On Sunday, Van & Demong won the normal hill event (K90/HS100) with flights of 91 and 92 meters; Brenna Ellis finished 2nd. Demong had jumps of 98 and 98.5 meters, and was followed again by Spillane. RESULTS available via the Steamboat Springs website; we'll soon have individual event results links on our Schedule & Results page.

Malysz Sweeps Planica, Wins 4th WC Title
"Polish Prince" dominated last half of 2006-2007 World Cup season
* * * Results:   Friday   Saturday     Sunday     WC Standings    
It came down to the last weekend of the season, but this year's World Cup title is going back to Poland in the hands of their superstar, Adam Malysz. He'd been the hottest jumper during the last half of the season. He had no wins in the first 16 of the season's 30 events, but won 9 of the last 14; he also grabbed a 3rd, 4th, and 7th in that stretch. His closest pursuer, Norway's Anders Jacobsen, had built a large points lead in mid season. Malysz caught him on Mar 17, only to have Jacobsen slip back into a slim lead on Mar 18. Malysz slammed the door by winning all three days in Planica, on the world's biggest ski jump. He finished the season with 1453 points, to 1319 for Jacobsen. Switzerland's Simon Ammann placed second on Sunday, repeating his result from Friday. He finished the season in third place with 1167 points.

On Saturday Malysz scored another win; he was trailed closely by Jacobsen. The competition was close, with the top 11 jumpers separated by less than 20 points. Going into tomorrow's 2007 season grand finale, Malysz leads Jacobsen by 66 points, 1353 to 1287. Simon Ammann of Switzerland, who finished 8th on Saturday, remains third overall, with a total of 1087 points. Malysz had flights of 210.5 and 217.5 meters. US jumper Alan Alborn finished 34th.

On Friday, Malysz regained the points lead with a convincing win over Ammann, who finished 2nd. Jacobsen, who had been leading the points race by 14 points going in, finished 6th. That put Malysz ahead of Jacobsen by 46 points, 1253 to 1207. Malysz' flights Saturday were 208.5 and 221.5 meters. Alborn, the lone US jumper, was 35th.

Jacobsen Retakes WC Lead at Holmenkollen
Leads by 14 points over Adam Malysz, who had taken lead yesterday
* * * Oslo Mar 17     Holmenkollen Mar 18     WC Standings
Weather played a major role in scrambling the results of Sunday's Holmenkollen meet in Oslo, and had a significant effect on the season standings, with only one weekend remaining in the season. Erratic winds forced cancellation of Sunday's second round. The winner was Switzerland's Simon Ammann, who vaulted to third in the standings past Austria's Gregor Schlierenzauer, who finished 41st. Poland's Adam Malysz, who had scored six wins in the previous nine events, had taken the World Cup lead from Norway's Anders Jacobsen in Oslo on Saturday. But in Sunday's conditions he had a horrible jump and finished 54th. Jacobsen ended up in 7th, good for 36 points, and that put him back ahead of Malysz by 14 points, with the season title up for grabs this weekend in Planica SLO. Americans Clint Jones and Alan Alborn finished 53rd and 58th, respectively.

Van Wins LCOC Finale, Gains 3rd Overall
Van 2nd & 4th, Johnson 9th twice, Ellis 8th & 11th, Hughes 22nd & 20th
* * * Results:  Sapporo Mar 9    Sapporo Mar 10     LCOC Final Standings
The US Ski Team's top female jumper, Lindsey Van (left), took first place in the final event of the 2006/07 Ladies Continental Cup (LCOC) season in Sapporo JPN on March 10. Norway's Anette Sagen was 2nd, with Japan's 14-year old sensation, Yuuki Ito 3rd. US athletes Alissa Johnson, Brenna Ellis, & Abby Hughes placed 17th, 19th, and 21st, respectively. In the next-to-last event on March 9, Van placed 2nd behind Sagen, with Germany's Ulrike Graessler 3rd. Ellis was 15th, Johnson 19th, and Hughes 20th.  The 2006/07 championship was decided on the last day, with Sagen edging Graessler for the season title, and Van climbing to third ahead of Austria's Daniela Iraschko. Congratulations to Coach Larry Stone and the women of the US Ski Jumping Team!

Bill Demong Wins Lahti World Cup NC
Follows up last week's silver in Japan with gold in Finland Mar 9!
* * * Official Results     more on the US Ski Team website
Our older visitors will remember the Jerry Reed song "When you're Hot, You're Hot." That certainly applies to Bill Demong, who has stepped up to bring success to the US Nordic Combined squad following the retirement of Todd Lodwick at the end of last year. He followed up last week's silver medal at the World Championships in Sapporo JPN with a World Cup win in Lahti FIN on Mar 9. Tenth after the jumping portion of the competition, Demong outraced a gaggle of the world's top NC athletes to win the 15K race by 6.6 sec over Sebastian Haseney of Germany. He came back the following day to place 11th in the 7.5K Sprint event.

Demong wins SILVER in Sapporo NC
Second US Nordic skier ever to win medal at World Championships
* * * Official Results     more on the US Ski Team website
For only the second time, the US has had a podium finish in a Nordic event in the World Championships. Bill Demong of Vermontville NY sailed to eighth in the jumping round, and started the 100 seconds back of the jump winner, Jason Lamy Chappuis of France in the 15K race. Demong sprinted past Finland's Anssi Koivuranta near the finish line to secure second spot on the podium behind Germany's Ronny Ackermann. Demong's teammate Johnny Spillane, who won a gold in the 2003 World Championships, placed 20th overall, having been 10th in jumping but 33rd in the race; he was skiing with an injured shoulder.

