国产吃瓜黑料

MEET OUTSIDE DIGITAL

Full access to 国产吃瓜黑料, now at a lower price

JOIN NOW

Hendrickson was the first woman to ski jump in the Olympics.
Hendrickson was the first woman to ski jump in the Olympics. (Photo: Matthias Schrader/AP)

Sarah Hendrickson鈥檚 Historic and Risky Return to Ski Jumping

The 22-year-old Olympian is preparing to launch off an antique, currently defunct jump in New Hampshire to remind people of the sport's great, overlooked past

Published: 
Hendrickson was the first woman to ski jump in the Olympics.
(Photo: Matthias Schrader/AP)

New perk: Easily find new routes and hidden gems, upcoming running events, and more near you. Your weekly Local Running Newsletter has everything you need to lace up! .

The first time clicked into bindings, she was a toddler in Plymouth, New Hampshire, learning to ski at Tenney Mountain.听This December, the Olympic ski jumper returns to her family's home mountains to celebrate, and launch off of, one of the region's most iconic landmarks: the 80-year-old, 171-foot-high Nansen Ski Jump.

The 22-year-old started听ski jumping in Park City, Utah, in 2002,听won a World Championship in 2013, and, in 2014, became the 听to ski jump in the Olympics, after听recovering听from听a serious knee injury. In June 2015,听her career came to a temporary standstill after she again tore her right ACL听during a practice jump at听Park City.After another knee surgery, more than a year of听rehab, and what she calls听鈥渢he hardest year of my life,鈥 Hendrickson is returning to ski jumping this month. (The exact date of her jump depends on weather.)听

Here's the rub:听no one听has used the听Nansen听Ski Jump since 1985 and no one will likely use it again after her. Here鈥檚 how Hendrickson is听going to do it.

The Ramp

Rising above the pines of the northern White Mountains, the steel frame of Nansen serves as a prominent remnant of the vibrant ski-jumping culture that was first brought to the state by nineteenth-century Norwegian immigrants. The jump, nicknamed “the Sleeping Giant,”听was built in 1936 and hosted the first Olympic ski-jumping trials two year later, according to Walter Nadeau of the . Over the next 50 years, the jump would host听four national championships.

But as the sport evolved听and the athletes became more skilled, competitors began out-jumping Nansen鈥檚 312-foot-long landing hill. After several crashes鈥攊ncluding one in which a jumper was paralyzed鈥攃ompetition at Nansen stopped, in 1985. Since then, the jump听has been out of use and slowly deteriorating.

Why Sarah Hendrickson?

Over the past several years, the has been working with the Bureau of Historic Sites to restore the jump and make the site a national landmark. Last year, a marketing manager from Red Bull saw an opportunity for Hendrickson (a Red Bull-sponsored听athlete) to play a symbolic role in the restoration of the jump.听鈥淭here鈥檚 a parallel,鈥 Hendrickson says. 鈥淚鈥檝e been off the radar for a while, I haven鈥檛 competed in a year, and I鈥檝e been training my ass off to get back. And not just get back鈥攖o get back and win a medal in Korea,鈥 the host of the听2018 Winter Olympics.听

There's also her connection to New Hampshire:听her parents were high-school sweethearts in the state,听and her dad helped build a ski jump in Plymouth during his high-school ski-jumping years.

(Jim Cole/AP)

The Physics听

鈥淭he hill itself, by World Cup standards, is small,鈥 says Rex Bell, a former U.S. Olympic ski jumping coach who trained on the Nansen jump decades ago. 鈥淚n its day, it was a large hill, but as the sport has grown and developed, the hills have gotten bigger and bigger.鈥

Hendrickson is used to hitting a ,听the international standard. That means she'll face a few subtle but important differences. She's used to听a mellower launch angle: -11 degrees versus Nansen's听-7 degrees.This sharper incline on the take-off might give more of a kicker,听shooting听her higher than she鈥檚 used to. 鈥淚t will be a little high-flying,鈥 Hendrickson says. 鈥淏ut if we adjust for speed I shouldn鈥檛 go too far.鈥澨

Finally, there's听the question of approach. The landing hill at听Nansen听is about 60 feet听shorter than she鈥檚 used to,听so Hendrickson will have to scrub speed accordingly. She听hits a normal jump at approximately 54 miles per hour. Off the Nansen jump, she says she鈥檒l听launch between 47 to 49 mph. After adjusting for speed, she thinks she鈥檒l probably fly between 210 to 250听feet.听鈥淚鈥檓 definitely not trying to set the hill record,鈥 she says.听

The Risk听

Red Bull is partially funding the jump鈥檚 restoration, which includes replacing the boards of the in-run 补苍诲听clear-cutting听the overgrown landing area.听Over the past year, Hendrickson has visited New Hampshire twice to make sure the jump鈥檚 frame is structurally sound听and to talk logistics with her coaches and the project managers.

鈥淗ills are pretty finely engineered. They鈥檙e groomed within millimeters,鈥 Bell says about modern ski jumps. Bell noted that, in his mind, it鈥檚 unprecedented to have an athlete hit a ski jump that isn鈥檛 in accordance with international specifications.听鈥淲hen you have a hill that hasn鈥檛 been properly engineered, you never really know how it鈥檚 going to fly,鈥 Bell says. 鈥淔or someone whose coming off a knee injury and been out for quite a while, it鈥檚 not something I would necessarily recommend she does.鈥

Hendrickson isn鈥檛 nervous about hitting a jump that has been dormant for three decades, in part because of all the preparation that's gone into the stunt.In order to ensure her safety, Hendrickson says that her coaches and the Red Bull team are going to have an athlete of similar size and ability hit the jump before her.听Depending on snowfall, the project managers may truck-in or make snow to polish the landing.

Hendrickson hopes to get in about 100 practice jumps elsewhere听before she hits the Nansen听in December. In October, she traveled to Slovenia to start training. She expects she鈥檒l have about four World Cup events completed before the event in New Hampshire.听

The Outcome

Throughout the next year, restoration of the jump site will be completed as the state tries to establish the national landmark. While Hendrickson will be the last skier to听hit听the Nansen jump, the grounds will become more accessible for future tourists and passersby interested in North Country history, says Ben Wilson, director of New Hampshire鈥檚 Bureau of Historic Sites.听鈥淚 hope this restoration brings back a sense of pride to the community,鈥 Wilson says.听

And for Hendrickson, returning to New Hampshire is an opportunity to leverage her name as she returns to the sport and makes a push for the 2018 Olympics.听

鈥淚 hope it re-excites [Milan] and that area,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 also want to show the United States that ski jumping is still around, that communities still care about it and look, we still have a girl that鈥檚 looking to win a medal in the next Olympics.鈥澨

Corrections: (08/03/2025) A previous version of this article stated that Sarah Hendrickson won a World Championship in 2012. 国产吃瓜黑料 regrets the error.
Lead Photo: Matthias Schrader/AP

Popular on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online