ski jumping

ski jumping, competitive skiing event in which contestants ski down a steep ramp that curves upward at the end, or takeoff point. Skiers leap from the end, trying to cover as much horizontal distance in the air as possible.

Olympic Games and international organization

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Ski jumping has been included in the Winter Olympics since the 1924 Games in Chamonix, France. Upon addition of a second, much bigger hill to the 1964 Olympics, the event was split, creating large-hill jumping and normal- (or small-) hill jumping. Competitions are held on carefully graded and prepared hills that are classed according to the distance between the takeoff point and the end of the landing area. Most senior international competitions, including the Olympics, have normal-hill and large-hill events. These measure 85–109 meters (279–358 feet) and 110–149 meters (361–489 feet), respectively, though at a given venue the difference between the hills’ lengths must be at least 25 meters (82 feet). Both individual and team ski-jumping events are contested at the Winter Olympics. In addition, ski-jumping and cross-country skiing segments comprise the Nordic combined event.

World championships for ski jumping began in 1925 under the governance of what is now the Fédération Internationale de Ski et de Snowboard (FIS; International Ski and Snowboard Federation), and a World Cup tour was established in 1980. Women did not compete in ski jumping at the FIS world championships until 2009, and in 2011 women’s normal-hill ski jumping was added to the schedule for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

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Technique and events

A ski jump begins with the approach, or inrun, which often starts on a scaffold, or tower; jumpers ski down it in a crouched position, accumulating speed (as much as 100 km [62 miles] per hour) until they reach the takeoff, where they spring outward and upward. Owing to the risk of traveling downhill at such high speeds and the concurrent possibility of landing too far at the bottom of the hill, judges are given the authority to lower the starting point of a jump in order to decrease the maximum potential speed of jumpers.

Once in the air, competitors can rely only on body position to maximize their jump. In the early years skiers extended their arms forward, but at the Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956 Olympic Winter Games Norwegian athletes introduced a new style in which skiers placed their arms at their sides, a much more aerodynamic method. Another innovation was widely adopted in the early 1990s. Until that time the preferred position of most jumpers was to lean far forward from the ankles with knees straight and skis held parallel and inclined slightly upward. This position minimizes wind resistance and contributes an aerodynamic lifting effect to increase the length of the jump. In the mid-1980s, however, Swedish jumper Jan Boklöv demonstrated a new technique that provided even more lift: the V style. This position is achieved by pointing the tips of the skis outward in opposite directions to create a V shape. After initially being ridiculed for his nontraditional style, Boklöv was later the model for World Cup ski jumpers after his first-place win in the 1988–89 World Cup competition and scientific tests that proved the superior lift gained from the V style.

The landing of a jump is made on a steep section of the hill in a more upright position, with the shock of contact taken up by the knees and hips and one ski farther forward than the other (the telemark position). After the slope levels off, jumpers stop their forward momentum by turning. In addition to the judges’ ability to lower the starting point, other precautions are taken to prevent overjumping, including limits on ski length and ski-suit thickness (thicker suits permit more air to be trapped in the suit and thereby allow for longer jumps) and rules for the placement of bindings on skis. The hills have also been altered for safety; hills are now contoured to ensure that a jumper is rarely more than 3–4.5 meters (10–15 feet) above the ground during a jump.

Competitors make two jumps. Performance is decided partly by distance covered and partly by form, on the basis of style marks awarded by five judges. Concerning distance, a jump to the K-point (where the distance from the starting point equals the height of the hill) garners a jumper 60 points, with additional points added for each meter beyond the K-point. Style points are deducted for such errors as touching the ground with a hand after landing or not landing with one foot before the other.

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Ski flying is similar to ski jumping in every respect except its scoring system, which emphasizes distance over style. Under ideal conditions top contestants are capable of leaps of over 200 meters (656 feet). Ski flying is not included in the Olympics.

Notable ski-jumping athletes

Simon Ammann is a Swiss ski jumper who won the individual normal-hill and the individual large-hill gold medals at both the 2002 and 2010 Olympic Winter Games, becoming the first man to sweep the individual ski-jumping events at two Olympics. Matti Nykänen of Finland was the first in his sport to win three gold medals in the same Olympics, which he accomplished in 1988 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. At the Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 Olympic Winter Games, Birger Ruud of Norway became the only athlete to win both a jumping and a downhill event in the same Olympics. Carina Vogt of Germany was the first woman to win a gold medal in ski jumping, in 2014 at Sochi. Sara Takanashi of Japan holds the record for most World Cup victories (66).