Posted on 02/19/2006 7:59:53 PM PST by dervish
Brother and sister skiers Anders and Alissa Johnson have trained together in the ski jump for their entire careers, and both are considered among the best jumpers in the country. But at the Olympics today, Alissa will be on the sidelines while her brother goes for the gold.
"I'm here [only] to support unfortunately," Alissa, 19, said. "I wish I was here to train and jump, but I'm here to support Anders."
The International Ski Federation has ruled that ski jumping is too dangerous for women, making it the only winter Olympic sport that has male competitors and no female counterparts.
'snip'
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Oh, oh the dreaded double post
Since they measure it with a tape measure, it is a real competition.
Or do they also give points for form? I don't need another olympic event where judges ooooh and ahhhhh over some young lady's form.
maybe they double posted
Being left out in the cold once is seriesly bad.
Being left out in the cold twice, however, is stuning.
I think we should include women in the ski jump, just as long as we include men in rhythmic gymnastics and synchronized swimming, and give men a heptathlon and 800m speed swim.
Sometimes the danger thing is justified, sometimes not. You don't, however, see any male balance-beam competitions in the Olympics for, er, obvious reasons.
I just had to post this twice... ;-)
I agree with you entirely. The sport is judged on distance and style. Style is very subjective and belongs in something other than sports.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/skijumping/inside.html?ch=1
Shouldn't she have like, checked to see if there was an Olympic event before spending years training for it? Of course, I did the same thing with juggling. 10 years, starting with bean bags and working up to chainsaws, went to sign up for the Olympics and BAM, no event. What a let down.
okay, okay mea culpa on the double thing. I alerted the authorities and expect to be carted off shortly. Be gentle.
They can fly upside down with a crash helmet....I don't care....so long as they measure the longest jump.
If the rules are you've got to land on your feet without falling, then fine. The longest jump where they land on both feet without falling.
there bebers freeze up and leave a trail on the ramp ;)
"The International Ski Federation has ruled that ski jumping is too dangerous for women"
Pairs skating is dangerous for the female, too. Those Death Spirals and throws can go bad, and cause serious head injuries.
Life is hard and then you die. :)
I wouldn't mind seeing women do the ski jump so long as they didn't dress like men. I'd like to see them do the jump in the same type of outfits they do the figure skating in.
Your tag has me laughing.
The bulky attire worn in the ski-jump event obscures the young lady's form too much to induce any ooooh-ing and ahhhhh-ing from me. Figure skating, on the other hand...OHHHH! AHHHHH!
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