Flying into the future - the flights in Vikersund
There is nothing better for the ski jumping fans around the world than the ability to watch the very long jumps. The ski flying competitions are very special and in this year there is a huge hunger of the long flights because of unsuccessful ski flying competitions on Kulm, which were interrupted by strong wind. Now the World Cup rivalry moves to Norwegian Vikersund, on the biggest hill in the World - Vikersundbakken.
That's right, I didn't make a mistake - since Thursday the only ski flying hill in Scandinavia is officially still the biggest one in the world. Now both of them - the modernized Letalnica hill in Slovenian Planica and Vikersundbakken have the same K-point and hill size - K 200 and HS 225. But the hill in Vikersund has a special place in the heart of ski jumpers as well as ski jumping fans. Few days ago we celebrated the 4th anniversary of setting the new world record in the length of the ski jump by Norwegian Johan Remen Evensen, who exactly on February 11, 2011 jumped amazingly on 246,5 meter. As he says someone can break his record in this weekend.
The first confirmation of the words of the world record holder came on Thursday with the first test jumps on the hill. 22 young Norwegian ski jumpers got the possibility to jump on Vikersundbakken as a prejumpers. The opportunity fully used 21-year-old Sigurd Nymoen Søberg, who in his ski flying debut jumped 236 meters, which was the result only 3 meters weaker than the previous world record which set Bjørn Einar Romøren in Planica.
After the modernization which took place at the turn of 2010 and 2011 we can watch the pure beauty of the jumping. Yesterday two talented athletes got closer to the world record - Slovenian Peter Prevc jumped 245,5 meter and Norwegian Anders Fannemel 246 meters, which is the result only 0,5 meter weaker than the world record.
Vikersundbakken is undoubtedly very difficult, requiring object. But there were few jumpers who managed to jump over 240 meters on the biggest hill in the world:
- Johan Remen Evensen - 246,5, 243 and 240 meters - Anders Fannemel - 246 and 244,5 meters - Peter Prevc - 245,5 meters - Robert Kranjec - 244 meters
- Gregor Schlierenzauer - 243,5 and 240 meters - Martin Koch - 243 (with fall) and 241,5 meters - Rune Velta - 243 meters - Daiki Ito - 240 meters
- Janne Happonen - 240 meters
In Vikersund the world record was set five times in history - now there is a huge chance that someone will break the barrier of 250 meters and set the 6th one.
By Anna Sobol
