Portrait: Anders Fannemel
Anders Fannemel, 24-year-old ski jumper from Norway, for few years now belongs to the most talented world jumpers.
He started his adventure with ski jumping in age of 14 and already two years later in 2007 he found himself in the Norwegian national team. In 2008 he debuted in the Continental Cup in Lillehammer with two seventh places and one year later also in the same place he debuted in the World Cup and scored his first World Cup points by being ranked 10th.
To the World Cup he came back in 2012 and it was the first year of his amazing successes. During the World Championships in ski flying, which took place in Vikersund, he jumped 244,5 meters, which was the second best distance achieved in the history of ski jumping.
His very first World Cup victory he achieved in 2014 in Nizhny Tagil and together with this victory he also won the yellow BIB of the World Cup leader. His second victory came two months later in Titisee-Neustadt and that makes the current season the best in his career also for one more reason.
After he jumped only 2 meters closer from the world record, he was considered as the successor of the ski flying domination of his compatriot Johan Remen Evensen. This day came 3 years later, during the World Cup in Vikersund, Norway. On the 14th of February 2015 the 4-year-old record of Evensen broke Slovenia's Peter Prevc, who was the first man who jumped 250 meters. However, Fannemel didn't hesitate with response and exactly one day later set the new world record, which is now located on 251,5 meter. That means that the world record is again in Norway after the jumps of Bjørn Einar Romøren (239 meters in Planica, 2005) and Johan Remen Evensen (246,5 meters in Vikersund, 2011).
He found himself in the team for the World Championships in Falun 2015, and so far he finished 9th in the competition at the normal hill Lugnet, in which the best turned out to be his teammate Rune Velta. As may people noticed, Fannemel is better at the big hills so we can definitely say that the best for him at this championships is yet to come.
As a jumper who started to do this sport in late age - as most of the athletes started to jump in much younger age - it is really amazing to see Anders Fannemel jumping on very high level for four seasons now. He is an important part of the Norwegian team and I think he will yet show his best.
By Anna Sobol
