Winter Olympics 2010

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Ski Jumping

Whose the Daddy?

Oleg Rye, a Norwegian lieutenant, was the first known ski jumper.  He launched himself 9.5 metres into the air and unfortunately, died in his efforts. However, it obviously didn’ t deter others from trying because by

1862, jumpers were taking off from longer and higher jumps successfully.  The first competetion held that year and by 1879, the first proper competition was held in Olso with Olaf Haugann of Norway setting the first world’s record at 20 metres.

Popularity:

Men’s ski jumping has been an  Olympic sport since the first games in 1924. The large hill competition was added at the 1964 Winter Games.

Ski Jumping News

Ski Jumping Schedule & Results

How It Works:

An athlete skis down a long ramp and launches into the air going down the hill to make a calculated landing.   The winner is usually the one who has the longest jump,  but if there is more than one skier with the same distance in the lead, the quality of the landing is taken into consideration.

Technique:

Precision in technique is very important in this sport to gain height and speed, but to insure safety.  This is one of the more dangerous sports.   Jumpers assume a V style, pointing their skies skyward , the tips toward each other.

Normal Hill Individual

Large Hill Individual

The normal hill individual event begins with a qualification jump on the day prior to competition. The top 10 World Ranked jumpers do not have to participate in the qualification event.  The remaining jumpers must rank in the top 40 in order to go ahead.

The next level has the 50 qualifiers and the top 30 move into the final round.

Team

There are two rounds in the Team event.  Each team have 4 jumpers.  The top eight teams from the first round move onto the second and final round.   The team with the highest combined score wins.

This is a Men’s sport only.

Ski Jumping Terminology

The Ski Jumpers