| ||
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Women's ski jumping | ||
Representing the United States | ||
World Championships | ||
2009 Liberec | Individual normal hill |
Lindsey Marie Van [1] (born November 27, 1984) is an American former ski jumper who won her first of 13 U.S. National Ski Jumping Championships in 1998 [2] and competed in her first FIS event in 2002. [3] Van won a gold medal in the inaugural women's ski jumping event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec and has a total of eight Continental Cup victories in her career.
In 2008, Van's knee cartilage was crushed on the landing of a practice jump; she underwent knee surgery and five months of intense rehab. [4] She returned to competition after six months but injured her knee again. [4] Van has experienced four knee surgeries and a ruptured spleen. [4]
Van was a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the organizers of the 2010 Winter Olympics; she and other female ski jumpers claimed that their rights were violated because only male ski jumpers were permitted to compete in the Vancouver Olympics. [5] The appeal was unsuccessful. [6] Van characterized the Canadian legal system as "weak" and said the International Olympic Committee were "like the Taliban of the Olympics." [6]
Going into the Vancouver 2010 Games, Van held the K95 hill record of 105.5 meters at the site of the 2010 Olympic ski jumping events. [7] [8] This mark was surpassed several times at the 2010 Olympic Games [9] [10] [11] and is now held by Simon Ammann with a jump of 108.0 meters. [12]
In 2011, it was announced that women's ski jumping on the normal hill would be included in the 2014 Winter Olympics. [4] Van said, "I was kind of numb when I heard. People expected me to be ecstatic, but I'd been after this for so long, it just didn't sink in at first." [4]
In July 2011, nerve tissues in one of her legs became a problem. [4]
On the appeal of her sport, Van has said, "You are up the in the air and for a minute it's as if you can fly. It's a feeling like nothing else I've ever felt, and as soon as I land, I just want to go back up to the top and do it again." [4]
Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final score. Ski jumping was first contested in Norway in the late 19th century, and later spread through Europe and North America in the early 20th century. Along with cross-country skiing, it constitutes the traditional group of Nordic skiing disciplines.
Simon Ammann is a Swiss ski jumper. He is one of the most successful athletes in the history of the sport, having won four individual Winter Olympic gold medals in 2002 and 2010. His other achievements include winning the 2007 Ski Jumping World Championships, the 2010 Ski Flying World Championships, the 2010 Nordic Tournament, and the 2010 Ski Jumping World Cup overall title.
Thomas Morgenstern is an Austrian former ski jumper who competed from 2002 to 2014. He is one of the most successful ski jumpers of all time, having won the World Cup overall title twice with 23 individual wins, the Four Hills Tournament and the Nordic Tournament once each, eight World Championship gold medals, and three Winter Olympic gold medals.
Lindsey Caroline Vonn is an American former World Cup alpine ski racer on the US Ski Team. She won four World Cup overall championships – third amongst female skiers to Annemarie Moser-Pröll and Mikaela Shiffrin – with three consecutive titles in 2008, 2009, and 2010, plus another in 2012. Vonn won the gold medal in downhill at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the first one for an American woman. She also won a record eight World Cup season titles in the downhill discipline, five titles in super-G, and three consecutive titles in the combined (2010–2012). In 2016, she won her 20th World Cup crystal globe title, the overall record for men or women, surpassing Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, who won 19 globes from 1975 to 1984. She has the third highest super ranking of all skiers, men or women.
Masahiko Harada is a Japanese former ski jumper. He is best remembered for a meltdown at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, which cost the Japanese national team a victory, and his subsequent redemption at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano; the latter of which led to him being affectionately called "Happy Harada".
Noriaki Kasai is a Japanese ski jumper. His career achievements include a gold medal at the 1992 Ski Flying World Championships, winning the 1999 Nordic Tournament, individual silver medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics, and two individual bronze medals at the 2003 Ski Jumping World Championships.
Harri Juhani Olli is a Finnish former ski jumper who competed at World Cup level from 2002 to 2016. He scored three individual World Cup wins, four individual Continental Cup wins, and an individual silver medal at the 2007 World Championships.
The 2009–10 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup was the 31st World Cup season in ski jumping and the 13th official World Cup season in ski flying. It started on 26 November 2009 at the Rukatunturi ski jumping hill in Kuusamo, Finland and finished on 14 March 2010 at Holmenkollen, Norway.
The men's individual large hill/10 km Nordic combined competition for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada was held at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler, British Columbia on 25 February.
The men's normal hill individual ski jumping competition for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada was held on 12 and 13 February 2010 at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler, British Columbia. It was the first medal event of the 2010 Games.
The Men's large hill individual ski jumping competition for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada was held at Whistler Olympic Park in Whistler, British Columbia. It started on 19 February and ended on 20 February. Austria's Thomas Morgenstern was the defending Olympic champion in this event. Andreas Küttel of Switzerland was the defending world champion in this event. Two test events took place at the Olympic venue on 24–25 January 2009, both won by Austria's Gregor Schlierenzauer. On the 25th, Schlierenzauer set the hill jumping record with a jump of 149.0 metres (488.8 ft) which was also tied by Finland's Ville Larinto. The last World Cup event in this format prior to the 2010 Games took place on 6 February 2010 in Willingen, Germany and was won by Schlierenzauer.
Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes is a Canadian ski jumper.
Peter Prevc is a Slovenian ski jumper. He won the 2016 Ski Jumping World Cup overall title and four Olympic medals, including gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics in the mixed team event. He also won the 2016 Four Hills Tournament and 2016 Ski Flying World Championships, three consecutive Ski Flying World Cup overall titles, silver and bronze medals at the 2013 Ski Jumping World Championships, bronze at the 2014 Ski Flying World Championships, and bronze and silver with the Slovenian national team at the 2011 Ski Jumping and 2018 Ski Flying World Championships, respectively.
The Men's Individual normal hill ski jumping event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 was held on 26 February 2011 at 15:00 CET with the qualification being held on 25 February 2011 at 12:30 CET. Wolfgang Loitzl of Austria was the defending world champion while Switzerland's Simon Ammann was the defending Olympic champion.
Maren Lundby is a Norwegian ski jumper. She is one of the sport's most successful athletes, male or female, having won three consecutive World Cup overall titles, thirty individual World Cup wins, and gold medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics and the 2019 and 2021 World Championships.
Elena Runggaldier is an Italian former ski jumper and Nordic combined skier representing G.S. Fiamme Gialle.
Sara Takanashi is a Japanese ski jumper. She is one of the most successful female ski jumpers to date, as well as one of the most successful athletes in the history of the sport, having won four World Cup overall titles, seven World Championship medals, and a Winter Olympic medal. As of March 2023, Takanashi holds the record for the most individual World Cup wins, male or female, with 63. She also has three Guinness World Records certificates for the most podium finishes in the Ski Jumping World Cup, the most individual victories by a female in the Ski Jumping World Cup, and the most Ski Jumping World Cup individual victories in a career (overall).
Women's Ski Jumping USA is a non-profit organization responsible for the operational funding and support of the U.S. Women's ski jumping team. The organization administers funding for coaching, travel, training, equipment and development programs.
Alexandria Loutitt is a Canadian ski jumper. She is the Canada’s first ever world champion in ski jumping and the first Canadian woman to win a World Cup ski jumping event.
Frida Westman is a Swedish ski jumper who competed at the 2022 Winter Olympics. She was the first Swedish female ski jumper at an Olympic Games. Westman has the best finish by any Swedish female ski jumper at a FIS Ski Jumping World Cup event.