Norwegian ski jumper Anders Fannemel literally flew his way to a new world record during ski flying competition at Vikersund over the weekend. Fannemel performed what was widely credited as “a perfect jump” when he landed securely at 251.5 meters.
The crowd gasped, his teammates cheered and his coach seemed close to tears as Fannemel triumphantly raised his arms in the air after soaring through it. The previous world record in ski flying was also held by a Norwegian, Johan Remen Evensen, for the past four years. Evensen said he “abdicated with humility” to allow Fannemel to seize the honour.
Fannemel ended up in second place, though, at the international competition in Vikersund, southwest of Oslo. His second jump wasn’t nearly as good, landing at 202 meters, meaning that Severin Freund of Germany took first place because his two combined jumps were better. Fannemel wasn’t crushed, though, and claimed he’ll head to the World Championships in Falun, Sweden later this week with renewed self-confidence.
newsinenglish.no staff
