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75-675: The FIS Ski Flying World Championships is a ski flying event organised by the International Ski Federation (FIS) since 1972 and held every two years. The event takes place on hills much larger than ski jumping hills , with the K-point set between 185 metres (607 ft) and 200 m (660 ft). Unlike ordinary ski jumping , the Ski Flying World Champion is determined after four jumps which take place over two days. 40 jumpers qualify for

150-482: A concussion and a fractured rib. He would finish the event with a silver medal, behind winner Hans-Georg Aschenbach . A year later in Planica, in front of a 50,000-strong crowd, Steiner finally achieved the world record he had been striving for, landing a jump of 169 m to equal that of Wossipiwo in 1973. Spectators were astonished and the event organisers momentarily bewildered, as Steiner had landed well beyond

225-730: A K-point of 145 m, therefore not designed for world record distances from the outset. As of 2024 it remains the only ski flying hill to have been built outside of Europe. Planica and Oberstdorf briefly had a new challenger when the Čerťák K165 hill in Harrachov , Czech Republic (then a part of Czechoslovakia ), was opened in 1980. For one year, all three venues shared the world record when Armin Kogler jumped 176 m at Harrachov's opening event. He improved this to 180 m (590 ft) in 1981 , this time in Oberstdorf. Notably, at

300-450: A K-point of 90 m, by far the largest of any hill at the time, but was upgraded in less than two years to 106 m (348 ft) in eager anticipation of the 100+ m jumps to come. In 1938, exactly two years to the day of his milestone jump, Josef Bradl improved his world record by a wide margin to 107 m (351 ft). After a period of wrangling and increasing public interest in the novelty of this new 'extreme' form of ski jumping,

375-494: A K-point of more than 80 m (260 ft) were outright denied a licence to jump, and events allowing for distances beyond 90 m (300 ft) were strongly discouraged – even denounced – on the grounds that they were unnecessarily dangerous and brought the sport into disrepute. Bloudek and his team nonetheless went ahead and flouted the rules in creating a so-called "mammoth hill" specifically designed for previously unimaginable distances. Bloudkova velikanka originally had

450-620: A Slovenian mother in the Slovenian mining town of Idrija . He attended school in Most (in today’s Czech Republic ), where his father worked in the local mining industry. After graduating from secondary school in 1908, Bloudek studied in Prague. At first, he studied at the Academy of Arts , but found it was not his interest and switched to technical studies. He never graduated from the academy, but

525-412: A chilling precursor of more to come. Over the next few years, the one-upmanship continued as the world record was again traded between Planica and Oberstdorf. In 1984 , Matti Nykänen jumped 182 m (597 ft) twice on the same day in Oberstdorf. By improving this to 185 m (607 ft) the next day, Nykänen became the first athlete since Reidar Andersen in 1935 to set three world records in

600-577: A distant memory, as it would instead be Oberstdorf's turn to do the same. Also in 1950, a ski flying hill was built at Kulm in Tauplitz / Bad Mitterndorf , Austria. Peter Lesser first equalled the world record there in 1962, improving it three years later to 145 m (476 ft). Another hill entered the scene in 1966, when Vikersundbakken ("Vikersund hill") in Vikersund , Norway was rebuilt to ski flying specifications, having originally opened as

675-489: A jump of 165 m (541 ft). It can be said that competition between hill locations, all vying for world record honours, truly began at this time. The 1960s remains the decade with the highest amount of world records since the advent of ski flying, with seventeen in total being set on the hills in Oberstdorf, Planica, Kulm and Vikersund. By contrast the 1950s had the fewest with four, all being set in Oberstdorf. The world record stayed in Planica for four years, during which

750-450: A new hill designed and completed in 1934 by engineers Stanko Bloudek and Ivan Rožman, together with Joso Gorec. A year earlier, Olav Ulland had crossed the 100 m barrier in Ponte di Legno , Italy, but touched the snow with his hands, which rendered his jump – and world record – unofficial. With jumps now in the triple digits, Bloudek enthused: "That was no longer ski jumping . That

