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Ski Flying World Championships - Planica SLO Mar 18-21 Huge hill is site of world record ... 239 meters: view video Planica website The season always ends in Planica, on the world’s biggest ski jump. We’ve written earlier this year about how ski jumps are rated for size by “K-point” ... the “par” distance, which is the baseline distance for scoring. Distances are always converted to points, and the jumper gets points ADDED for going beyond the K-point, and DEDUCTED for landing short of that point. The K-point at Planica is 185 meters (the “large” Olympic jump in Vancouver is a K-125 hill). In 2005, Norway’s Bjorn Einar Romoeren flew 239 meters on this hill ... 784 feet ... a world record. Finland’s Janne Ahonen hit 240, but fell on landing. Four Americans will attempt to qualify ... they are Nick Alexander, Nick Fairall, Mike Glasder, and Chris Lamb. We’ve been informed that our US Nordic Combined stars from the Olympics, Bill Demong (gold & silver), Johnny Spillane (3 silver), and Todd Lodwick (silver) will be there also, participating as forejumpers. We’ll keep you posted on the event, and on the athletes who’ll be representing the USA. Ammann Wins, Malysz 2nd at Holmenkollen - March 14 World Cup champion sweeps 4-event Nordic Tournament: results Switzerland’s superstar, Simon Ammann, completed his sweep of the four-event Nordic Tournament (Lahti, Kuopio, Lillehammer, Oslo) by winning the Holmenkollen on Mar 14. He had locked up the overall World Cup title earlier, and had won gold medals in both events at the Olympics last month. The last jumper to sweep the Nordic Tournament was Finland’s Matti Haeutamaeki in 2002. Once again, Poland’s Adam Malysz, Olympic silver medalist, finished 2nd, They were followed by four Austrians; Andreas Kofler, David Zauner, Thomas Morgenstern, and Martin Koch. No Americans competed. Nordic Combined World Cup Finale ... Oslo March 13-14 US 5th in team comp; Demong 10th, Lodwick 12th in LH/10K: team indiv The US Nordic Combined team brought its three Olympic medalists and one youngster to the Holmenkollen NC (WC), and finished 5th on Sat Mar 13. Norway’s team won the event, followed by Austria, Germany, and France. In Sunday’s individual LH/10K event, gold medalist Billy Demong finished 10th, with Todd Lodwick 12th, Johnny Spillane 32nd, and Nick Hendrickson 58th. We want to once again salute US Nordic Combined on a fanstastic and historical season in World Cup and Olympic competition! Iraschko Wins Women’s Continental Cup Title Graessler 2nd, Sagen 3rd in women’s international series: final standings Austria’s Daniela Iraschko, who has been dominating this year’s Ladies’ Continental Cup, put an exclamation point on her season by winning both days at the season finale in Zakopane POL on Mar 6-7. Germany’s Ulrike Graessler finished second overall, and she was second both days in Zakopane as well. Norway’s Anette Sagen, who finished the season in third place, was third on Saturday, fourth on Sunday. Sarah Hendrickson of the US finished 9th Saturday and 16th Sunday; she finished the season sixth overall. Teammates Alissa Johnson and Jessica Jerome finished 10th and 13th on Saturday. On Sunday, Jerome placed 6th, with Johnson 14th. Overall, Johnson finished 9th in the overall season standings, and Jerome 12th. Zakopane results: Sat Mar 6 Sun Mar 7 Billy Demong Carries US Flag at Closing Ceremonies Nordic Combined GOLD medalist elected by fellow athletes as US flagbearer What an end to a memorable two weeks in Vancouver ... in the Nordic disciplines of ski jumping, Nordic Combined, and cross- country, the US had won only two medals in the 86 years of Olympic competition. Anders Haugen earned a bronze medal in ski jumping at the first Winter Games in Chamonix FRA in 1924 ... but because of a scoring error that wasn’t discovered for many years, it wasn’t awarded to him at that time. Bill Koch brought home a silver medal in cross-country from the 1976 Games in Innsbruck. Although Nordic Combined, which involves both jumping and cross-country, has been an Olympic event since those first games in 1924, the US had never won a medal in NC. That all changed in Vancouver, with a GOLD and three SILVER medals! The US Nordic Combined team, which has been very successful on the World Cup circuit the past few years, served notice at the 2009 FIS World Championships in Liberec CZE that they’d be formidable competitors at the 2010 Olympics. Todd Lodwick claimed two told medals, while Billy Demong grabbed a gold and a bronze. Demong had captured a silver at the 2007 Worlds, and Spillane had struck gold at the 2003 Worlds. Injuries had sidelined both Spillane and Demong, and Lodwick had retired after the 2006 Games in Torino. But with Lodwick’s return last year, and a healthy Demong and Spillane, they were on a tear this year in World Cup. And the season isn’t over! In early January, in Val di Fiemme ITA, scene of Spillane’s 2003 World Championship, Demong won a World Cup event, with Lodwick second. They’d been running 1-2-3 late in the race, but Spillane encountered an equipment problem that dropped him to 22nd. That showed definitively that they’d progressed from having one American in contention, or maybe two, they had become a threat to have three US athletes capable of landing on the podium on any given day ... maybe all three! Spillane almost won the first event of the Olympics, the NH/10K, which involves jumping on the “normal” (K95) hill, followed by a 10 kilometer race with start times determined by jumping scores. Lodwick finished 4th, and Demong, who’d had a mediocre jump, had started