Retro news: When 21.5 metres was enough to win the ski jumping competition
31.1.2024
Translation: machine translated
132 years ago today, the first official ski jumping competition took place on the Holmenkollbakken ski jump in Oslo. The event is now part of Norway's biggest sporting event and is also highly regarded internationally.
The Holmenkollen is Oslo's local mountain and the Holmenkollbakken is the city's landmark. The large ski jump stands out as a huge, light-coloured steel structure that is only connected to the ground in three places. It is considered to be the oldest ski jumping facility in the world and the birthplace of ski jumping. The first official ski jumping competition took place here in 1892 as part of the Holmenkollen Ski Festival, which has been held annually ever since.
Source: Holmenkollenskifest / Instagram
A total of 189 brave men tried their luck in front of around 12,000 spectators. Each athlete was allowed to jump three times over the mounded small hill. Only six competitors managed to land all attempts standing up. All the others fell at least once. The Norwegian Arne Ustvedt jumped a full 21.5 metres and won the competition. For comparison: the current hill record is held by the Norwegian Robert Johansson with 144 metres from 2019. The world record is now 253.5 metres, set by the Austrian Stefan Kraft on the Monsterbakken in Vikersund, Norway, in 2017.
The Holmenkollen Ski Festival: A Norwegian bank holidays with international significance
The Holmenkollen Ski Festival combined a ski jumping competition with an 18-kilometre cross-country race. Nowadays, the festival takes place over several days (29 February to 10 March 2024) and offers a colourful mix of winter sports: ski jumping, Nordic combined, biathlon, cross-country skiing - for both men and women. It is the biggest sporting event in Norway and is also highly regarded internationally. Ski jumping is the highlight of the festival. The royal family is a regular guest. The stadium can accommodate up to 70,000 spectators. Holmenkollen Day is considered the unofficial second Norwegian bank holidays.
Source: Unbekannt (Dagbladet, Norsk Folkemuseum)
In addition to four Nordic World Ski Championships (1930, 1966, 1982 and 2011), the Winter Olympics were also held here in 1952. The Norwegian Arnfinn Bergmann won the gold medal in front of 120,000 spectators.
220 million euros for the latest renovation
Source: Holmenkollenskifest / Instagram
Holmenkollbakken has already been remodelled several times, most recently in 2008/09 for the 2011 Nordic World Ski Championships. 220 million euros were invested by Norway in the complete renovation of the traditional arena - the construction of the new large hill alone cost 75 million euros. There are huge wind protection walls on its sides. It rises 60 metres above the ground, 417 metres above sea level. The new Holmenkollen Ski Museum is located in the inrun tower.
Cover photo: Nanisimova / Shutterstock
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