825-535: A price, as illustrated by filmmaker Werner Herzog in his 1974 documentary The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner . During both the aforementioned events in Oberstdorf and Planica, several athletes including Steiner had far exceeded the limits of the hill by 'out-jumping' it or 'running out of slope'. Jumps were much further than in the 1950s, during which the old Kongsberger technique was still in use. The results were now potentially fatal each time: athletes were landing only metres away from completely flat ground, or

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900-458: A single day at the aforementioned 1983 event, the hill in Harrachov – a location named "Devil's Mountain" – became notorious for causing many violent accidents. Horst Bulau crashed and suffered a concussion, while Steinar Bråten and Jens Weißflog also crashed. Tapio Mikkonen crashed heavily in 1980, as did Ploc in 1985 and Iztok Melin in 1989 . All escaped serious injury, but it was

975-481: A ski jumping hill in 1936. On this newly rebuilt hill the world record was first equalled, then broken twice to end up at 154 m (505 ft) in 1967. Although hills in Norway were still at the forefront of ski jumping, their prominence in ski flying was short-lived, as it would be the last time Vikersund would hold a world record until four decades later. Seeking to co-operate on hill design and event organisation,

1050-712: A test pilot of his plane, Janez Colnar, died during an airshow in Zagreb. In the 1930s, Bloudek designed the first Slovenian car, Triglav , which was produced in 1934 by the Automontaža company, where he was the main constructor until World War II. Bloudek was also an active sportsman. In 1928, he became a member of the Olympic team for the Winter Games in Sankt Moritz as a figure skater, but finally did not compete in

1125-409: A tightrope' in mid-air and leaving athletes at the mercy of the elements. Akimoto, Findeisen, Berg and Goldberger's accidents were all caused by unpredictable gusts of wind that made them lose control at the highest and fastest stage of their jumps, exacerbated by an outdated technique ill-suited to the new extremes of ski flying, as well as the prevalence of older hills featuring very steep slopes. In

1200-407: A transitional period of its own, going from a narrower "V" in the early to mid-1990s – which retained some features of the parallel style – to a much wider one at the end of the decade. Some athletes preferred to cross the back of the skis to exaggerate the "V" angle, while others leaned even more forward so that their body lay almost flat between the skis; both variations remain in use. The V-style

1275-464: A wooden marker indicating Steiner's failed efforts, Herzog explains solemnly: This mark is, in fact, the point where ski flying starts to be inhuman. Walter Steiner was in very great danger. If he'd flown 10 m (33 ft) more, he'd have landed down here on the flat. Just imagine, it's like falling from a height of 110 m (360 ft) onto a flat surface: to a certain death. In Planica, Herzog quoted Steiner as having said that he felt like he

1350-441: Is a form of competitive individual Nordic skiing where athletes descend at high speed along a specially designed takeoff ramp using skis only; jump from the end of it with as much power as they can generate; then glide – or 'fly' – as far as possible down a steeply sloped hill ; and ultimately land within a target zone in a stable manner. Points are awarded for distance and stylistic merit by five judges. Events are governed by

1425-542: Is also a stronger emphasis on aerodynamics and harnessing the wind, as well as an increased element of danger due to athletes flying much higher and faster than in ski jumping. From its beginnings in the 1930s, ski flying has developed its own distinct history and since given rise to all of the sport's world records . The first hill designed specifically for ski flying was built in Yugoslavia in 1934, after which both Germany and Austria built their own hills in 1950. This

1500-474: Is shown to reflect with trepidation in Oberstdorf: Ski flying has reached the point where it's beginning to present real dangers. We've just about reached the limit, I believe, as far as speed is concerned. ... Maybe I'd prefer to turn back [and] go back to flying off 150- or 130-metre hills, but it's the thrill of flying so far that nevertheless gives me a kick. Further down the hill and pointing to

1575-459: Is still not immune to failure if the air pressure under one ski is lost, but the results are much less catastrophic than with the parallel style; the latter had resulted in more head-first landings, whereas the V-style sees somewhat 'safer' landings on the back or shoulders. According to Mike Holland, "If you were hit by a gust of wind in the air, you would just flip over mid-flight", in reference to

