Winter Olympics 2010 Guide: Ski-jumping

Skiing & Ski jumping / Editor / 04 February 2010 / Leave a comment

It's been around for two centuries, style and size are what it comes down to but landing can be the difference between a medal and going home empty-handed. Here's everything you need to know about betting on Olympic ski-jumping...

"Gregor Schlierenzauer has 31 World Cup victories to his name and is ranked No 2 in the world."

What is it?
Just like the art of loving your lady, ski-jumping is about style and length. You know the drill. Someone with a concrete constitution but a featherlight frame stands a top a bloody great hill and skis down. From lift-off, the norm is lean forward and form an aerodynamic V with your skis. Good style minimises drag so often the longest jumps get the most style points.

The judges' view on the landing can make a huge difference. The 'normal hill' individual event sees qualifiers join the 15 top-ranked jumpers over a two rounds. The order of the second jump is the reverse standings from the first round. The 'large hill' is the same except... guess what? The hill is bigger. There is a team event where four competitors each jump in the first round but only the top eight top-placed teams got for it in the second.

History
Ski-jumping has been for around over 200 years. In 1809, Olaf Rye, a lieutenant in the Norwegian army, launched himself 9.5 metres high in front of his fellow soldiers. It made the Olympics in Chamonix in 1924 with the 'large hill' event coming in 40 years later. The most successful jumper of all-time is Matti Nykanen, who won the normal, large and team events at Calgary. However, his struggles with alcohol are well-known and in December 2004 he was given a 26-month sentence after stabbing a friend during a drunken binge.

Who to watch
Gregor Schlierenzauer has 31 World Cup victories to his name and is ranked No 2 in the world. He is the reigning World Cup Ski Jumping champion and also took the honours in the Ski Flying Championship too.

Fact!
For decades, jumpers leapt with parallel skis. The man who changed that was Sweden's Jan Boklov. He was penalised for his unorthodox style. It was only really taken on board after analysis showed it brought 28 per cent more lift.

Best Bet
Austria to take the team gold. All five members are ranked in the top 10 and all have won World Cup medals this season.

Tags: Gregor Schlierenzauer, Richard Douglas, Ski-jumping betting, Vancouver 2010 betting odds, Winter Olympics betting