Bronze for Norway in historic ski jumping event

Women’s ski-jumping made its debut at the Nordic skiing World Championships in Liberec, Czech Republic on Feb. 20, hoping to secure a place on the programme of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Anette Sagen. Photo: Wikipedia.

Norway’s Anette Sagen (24) won the bronze medal, while American Lindsey Van (24) won gold. Germany’s Ulrike Grässle took home the silver.

It’s been 85 years since an American ski jumper won a World Championship medal in a sport dominated by Europeans, reports Seattle Times.

Anette, who started jumping at 12 years old, has been competing since 2003. She won the women’s ski jumping event at the Holmenkollen ski festival, Oslo in 2004 and 2005, the last two years the event was held.

Anette, who had thirty-six additional victories as of 2008, jumped 94 m in the final round in Liberec, against Van’s 97.5 m.

Sagen, who is from Mosjøen in Nordland county, has been campaigning for women participation in Olympic and WC ski jumping for many years.

In 2006, the International Olympic Committee turned down the sport’s application for the 2010 Vancouver Games, saying that the sport had not developed enough, reports the New York Times. 

But 10 female ski-jumpers, from around the world, have filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia to force the Vancouver Organizing Committee to include the sport. A hearing is scheduled for April 20.