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1650-509: The 1973 Ski Flying World Championships . Janez Gorišek was brought in to oversee the project following Heini Klopfer's death in 1968. With the gauntlet laid down, the results were showcased immediately when Heinz Wossipiwo set a world record of 169 m (554 ft) in Oberstdorf. Determined to claim the world record for himself, Walter Steiner – the reigning Ski Flying World Champion – jumped 175 m (574 ft) and 179 m (587 ft) but crashed heavily on both attempts, sustaining

1725-457: The 1992 Ski Flying World Championships in Harrachov, where Andreas Goldberger suffered a similar crash to the ones which occurred in Kulm in 1986. On the first day of the event, a few seconds into his second jump, dangerous wind conditions forced Goldberger to lose control at a height of around 9 m and a speed of more than 107.4 km/h (66.7 mph), sending him plummeting face-first onto

1800-577: The International Ski Federation ( Fédération Internationale de Ski ; FIS). The rules and scoring in ski flying are mostly the same as they are in ski jumping, and events under the discipline are usually contested as part of the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup season, but the hills (of which there are only five remaining, all in Europe) are constructed to different specifications in order to enable jumps of up to 66% longer in distance. There

1875-693: The Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation and was imprisoned for this in 1942 and 1945. in 1958, he became the first honorary member of the Slovenian Football Association and in the following year led the renovation of the Bežigrad Stadium . He died on 26 November 1959 while writing a letter regarding the construction of ski jumping hills across Yugoslavia. To honour his achievements, a bust of Stanko Bloudek

1950-576: The Super Bowl of winter sports. The origins of ski flying can be traced directly to 15 March 1936 in Planica , Slovenia (then a part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia ), when 18-year-old Austrian Josef "Sepp" Bradl became the first man in history to land a ski jump of over 100 metres (330 ft). His world record jump of 101.5 m (333 ft) was set at Bloudkova velikanka ("Bloudek giant"),

2025-440: The 1980 Harrachov event, 16-year-old rookie Steve Collins won all three competitions with jumps consistently close to world record figures. At the 1983 Ski Flying World Championships , Pavel Ploc brought the world record back to Harrachov (which had since been upgraded to K185) by jumping 181 m (594 ft); this remains the last time a world record was set there. The issue of safety in ski flying had resurfaced. In only

2100-441: The 1983 Ski Flying World Championships in Harrachov, Mike Holland said: Climbing over the knoll, I thought 'this is SO damned high, I shouldn't be this high.' Since I wasn't ready for such height and speed, I threw out my arms at the end of the flight and let myself down 4 m (13 ft) short of the world record. It was during this time that the entire sport of ski jumping underwent a significant transition in technique. Until

2175-557: The FIS relented. In 1938, a decision was made at the fifteenth International Ski Congress in Helsinki , Finland, to allow for "experimental" hill design, thereby officially recognising ski flying as a sanctioned discipline. Despite this reluctant recognition, the FIS still frowned upon the practice of aiming predominantly for long distances over style, and presently refuses to publish lists of world records in an official capacity. Furthermore,

2250-521: The FIS, another milestone had been reached as ski flying was now granted its own world championship-level event on par with the Ski Jumping World Championships , having spent almost four decades as a mere 'special attraction' alongside its older and more prestigious sibling. With no world records set at the 1972 event, the organisers in Oberstdorf got to work by upgrading their hill to a K-point of 175 m (574 ft) for

2325-526: The K-point at Velikanka bratov Gorišek was upgraded to 165 m in time for the inaugural Ski Flying World Championships in 1972 , which eventually superseded International Ski Flying Week. This new event was sanctioned a year earlier by the FIS at their 28th International Ski Congress in Opatija , Croatia (then a part of Yugoslavia). Much like in 1938 when the discipline received official recognition from

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2400-410: The air, just as before, and crashed almost identically to Findeisen. One of Berg's skis, which had come loose after impact and was still attached to his foot, flailed around and hit him in the face – exposed due to his goggles detaching – as he was sliding to a stop. His injuries, including concussion and a broken ACL , were career-ending. At this point, Trautwig began calling into question the nature of

