The Beijing Winter Olympics ski jumping competition was held at the National Ski Jumping Center from February 5th to 14th. A total of 5 gold medals were won, involving the men's individual standard platform, the men's individual grand diving platform, the men's team, the women's individual standard platform and the newly added mixed groups.
The National Ski Jumping Center is the first ski jumping venue in my country that meets international standards. The architectural inspiration comes from the traditional Chinese auspicious ornament "Ruyi", so it is also known as "Xue Ruyi".
Ski jumping originated in Norway and is known as the "Jumanji".
Since the first Winter Olympics in 1924, ski jumping has been an official event. At the 1964 Innsbruck Winter Olympics, ski jumping was clearly divided into standard platforms and big platforms, but it was not until the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. , only female athletes are allowed to participate in the standard ski jumping competition.
Unlike racing sports, which prefer "downwind", ski jumpers prefer "headwind".
In headwind conditions, the airflow will "hold up" the athlete's body, thereby slowing the descent and increasing the flight distance.
From the traditional jump with the body straight or the legs slightly bent, to the modern jump with the trunk leaning forward and the arms extending forward, to the V-shaped gliding where the body is as parallel as possible to the snowboard and the arms are attached to the side of the body. Coupled with the improvement of equipment performance supported by new technology, ski jumping warriors can continue to challenge their limits and surpass themselves.
It should be pointed out that due to the differences in natural conditions such as temperature, wind speed, wind direction, and visibility, as well as the differences in the angle of the slideway and the elevation angle of the take-off end of different platforms, the ski jumping event can only be based on the specific weather and venue conditions on the day of the competition. The best results are judged according to the competitive situation, and there is no horizontal comparison with the results of other times or other venues, so there is no world record.
In terms of flying distance, the best result of ski jumping has exceeded 250 meters.
Ski jumping started late in my country.
In the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, the Chinese sports delegation sent a team to participate in the ski jumping event for the first time.
In the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Chang Xinyue became the first Chinese female ski jumper to break into the Winter Olympics.
In this Winter Olympics, my country successfully realized the simultaneous participation of men's and women's events.
Although there is still a gap in absolute strength compared with high-level athletes in this event, as the inspirational movie "Eagle Eddie" said: "The important thing in the Olympic Games is not only victory, but also participation; the meaning of life is incomplete. It’s about triumph, but it’s about struggle.” Maybe Chinese ski jumpers won’t be able to get medals at this Winter Olympics, but the brave jump on “Xue Ruyi” is destined to be remembered in the history of Chinese snow sports Winter Olympics. moment.
(The author is a professor at Beijing Sports University)
Bai Yufei