This is the first year that women will be competing in Ski Jumping in the Olympic Games. The “Normal Hill” is a 105-meter hill while the “Large Hill” is a 140-meter hill. For the individual competitions, jumpers will complete one jump then the top scorers will advance to the medal round where the scores of their first and second jumps are added together for a final score. In the team competition, the scores from the four jumpers will be added together in the first round, with the top 8 teams advancing to the medal round. Once again, the scores of all four jumpers are added together. Ski jumping probably has the best phrase in the entire Olympics for a good performance which is “put it in the parking lot” which basically denotes that the athlete’s jump was so long it was all the way to the bottom of the hill where the ground is flat. Jumpers are scored by a panel of judges on both distance and technique.
Ski Jumping is really about one man right now: Switzerland’s Simon Ammann. Ammann might be the most individually dominant athlete of these games. Ammann has swept gold (in both Normal Hill and Large Hill) at both Salt Lake City in 2002 and Vancouver in 2010.
Ammann’s biggest challenge will come from the strong Austrian contingent. Gregor Schlierenzauer won two Bronzes in Vancouver and the Austrians also feature two medalists from Turin: Thomas Morgenstern (Large Hill Gold) and Andreas Kofler (Large Hill Silver). The Austrians have won the Team Event hte last two Olympics with Morgenstern and Kofler anchoring the squad.
The US has only medalled once in Ski Jumping, a Bronze in the 1924 Games in Chamonix. With the addition of Women’s Ski Jumping this year, keep an eye on Sarah Hendrickson and Lindsey Van who have both had success on the international circuit.
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