2475-472: The biggest jumping hill in the world, sometimes called "the mother of all jumping hills". Another ski jumping hill based on plans by Bloudek was built in the Šiška District of Ljubljana in 1954 and existed until 1976. International competitions for the Kongsberg Cup were organised there, attended by thousands of spectators. In Ljubljana, he also built and sometimes financed a number of other objects:

2550-604: The competition and jump the first round, 10 are eliminated, and the 30 remaining jumpers compete in the last three rounds. The person with most points combined after four jumps is declared the World Champion. In 2004, the FIS introduced a team event between national teams of four jumpers, with two jumps each. The competitions are not included in the general classification of the Ski Jumping World Cup and Ski Flying World Cup . The exception to this rule were

2625-589: The competition. In 1929, he became the Slovene champion in the discus throw , after he threw it 29.95 metres (98.3 ft). As an engineer, Bloudek was also engaged in building sports facilities. Based on his plans, the Bloudek Giant , the ski jumping hill in Planica , was built in 1934. There the first jump over 100 m was achieved in 1936 by the Austrian Sepp Bradl . At the time, this was

2700-448: The early 1990s nearly all athletes used the parallel style (or Däscher technique), in which the skis are held close together and parallel to each other. This had been the norm since the 1950s; Matti Nykänen created a variation in the 1980s with the skis pointed diagonally to the side in a crude attempt to increase surface area , yielding more distance. However, this came largely at the expense of stability and balance, akin to 'walking

2775-541: The end of World War I, Bloudek moved to his mother's home in Ljubljana, and he lived in Ljubljana until his death. There he was also busy in developing flight, and he also showed interest in improving cars. In the 1920s, he and the Ljubljana Aeroclub constructed another monoplane, named Sraka ('Magpie'), and then a two-seat aircraft, named Bloudek XV (nicknamed Lojze ). He ceased his work in 1934, when

2850-405: The end of the event, which was shortened to only a single competition round due to strong winds forcing cancellation of the other. Jinya Nishikata and Johan Rasmussen each suffered heavy crashes due to these winds. In 2014, Nieminen spoke about the jump that cemented his name in the history books: Stanko Bloudek Stanko Bloudek was born on 11 February 1890 as son of a Czech father and

2925-506: The equivalent of falling from a multi-storey building with forward momentum. Furthermore, only a wool cap and goggles – or no headgear at all – were worn; an antiquated feature left unchanged from the very earliest days of ski jumping more than 150 years prior. In 1979, at their 32nd International Ski Congress in Nice , France, the FIS mandated helmets to be worn by athletes at all ski jumping and flying events. In Herzog's documentary, Steiner

3000-426: The fall. Former ski jumper Jeff Hastings , co-commentating, said: "I'm feeling a little sick to my stomach, Al... I can't believe this. I've never seen ski flying like this... So many falls." Findeisen was barely conscious and had to be stretchered away, later going into cardiac arrest but surviving. In the next round of the competition, Berg attempted another jump but was not as fortunate this time: he fell out of

3075-451: The fall. With the event cancelled, Goldberger's efforts from earlier were enough to earn him a silver medal behind eventual winner Noriaki Kasai , who became the first non-European Ski Flying World Champion. Goldberger was able to return to top-level competition within less than a year. Protective wind nets by the side of the hill were later installed in Harrachov for 1996 to minimise the effects of crosswind, along with major reprofiling of

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3150-530: The first American world record holder since Henry Hall in 1921. Nykänen would follow this up by landing a metre further. In the final round of that event, and in a show of dominance as he closed in on his second Ski Jumping World Cup title, Nykänen wowed the crowd with a jump of 191 m (627 ft) to punctuate his title win and effectively bring the Planica–Oberstdorf rivalry to a close. Mike Holland later described his own jump: The world record jump

3225-620: The first modern football court, the first Olympic-size swimming pool in Yugoslavia (1929), tennis courts, the first skating ring in Slovenia (at Čufar Street , Čufarjeva ulica ), and other structures. Bloudek was also active in sports administration. In 1909, he participated in the establishing the football clubs Hermes and Ilirija . In 1919, he participated in founding the Yugoslav Olympic Committee . He

