February 9th, 2010 
Tracy Matlack 
Olaf Rye, a Norwegian lieutenant was the first known ski jumper. According to Wikipedia, he launched himself 9.5 metres in the air in front of an audience of other soldiers in 1809. Ski jumpers began tackling larger jumps in1862, and were traveling longer distances. Norway’s Sorndre Norheim jumped 30 meters over a rock without the benefit of poles. His record stood for thirty years..
Olaf Haugann of Norway set the first world record for the longest ski jump of 20 meters in Oslo in 1879. The first widely known ski jumping competition was the Husebyrennene, held in Oslo during 1879, with Olaf Haugann of Norway setting the first world record for the longest ski jump at 20 meters. The annual event was moved to Holmenkollen in1892, and Holmenkollen has remained the top of ski jumping venues.
Ski jumping is a sport in which skiers go down an “inrun” with a take-off ramp, attempting to fly as far as possible. They reach speeds up to 95 kilometers per hour. In addition to the length that skiers jump, judges give points for style.
The skis used for ski jumping are wide and up to 8 feet long. Competitors are evaluated on distance and style and while there is a very close relationship between the two, the skier with the longest jump will often have the highest style points.
An exception to this can be found in the landing portion of the jump. Long jumps can make landing in a controlled position more difficult. The quality of landing can be a determining factor in deciding the finishing place when the distances are similar.
Austria’s Gregor Schlierenzauer is one to watch this Olympics. He recently turned 20 years old in January and had already racked up 28 World Cup successes while he was still a teen and has 32 wins total under his belt. Schlierenzauer has recorded jumps of 142 and 137 meters for a total of 273 points, beating Norway’s Anders Jacobsen (269 pts) and Germany’s Michael Neumayer (264 pts).
Watch for the 2010 Winter Olympics Ski Jumping to begin February 12th, 10:00 AM. This should prove to be a close competition and as usual thrilling to watch!
Posted in 
Tags: 
Your blog really hit right on the mark. Good work, I look forward to your next entry.
Thanks! I appreciate your encouragement!
I hope everyone had a Great Valentine’s Day !
Hey this blog is great (Ive been following it for a while)can i contact you on an e-mail I’ve some questions I want to ask you about some of your topics.
I want to thank the blogger very much not only for this post but also for his all previous efforts. I found http://www.tracysworld.com to be greatly interesting. I will be coming back to http://www.tracysworld.com for more information.
My friend was just telling me a similar story. What a small world huh?
Hi!. Thanks for the blog. I?ve been digging around looking some info up for a building project, but i think i?m getting lost!. Google lead me here ? good for you i guess! Keep up the good work. I will be comming back over in a few days to see if there is updated posts.
hi, You write some very good blogs. I always check back here often to see if you have updated. Has everyone been following the Olympics? I found a funny olympics Blooper video on youtube that shows what happens when an athlete pushes it too hard, check it out, it will make you laugh http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Phw_pGC4kE
Amazing read ! the site is very good !