shared with Matti Nykänen and Sara Takanashi), 4 individual Winter Olympic medals, 4 individual World Championship gold medals (an all-time record), 39 individual World Cup competition victories, a total of 96 World Cup podiums (individual and team), and being the only ski jumper to have won 3 consecutive World Cup titles. He is also a winner of the Four Hills Tournament, and the only three-time winner of the Nordic Tournament.