3300-410: The first to reach 150 m (490 ft). Planica triumphantly reclaimed its world record in 1969 with a new hill named Velikanka bratov Gorišek ("Giant by brothers Gorišek"). This was the brainchild of Slovenian brothers Janez and Vlado Gorišek , both engineers, who opted to design a new hill with a K-point of 153 m (502 ft) instead of enlarging the adjacent Bloudkova velikanka , which

3375-428: The hill below. He was taken by helicopter to a hospital, having sustained a broken arm and collarbone, and a concussion. František Jež also crashed, but was able to walk away with some help. The second and final day of the event was stopped due to worsened weather, culminating in a high-speed fall by Christof Duffner just as he landed a world record-equalling jump of 194 m, albeit rendered invalid because of

3450-484: The hill had a K-point of 120 m to match that of Bloudkova velikanka . The FIS, still wary of the rising popularity of ski flying and wanting to keep it in check, refused to sanction the construction of the hill, having previously denounced the 1947 and 1948 events in Planica. The stance of the FIS eased once again, as the inaugural event in Oberstdorf was given approval to be staged in 1950. During this week-long event, an estimated crowd of altogether 100,000 witnessed

3525-499: The hills (athletes were reaching 15 m (49 ft) in Planica) and takeoff speeds (Pavel Ploc reached 115.6 km/h (71.8 mph) in Harrachov in 1983) at an all-time high, as well as distances approaching 200 m (660 ft), the FIS took a stance against record-hunting for safety reasons. From Felder's world record in 1986 onwards, the FIS implemented a rule in which distance points would not be awarded beyond 191 m;

3600-727: The jump would still count, but no points further than that could be achieved. Per this rule, Fijas' jump was officially scaled down to 191 m by the FIS, but the KOP group (led by the organisers in Kulm, Oberstdorf and Planica) independently recorded the actual figure. Neither Kulm nor Planica would hold a ski flying event for several years, leaving Oberstdorf and Vikersund to host the Ski Flying World Championships in 1988 and 1990 , respectively. At those events, world record distances and major incidents were avoided. The dangers of ski flying were still on full display at

3675-473: The jump], many thousands of curious eyes looked up at the judges' tower. I could hardly believe it when an additional '1' popped up on the scoreboard! In the early 1930s, prior to the construction of Bloudkova velikanka , the FIS had deemed ski jumping hills with a K-point (German: Konstruktionspunkt ) of 70 m (230 ft) to be the absolute largest permissible. Athletes who chose to compete on hills with

3750-493: The last time Planica would hold the world record for almost two decades, as emerging new hills would soon provide stern competition. A challenger to Planica arrived in 1949 with the construction of Heini-Klopfer-Skiflugschanze ("Heini Klopfer ski flying hill") in Oberstdorf , West Germany . Designed by former ski jumper turned architect Heini Klopfer , as well as then-active ski jumpers Toni Brutscher and Sepp Weiler ,

3825-496: The late 1980s and early 1990s, Jan Boklöv pioneered the V-style : skis were instead spread outwards in an aerodynamic "V" shape, with the athlete's body lying much flatter between them. This created yet more surface area and lift , instantly enabling distances of up to ten per cent further. It also had a favourable effect of granting more stability in the air, although the peak speed was some 10 km/h (6.2 mph) slower than

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3900-552: The markers used to indicate distance alongside the hill, which only went as far as the existing K-point of 165 m. For the first time since their respective hills had been built, the competition was levelled between Oberstdorf and Planica. On the next day of the event in the latter, Steiner tried to go even further: he landed at 177 m (581 ft) but fell down on what was almost flat ground, although this time he managed to walk away (albeit on unsteady legs) with only cuts to his face. All these increasingly long distances came at

3975-521: The opening day of the event, Martin Höllwarth jumped 196 m (643 ft) to edge the world record ever closer to 200 m. This was the first time a world record had been set using the V-style, with Piotr Fijas' being the last to use the parallel style. Andreas Goldberger became the first ski jumper in history to cross the 200 m barrier when he landed at 202 m (663 ft) but failed to maintain his balance as he squatted down and touched

