Ski Jumping
History
Skiing was initially used for hunting and transportation from as early as 10,000 BC by people in Northern Asia and Europe. Archaeologists have found cave paintings and pieces of wooden skis dating back about 10,000 years.
The sport of Ski jumping started around 1808 in Norway when Lieutenant Olaf Rye launched himself off a ramp on skis to perform the first-ever ski jump. He did this in front of his fellow soldiers with strength and bravery. He jumped about 9.5 m (31 ft).
In later years in these countries, skis would be used by the military, farmers, and for hunting wild animals because it was the fastest kind of transportation. By the late 1800s, people were skiing for fun when competitions like cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, and ski jumping started.
Equipment Used
Skis, binding (they hold the boot to the ski), goggles, gloves, helmet, and racing suit.
In the past, skis had a solid piece of wood like ash or hickory, but now they have a wooden core surrounded by layers of fiberglass with titanium (a kind of metal) edges.
Over the years, with advancements in skiing equipment and ramps, skiers can now soar about 90-100 m (300-350 ft) with one jump.
Rules
They score points on their landings, style, and distance. Each jumper will have two jumps, and those with the best-combined score will advance to the next round.
Each athlete is about 6-8 m (20-26 ft) above the ground at their highest part of the jump, with an average speed of 96 kph (60 mph).
Some of the events have different rules. See below for more details.
5 events in this category
- Men’s Normal Hill Individual: Each athlete must ski down a ramp and fly down a steep hill past the 90 m (about 296 ft) K- point (where the mountain starts to flatten out). The farther from the K-point, the more points a skier will receive. (Added to the Innsbruck (Austria) Winter Olympics in 1964)
(2014 Sochi gold medal winner (Poland) Kamil Stoch) - Men’s Large Hill Individual: Each athlete must ski down a ramp and fly down a steeper hill past the 120 m (about 394 ft), K-point (where the mountain starts to flatten). The farther from the K-point, the more points a skier will receive. (Added to the first official Winter Olympics in Chamonix (France) in 1924)
(2014 Sochi gold medal winner (Poland) Kamil Stoch) - Men’s Large Hill Team: There are four men per team, and each skier has two runs. The teammate’s times are combined, and the team with the highest score will advance. (Added to the Calgary (Canada) Winter Olympics in 1988)
(2014 Sochi gold medal winners (Germany) Severin Freund, Andreas Wellinger, Andreas Wank, and Marinus Kraus) - Women’s Normal Hill Individual: Each athlete must ski down a ramp and fly down a steep hill past the 90 m (about 296 ft), K-point (where the mountain starts to flatten out). The farther from the K-point, the more points a skier will receive. (Added to the Sochi (Russia) Winter Olympics in 2014)
(2022 Beijing gold medal winner (Slovenia) Ursa Bogataj) - Mixed Team Normal Hill: Each team will have two men and two women who must ski down a ramp and fly down a steep hill past the 90 m (about 296 ft), K-point (the point where the hill starts to flatten out). Each skier gets to have two runs, and all scores will be added together, with the top score advancing to the next round. (Added to the Beijing (China) Winter Olympics in 2022)
(2022 Beijing gold medal winners (Slovenia) Nika Kriznar, Peter Prevc, Timi Zajc, and Ursa Bogataj)
Men’s Event Team Japan 2018 Pyeongchang
Women’s Event Team USA 2014 Sochi