International Masters Championships
Event for jumpers age 30+ held in Germany Feb 25 - Mar 4
* * * Official event website     Don West's article
The 2007 International Masters Championships were held in Hinterzarten GER in late February and early March. Don West, the oldest active US competitor, has written an interesting article about the event, and there's also an official website created by the organizers. Read both via links above!

Swedish Surprise in Iron Mt COC
Grimholm wins first comp, places 2nd in shortened second event
* * * Results:   Iron Mt #1    Iron Mt #2    COC series standings
The Continental Cup (COC) international ski jumping series finished its 2007 US swing Feb 17-18 on the the K120/HS142 hill at  Iron Mountain MI. High winds prevented jumping on Saturday, so organizers planned to run two competitions on Sunday. It was cold and clear on Sunday morning, but a bit breezy. Jumping finally got underway about 1:45, and Sweden's Isak Grimholm took the win ahead of Austrians Stefan Kaiser and Balthasar Schneider. It was a bit surprising that Austrians claimed six of the top ten spots, but the biggest surprise was four Swedes in the top 12, and an American in the top ten. Johan Erikson of Sweden took 4th, with teammates Andreas Aren 8th and Jakob Grimholm 12th. US jumper Clint Jones was 9th, with teammate Alan Alborn 19th.

Following this competition, which had been postponed from Saturday, the field was quickly reassembled to begin another round ... the beginning of the scheduled Sunday competition. After completion of one round, it was determined there wouldn't be enough light to complete the final round, so the Sunday event was concluded after one round. Austria's Schneider finished first, ahead of the surprising Grimholm, and Schneider's teammmate Roland Mueller took 3rd. This day found five Austrians in the top ten. Jones and Alborn finished 15th and 16th, respectively.
* * * See big-hill helmet cam videos on Alan Alborn's website - click here!

IOC Rejects Women!!!
Old guard gives female flyers a resounding slap in the face
The International Olympic Committee's Executive Board has voted to continue exclusion of women from ski jumping, the only sport which bears that dubious distinction. Sure looks like the IOC is ignoring its own standards of inclusivity and non-discrimination. They're hiding behind their stupid policy that NEW sports introduced to the Olympics must include both men and women, but sports which predate that policy are exempt. They could vote to make that policy retroactive, since it affects only one sport! You can read the announcement on the IOC site. And you can read the reaction published in the Park Record, the newspaper in Park City UT, where the US women's team is based. Check out an interesting reaction by a retired jumper who's a sports reporter for a suburban St Paul MN newspaper, Wally Wakefield. Here's more ... read Alan Abrahamson's blog on NBC Sports, and another article posted on the Ski Racing Magazine website.

The international governing body of ski sports, the FIS, voted in May to include a women's division in the 2009 World Championships, and three years ago created an international series for women, the Ladies' Continental Cup (LCOC). More about our female ski jumpers on the WomensSkiJumpingUSA website ... click logo at right.

Preserving US Ski Jumping History
Effort underway to recognize sport's US roots, history, and athletes
Last fall, several folks from Red Wing MN organized an informal meeting of people from the surrounding area to verify that the first recorded US ski jumping tournament had indeed taken place in Red Wing in 1887. Research and discussion led to the conclusion that, although there were attempts to organize earlier competitions, the Red Wing event was historically the first. There has been some preliminary work done to establish a display in Red Wing that will document its role as the "Birthplace of American Ski Jumping" and the pioneering role of Red Wing's Aurora Ski Club.

Over last winter, further discussions and a series of e-mails and conversations with people in other regions has prompted an effort to compile a listing of collections of ski jumping memorabilia, artifacts, photos, articles, trophies, etc. There are many people and clubs with collections, many of which are in danger of being lost in the future, and this will begin a process of identification of what's out there. While there's been no discussion of a central repository, most folks have concurred that a web-based listing of personal collections and clubhouse museums would be a worthwhile endeavor, and it might be a first step toward establishing a physical repository. Please visit AmericanSkiJumping.com to find out more about this effort, and to provide information about any collections you may know about.

Furthermore, although outstanding US jumpers have been recognized in the past by the National Ski Hall of Fame, it seems appropriate to have a Hall of Fame specific to the sport of ski jumping. It is clearly the consensus of this informal discussion group that such a HOF should be primarily web-based and virtual, not confined to a specific physical location.

2006 Year-End Homepage Access
See stories & coverage from March 2006 and earlier seasons
Each spring, we archive our homepage with end-of-year stories. You can view these pages via the links below.

• 2006 - US Women #1 Team, Torino Olympics
• 2005 - Romoeren Flies 239M at Planica
• 2004 - Ahonen World Champ, Women Fly in Norway
• 2003 - Hautamaeki 231M, Spillane Wins First US Gold
• 2002 - Kids Learning to Jump, Alborn Flies 221.5M

Our Visitor Traffic Continues To Grow
Olympics, Women's Continental Cup drew 100K+ visitors
During the winter 2005-2006 season, we set all-time visitor records. We had 22K+ visitors in January, 42K+ visitors for February, and 20K+ in March. We drew just about 100K for the winter 2006 competition season from December through March, at about 5 minutes per visit. We averaged well over 300 per day throughout the summer, up significantly over last year.

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WomensSkiJumpingUSA
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On The Road Again
Comments and observations from coaches and athletes as they travel to international competitions.