4050-416: The parallel style. In 1994, ski flying returned to a newly independent Slovenia, where the hill in Planica had been reprofiled with the aim of allowing for jumps of more than 200 m. The FIS was strongly against this and initially threatened to cancel the event on the grounds that its regulations on hill design had been violated. Negotiations between the organisers in Planica and the FIS managed to defuse

4125-437: The parallel style. At first this new technique was looked upon unfavourably by the judges, who made it an issue to downgrade style points for those who used it. Nevertheless, within a few years, with Boklöv having won the 1988/89 Ski Jumping World Cup season and other athletes promptly adopting the technique, the judges' stance quietly eased and the V-style became the ubiquitous standard still used today. The V-style itself had

4200-495: The rules for ski flying would not be fully established until after World War II . In 1941, with the K-point increased further to 120 m (390 ft), the world record was broken five times in Planica: it went from 108 m (354 ft) to 118 m (387 ft) in a single day, shared between four athletes. After World War II had passed, Fritz Tschannen matched the K-point with a jump of 120 m in 1948. This marked

4275-440: The same height, at an estimated takeoff speed of 112 kilometres per hour (70 mph), but was able to land safely on both skis. Immediately afterwards, Ulf Findeisen fell out of the air on his jump, crashing down face-first from 9 m and flipping head over heels repeatedly along the slope, only coming to a stop several seconds later. Al Trautwig , commentating for American TV network ABC , likened Findeisen to "a ragdoll" after

4350-625: The seasons 1991/1992, 1993/1994, 1995/1996 and 1997/1998, in which the points scored during the Ski Flying World Championships in Harrachov (in 1992 ), in Planica (in 1994 ), in Tauplitz/Bad Mitterndorf (in 1996 ) and in Oberstdorf (in 1998 ). Europe After the FIS Ski Flying World Championships 2024 Ski flying Ski flying is a winter sport discipline derived from ski jumping , in which much greater distances can be achieved. It

4425-420: The situation, allowing that year's Ski Flying World Championships to take place. Before the event, Espen Bredesen said: "Of course I want to be the first [to reach 200 m], but I think that 210 m (690 ft) or 215 m (705 ft) are also possible." With most athletes having switched to the V-style, the sport was about to reach one of its biggest ever milestones. During the training round on

4500-456: The slope to comply with FIS safety regulations. This reprofiling – particularly at the hill's highest point, known as the knoll – was critical in reducing the fearsome height reached by athletes after takeoff, verified to be as high as 18 m (59 ft) in 1980. Thanks to these modifications, athletes no longer jumped with as much height as before and no major accidents have occurred in Harrachov since 1992. Speaking about his experience at

4575-493: The snow with his hands, rendering his jump an unofficial world record . The official honours went to Toni Nieminen only a short time later, who cleanly landed a jump of 203 m (666 ft) to claim the world record. On the next day during the second training round, Christof Duffner almost had his moment of glory when he jumped 207 m (679 ft), but fell upon landing just as he had done two years earlier in Harrachov. In that same training round, Espen Bredesen claimed

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4650-410: The space of 24 hours. It would be the end of an era as this was the last time a world record was set in Oberstdorf; altogether twenty were set there. In 1985 , to coincide with that year's Ski Flying World Championships , Planica underwent another upgrade to increase the K-point to 185 m. World records were again shattered as a result. Mike Holland first jumped 186 m (610 ft) to become

4725-399: The sport: "Jeff, we talk about the fear and why the ski flyers are scared... I'm really starting to ask, why we're here and why they're doing it." Ernst Vettori , who was awaiting his own jump, withdrew from the event after witnessing the falls. Ski flying endured a static era beginning in 1987 , when Piotr Fijas set a world record of 194 m (636 ft) in Planica. With height over

4800-426: The venues at Kulm, Oberstdorf and Planica formed the KOP working group in 1962 (KOP being an abbreviation of Kulm/Oberstdorf/Planica). This group would go on to consult with the FIS in all aspects of ski flying, celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2012. In 1953, Kulm hosted the first International Ski Flying Week, which would be the premier event in ski flying until 1972. In 1967, in Oberstdorf, Lars Grini became

