KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — They strapped on their helmets and goggles, boldly raced down a steep icy ramp, and then, like pioneer aviator Amelia Earhart 80 years ago, the female ski jumpers of the 2014 Winter Olympics took flight and made history Tuesday night at the RusSki Gorki Jumping Center.
More than 150 years after the first documented ski jump by a woman _ Ingrid Olavsdottir Vestby of Norway, wearing a skirt, soared 20 feet in 1862 _ 30 women from 12 countries competed in the inaugural Olympic women’s ski jump after a long battle for inclusion.
One by one, they flung themselves off the ramp, just like their male counterparts, defying suggestions the sport is too dangerous, unhealthy and unladylike.
The world did not come to an end. Nobody’s uterus fell out (U.S. team member Lindsey Van said a detractor once suggested that might be a consequence of women entering the sport). In 2005, Gian Franco Kasper of Switzerland, president of the International Ski Federation, said the sport “seems not to be appropriate for ladies from a medical point of view.’’
On Monday, Russian ski jump coach Alexander Arefyev said in the newspaper Izvestia: “I admit, I’m not a fan of women’s ski jumping. It’s a pretty difficult sport with a high risk of injury. If a man gets a serious injury, it’s still not fatal, but for women it could end much more seriously.
“If I had a daughter, I’d never let her jump it’s too much hard labor. Women have another purpose to have children, to do housework, to create hearth and home,”
After fighting an uphill battle for the past decade, and filing a lawsuit four years ago, the easy part for these women was zooming downhill and flying through the air at 60 mph, about 10-15 feet off the ground, for the length of a football field.
Carina Vogt of Germany won the gold medal with 247.4 points _ scoring is based on a formula combining distance, speed and jump style points. Daniela Iraschko-Stolz of Austria won the silver with 246.2 points, and Coline Mattel of France (245.2) took bronze. Iraschko-Stolz made a double statement as a female ski jumper and an openly gay woman winning a medal in a country that has been under fire for its anti-gay propaganda law.
“I think I did my best at the ski jumping, and I’m married to a woman,’’ she said after the event. “It’s a good statement, especially in Russia, to show that people can live together.”
Pre-Olympic favorite Sara Takanashi, a 5-foot jumper who had won 10 of 13 World Cup events this season, finished off the podium in fourth place. Jessica Jerome, 27, of Park City, Utah, was the top American in 10th place. Lindsey Van, 29, who led the charge to get the sport recognized, finished 15th.
“We can call ourselves Olympians now, and I couldn’t do that yesterday,’’ said Van, who admitted she bawled at the opening ceremony.
“This is something I’ve been doing for 20 years, hoping that one day I can go to the Olympics and jump, so being able to finally do that, that was the easiest part.’’ said Jerome. “I didn’t perform to my best ability, but I’m still happy, strangely, and I think all the girls from all the countries are just smiling. There is a special camaraderie all the girls have and I really felt it (Tuesday night). We were up there high-fiving with the Norwegians and the Finns and the Canadians. Everybody was just really glad to be sharing this with someone who really gets what we’ve been trying to do.’’
The very first competitor to jump was 19-year-old American and reigning world champion Sarah Hendrickson. She blew out her knee last August, and just returned to jumping on Jan. 11. She had only 25 training jumps the past six months, while the other jumpers had 300-400.
- MCT Campus