Battle of Weight Versus Gain in Ski Jumping

By JERÉ LONGMAN
NYT

WHISTLER, British Columbia — One by one, the Olympic ski jumpers launched themselves in training for Friday’s opening competition, lifting off the ramp at nearly 55 miles an hour, floating more than the length of a football field, hands tucked at their side, their skis flared in a V-shape.

Once the V-technique came into vogue in the 1980s, replacing the classic style of holding the skis parallel, jumping became more dependent on flight dynamics like lift and drag than on the propulsion force of the athletes, experts said.

Body weight became a critical factor. The lighter a jumper was, the farther he could jump. Depending on the size of the hill used in competition, jumpers said, a weight loss of a kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, could result in added distance of two to four meters or 6 ½ to 13 feet.

As an unintended consequence, ski jumping — which permits only men to compete in the Olympics — became troubled by athletes with extremely low body weight and eating disorders more commonly attributed to female gymnasts and figure skaters.

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