way back in 24th place, and raced to 6th. USA 2-4-6; a sign of things to come. In the team competition, where the race portion is a relay, with each of the four team members having to run 5 kilometers, the US got a by being the ONLY team to have all four jumpers exceed 130 meters. Brett Camerota, put himself in position to lead after the first group of skiers, and he did just that. By the time it was over, the US had scored another silver medal, finishing just 5 seconds behind mighty Austria ... and all four Americans stood on the podium! When the jumping round was over on the large hill, Spillane had finished 2nd, but meters to Spillane’s 129. Demong had the Austrian Bernhard Gruber had jumped 134 jumped 122.5 and started 13th. When the 6th longest jump at 127 meters. Lodwick over Spillane and 46 sec over Lodwick, but race started, Gruber had a 34 second lead of them battled throughout the race, they rapidly overtook Gruber, and the three putting distance on the rest of the field. When it came time for the final sprint, Demong had the lead, and Spillane blasted past Gruber ... USA gold and silver! Lodwick ran as high as 4th, in a tight pack through most of the race, and finished 13th. His efforts helped to control the pace of the pack, keeping pace with anyone who threatened to break away, much the way it would happen in a long-distance bicycle race. Four medals ... one individual gold, two individual silver, and team silver. Biggest day in the history of the US Ski Team in the Nordic disciplines. This was the culmination of years of progress, and couldn’t have happened to a more deserving group of athletes. Not only did these achievements get significant attention when they happened, but the spotlight continued to shine. The NC medals were brought up numerous times in the NBC coverage, as well as in the coverage of other media. The Today Show had a feature on Demong on Friday 2/26, and it was still dark in Vancouver when they were interviewing him. In the course of the interview, they mentioned that he’s proposed to his girlfriend, Katie Koczynski, the night before ... and they also told him on air that he’d been elected by all the other US athletes to be America’s flagbearer at the closing ceremonies on Sunday night. To most of the American public, this was all a big surprise. But Demong and Lodwick were reigning World Champions, and both Demong and Spillane had previous World titles. This was the fifth Olympics for Lodwick, and the fourth for Spillane and Demong. They’ve been training and competing together since the mid 1990s, and the faith the US Ski Team showed in these guys paid off in the most emphatic way. Congratulations to Billy, Johnny, Todd, Brett, and the fifth man, Taylor Fletcher, who competed in the LH individual event. Also to coaches Dave Jarrett and Chris Gilbertson. All in all, this was beyond what those of us who’ve followed jumping an Nordic Combined could have allowed ourselves to dream of. A magnificent performance in every respect. Silver in NH individual, silver in team relay, gold and silver in LH individual. “Do you believe in miracles? ... YES!”

click logo to visit site click logo to visit site Click “Expanded News” button at left of page to find more articles about Olympic events, with links to results, video clips, etc. We’re moving some things around to make room for current news during the rest of the US and international competition season, which runs through late March. Once you’re into “Expanded News” there are “next” and “previous” arrows to help navigate through those pages. We want to thank Adam Schwall for the photos used in this story and in the graphic at the top of each page. Isn’t Ski Jumping Awfully Dangerous? The PERCEPTION is that ski jumping is an extremely dangerious. sport. The reality is far different ... learn more! ** READ ARTICLE ** How Do People Start Ski Jumping? Nobody just picks up a pair of skis and gives it a try. Not on big hills, anyway. Ski jumpers start young, on very small jumps, and learn incrementally, moving gradually to larger jumps as their skill and confidence develops. Here’s a short video from a junior jumping event in St Paul MN. ** WATCH VIDEO ** When Do People Quit Ski Jumping? The answer to this one is quite simple ... when they want to! Once a jumper is 30 years of age or older, he or she becomes eligible to participate in “Masters” competition. Jumpers age 30-39 are class M1, 40-49 M2, 50-59 M3, 60- 69 M4, 70-79 M5, etc. Currently, the oldest active Masters jumper in the US is Don West, of Plattsburgh NY, a retired college professor. He’s an M5 jumper, and in recent years has competed in Masters World Championships in Europe. Another active Masters jumper is Tom Ricchio, a semi-retired corporate jet pilot, who is also the coach of the junior program in Iola WI; he jumps in class M4. Tom has also competed in the Masters World Championships. ** READ ARTICLE ** about Tom, and his recent participation in the US Masters Nat’l Championships in Coleraine MN 2/27-28. Complete results from the Masters Nationals can be found on our Schedule & Results page via link button above, left. For those who enjoy ski jumping, it can be a lifetime sport. Some like to continue competing, others become coaches or volunteers. If you live anywere near one of the clubs listed on our Regional Clubs page, make an effort to see some live ski jumping, and if you’re inclined to give it a try, talk to one of the coaches. Although most jumpers start very young, there are adults who would like to try it, and they’re welcome, if they’re willing to “start small” and work their way on up, just like kids do.