Women ski jumpers will have the chance to soar further than ever before when they launch off the famed Vikersund, Norway, ski flying hill next winter.
Since its opening in 1964, the Vikersund Monsterbakken ‘Ski Flying’ hill has only served as a competition venue for men. Women have been granted the opportunity to serve as forerunners, or test jumpers, at men’s World Cup events, but not since 2009. That will all change next winter, following International Ski Federation’s (FIS) final approval.
“Women being able to have a ski flying event is huge – this makes me smile, well done,” said Lindsey Van, one of women’s ski jumping pioneers and a 2014 Olympian.
“Ski flying is more thrilling than ski jumping. It’s more extreme, it’s faster, you jump farther, and it can be very dangerous for all,” she said.
Van was one of just four female ski jumpers, who last leaped off the Vikersund hill, as a forerunner in 2009.
“I was so excited I even was given the opportunity to jump on a ski flying hill,” said Van, since retired and residing in Park City, Utah. “I had a total of eight jumps in my two experiences in Vikersund, six in 2004 and two in 2009. It is one of my best memories as a ski jumper. Ski flying is what every ski jumper aspires to do, and not many get that chance.”
Regarding next season’s competition, Van said: “It is a huge step forward in the progression of the sport – there have only been seven women to go ski flying in the history of the sport, so it’s a big deal. Ski flying is the pinnacle of the sport.”
Following substantial debate on April 13, an FIS sub-committee voted 14-0 in favor of allowing the women to compete in ski flying in Vikersund next season. However, with safety being paramount, the women’s premier will not be a World Cup competition, but rather as part of the Raw Air series. Most likely, the 15 top-ranked athletes of the Raw Air series will be invited to ski fly on the Monsterbakken in Vikersund.
“We all agreed to open this door for the women,” said an FIS ski jumping representative. “There are still many concerns and fears regarding safety and so on, but the time is right and we want the women to start on a Ski Flying hill.”
In ski flying, the hills used are much larger than those used in Olympic or traditional World Cup events, resulting in jumps well in excess of 200 meters. The world record, set by Stefan Kraft of Austria, is a massive 253.5 meters. By comparison, distances jumped off the normal hill are about 100 meters, with athletes soaring to 140m from the large hill.
Van, who was the first women’s world champion in ski jumping, having won a gold medal at the inaugural event in the Czech Republic in 2009, believes the ladies could jump in the neighborhood of 240m off the Vikersund hill next season. The current women’s world record is 174.5m, set back in 2004 by Norwegians Anette Sagen and Helena Olsson Smeby.
“I think a ski flying event will continue to push women’s ski jumping forward and it is a huge step in the marketing of the sport,” Van said. “That’s where the longest jumps happen and that draws a lot of interest. Women’s ski jumping has gained popularity over the last several years. Women jump as far as men and I think the public and viewers of the sport are starting to understand that.”
Vikersund Hill in Modum, Norway is one of the two largest two purpose-built ski flying hills in the world, along with Planica, Slovenia, which hosted the men’s 2022 World Championships.
The retired U.S. ski jumper also addressed the safety concerns that have previously kept women from being permitted to ski fly in Vikersund.
“Yes, ski flying is dangerous, but it is dangerous for everybody,” Van said. “It is a risk all ski jumpers take into consideration. I think it’s been just another baseless excuse that FIS uses to defend their decisions.”
The women’s ski flying event in Vikersund is tentatively scheduled as the final event of the 2023 season. The proposal still needs to be officially approved by the FIS ski jumping committee on May 9.
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