4875-642: The venues did not last long, as four world records were set in Oberstdorf within a span of four days in 1976, bringing the official figure up to 176 m (577 ft) set by Toni Innauer at the end of the event. Three years later, Planica drew level once again when Klaus Ostwald equalled the world record. Elsewhere, in the Western Hemisphere, the United States opened its own ski flying venue in 1970: Copper Peak in Ironwood, Michigan , had

4950-403: The world record fall three times, with Dan Netzell claiming the final figure of 135 m (443 ft). Tauno Luiro eclipsed it the following year by jumping 139 m (456 ft), a world record which would stay in place for almost ten years until Jože Šlibar jumped 141 m (463 ft) in 1961. The previous two decades of Planica holding a near-monopoly over the world record now seemed

5025-502: The world record for himself with a clean jump of 209 m (686 ft). The restrictive rule concerning jumps beyond 191 m, in place since 1986, was subsequently abolished by the FIS. However, as the rule was still in place at the time of Nieminen and Bredesen's jumps, their additional distances were nullified. This handed Jaroslav Sakala (with a jump of 185 m) the Ski Flying World Championship at

5100-468: The world record to win the gold medal, ahead of Nykänen who won bronze. All of this was overshadowed by a series of horrific accidents which took place earlier. In treacherous crosswind conditions, Masahiro Akimoto lost control moments after takeoff, falling suddenly from a height of 9 m (30 ft) onto his back. He suffered a fractured ankle in addition to chest and shoulder injuries. A few minutes later, Rolf Åge Berg frighteningly lost control at

5175-542: Was a great friend of Rudolf Cvetko , the first Slovene Olympic medalist, after he helped him keep his job and in promoting fencing in Ljubljana. From 1947 until 1951, he was the president of the Yugoslav Olympic Committee . In 1948, Bloudek became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He was the only Slovene to even be a member of the IOC. During World War II, he heavily financed

5250-546: Was followed by Norway in 1966, the United States in 1970, and Czechoslovakia in 1980. From the 1960s to 1980s, a friendly rivalry between the European venues saw world records being set regularly, together with hill upgrades and evolutions in technique to fly longer distances. Ski flying remains at its most popular in Norway and Slovenia, where the most recent world records over the past three decades have been set in front of audiences numbering 30,000–60,000. It has been called

5325-415: Was in an arena with 50,000 people waiting to see him crash. On the third day of the event, while talking to journalists after a jump, Steiner appeared angered at the organisers' pressure on him to set more world records at the expense of his well-being: "They let me jump too far four times. That shouldn't happen. It's scandalous of those Yugoslav judges up there who are responsible." The stalemate between

5400-634: Was nonetheless regarded as an engineer. Bloudek was engaged as a pioneer of flight. In 1910, when in Prague, he presented his first monoplane called Racek ('Gull'). A second one named Libela ('dragonfly') followed in the next year. For some time he worked together with Igo Etrich , inventor of the Etrich Taube . Before World War I, he was employed in Trutnov , today in the Czech Republic. At that time, he became interested in skiing. After

5475-416: Was showing signs of deterioration. Today, Janez is affectionately called the "father" of modern ski flying and a revered figure in Slovenia. Bloudkova velikanka was subsequently recategorised as a ski jumping hill. At the opening event of Velikanka bratov Gorišek , five world records were set: Bjørn Wirkola and Jiří Raška traded it among themselves four times, until Manfred Wolf ended their run with

5550-567: Was ski flying!" It was with these words that ski flying took on a life of its own. Such was the awe and disbelief at these massive jumps, the units of measurement were trivialised by the media, who suggested that the metre used in Yugoslavia was shorter than elsewhere in Europe. Bradl later spoke fondly of the jump which made him an icon in the sport: The air pushed violently against my chest; I leaned right into it and let it carry me. I had only one wish: to fly as far as possible! ... [After landing

5625-434: Was very smooth. It felt like I was lying on my stomach on a glass coffee table, watching a movie projected on a screen underneath the table. Although the flight was very smooth, it seemed like the movie projector was running the film faster than intended. The 1986 Ski Flying World Championships in Kulm highlighted the dangers of the sport in a most graphic way. In the second competition of the event, Andreas Felder equalled

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