Winter Olympics: Ski Jumping
Once a popular
attraction at ski carnivals
by John Gettings and Christine Frantz
Ski jumping was born in Norway, the country
that has given us practically all of our Nordic skiing events. A popular attraction
at ski carnivals in the mid-1800s, the first official ski jumping competition
was held in Norway in 1872. Norwegian immigrants brought ski jumping to America
just before the turn of the century.
The large hill
ski jumping competition has appeared at every Olympic Winter Games since 1924.
Although its height has changed through the years, it has been fixed at 120
m (394 ft) since the 1992 Winter Games.
The normal hill event was
introduced in 1964. Its height was set at 70 m (230 ft) and remained so until
1992, when it was moved up to its current height of 90 m (295 ft).
Nations compete in three events: individual normal hill, individual large
hill, and team (which is contested on the large hill).
Each athlete
attempts two jumps. Landings are videotaped for exact measuring purposes,
and points are awarded based on the length of the jump. Longer jumps are awarded
more points than shorter ones.
A panel of five judges rates each athlete's
style on a scale from 0–20. The lowest and highest scores are dropped,
making 60 a perfect score.
The skier, or team of skiers, with the
highest combined total of distance points and style points is awarded the
gold medal.
The ski jumping events will be held Feb. 11–20 at
Pragelato.
Not surprisingly, Norway, Finland, and Austria have won
the most ski jumping medals. The only American to win a ski jump gold medal
was Anders Haugen in 1924.
With no U.S. skier ranked in the top 50
of the 2005 World Cup rankings there is little chance an American will medal
in 2006.
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
