Global party at Holmenkollen
March 17, 2013
PHOTO FEATURE: They came from all over the world: Thousands of ski jumping fans, and probably lots of folks who may never have seen ski jumping in their lives before, gathered at Holmenkollen in the hills above Oslo on Sunday to watch men and women hurl themselves off the newly rebuilt hill in World Cup [...]
Sun finally shone on sporty weekend
March 17, 2013
Norwegian sports fans were torn during the weekend among the annual Birkebeiner ski race in Lillehammer, World Cup competition at Holmenkollen in Oslo and even the launch of the football season. After a surprising snowfall that began Friday, the sun finally came out and so did thousands of fans and participants at all the major [...]
Holmenkollen tries to lure back fans
March 13, 2013
World Cup ski jumping and ski racing are set to return to Holmenkollen in Oslo this weekend, and organizers are hoping that cheering crowds will return as well. Grandstands were embarrassingly empty last year, after a sharp rise in ticket prices, but now tickets are cheaper, some local embassies have tried to help stir interest [...]
Jacobsen does it again
March 1, 2013
The comeback of ski jumper Anders Jacobsen kept rolling this week when he wound up on the winners’ platform at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Italy, after securing a bronze medal in the men’s individual jumping competition on the largest hill. He credited some volleyball for his performance, which some commentators called “incredible.” [...]
Ticket sales brisk for cheaper ski jumping
January 14, 2013
Skiing officials learned a tough lesson last year, when they jacked up ticket prices for the annual World Cup ski jumping event at the still-new Holmenkollen Ski Jump in Oslo, and ended up with the smallest crowd in years. Now they’ve brought prices back down and sales are brisk. “Prices cut in half, widespread mobilizing [...]
Ski jumpers robbed in Poland, but end up winning
January 10, 2013
UPDATED: Members of Norway’s national men’s ski jumping team, flying high after thrilling performances at last week’s Hoppuka competition, were brutally brought back to earth after traveling on to Poland, where they became victims Tuesday night of what the team’s coach called “well-prepared” robbers. They later shook off the shock, though, and jumped their way [...]
Sagen jumping for joy, too
January 7, 2013
Anette Sagen, Norway’s pioneering female ski jumper, made Norwegian sports history herself over the weekend, when she won Norway’s first World Cup victory in ski jumping for women ever. Sagen herself called the victory “extremely wonderful.” While the men’s national ski jumping team was winning spots on the platform at the annual Hoppuka tournament in [...]
Ski jumper made grand comeback
January 7, 2013
UPDATED: Norwegian ski jumper Anders Jacobsen logged the happiest of New Years when he won his second victory during the prestigious German-Austrian Hoppuka (Four Hills Tournament) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen last week. He ended up placing second overall but his performance marked a major comeback, after Jacobsen took a break from jumping last year to work as a [...]
Jumping for joy over World Cup(s)
March 19, 2012
Anders Bardal, who’s been ski jumping for the Norwegian national men’s team since 2001, finally won his first overall World Cup during the weekend after 11 years of trying. Norwegian cross-country ski racer Marit Bjørgen, on the other hand, brought home her third World Cup victory after also winning a string of World Championships and [...]
Thousands head for Holmenkollen
March 9, 2012
Organizers aren’t expecting as many spectators as in years past, but thousands of winter sports fans will once again head for the hills above Oslo this weekend for the annual World Cup competitions in Nordic skiing and ski jumping. Around 25,000 are expected on Sunday, when the world’s top skiers will hurl themselves off the [...]
Norwegians didn’t fly far enough
February 27, 2012
Norwegian athletes let down their local fans on home turf for the second week in a row on Sunday, when Norway’s ski jumping team failed to win a spot on the winners’ platform at the FIS Ski Flying World Championships at Vikersund. A silver medal in individual competition on Saturday was the best that team [...]
Ski jumpers ready to fly at Vikersund
February 22, 2012
UPDATED: The world’s best ski jumpers have gathered at Vikersund, southwest of Oslo, for this weekend’s FIS Ski Flying World Championships, but they won’t just be flying through the air with the greatest of ease. Years of hard work and training are behind every one of the young men taking part. Among them was Norwegian [...]
Battered but brave after bad fall
January 2, 2012
UPDATED: Norwegian ski jumping star Tom Hilde put a brave but badly bruised face on his spectacular fall during the annual New Year’s week of competition in the alps. He blamed himself, managed to smile and joke and was in amazingly good shape despite being told his season was over. “I’ll just have to use [...]
Brand new ski jump full of mistakes
August 4, 2011
Oslo’s new Holmenkollen Ski Jump opened just in time for last winter’s Nordic Skiing World Championships, after enormous budget overruns and political controversy. Now it seems it’s full of construction mistakes and deficiencies, and the price tag may rise further. Newspaper Aften reported last week that a long list of problems has cropped up after [...]
Northug back to playing poker
April 15, 2011
Norway’s cross country skiing star Petter Northug has swapped his ski poles for poker chips, and that’s not good news for the national athletic association or gaming officials. Meanwhile, sports bureaucrats are looking for a new coach for Northug and other skiers and ski jumpers with several candidates in the running. Northug, who won a [...]
