Lake Placid Olympic Ski Jumping Complex
Encyclopedia
1980 Winter Olympics
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from 13 February through 24 February 1980 in Lake Placid, New York, United States of America. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932...
in Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. They are located two miles from Lake Placid, off of the Old Military Road, in Essex County, New York
Essex County, New York
Essex County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 39,370. Its name is from the English county of Essex. Its county seat is Elizabethtown...
.
The sky deck on the 120-meter jump offers views of nearby John Brown's Farm and the surrounding High Peaks
High Peaks
The Adirondack High Peaks is the name given to 46 mountain peaks in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, USA that were originally believed to comprise all of the Adirondack peaks higher than 4,000 feet . However, later surveying showed that four of the peaks in the group are actually under this...
of the Adirondacks. Training and competition for Nordic ski jumping
Ski jumping
Ski jumping is a sport in which skiers go down a take-off ramp, jump and attempt to land as far as possible down the hill below. In addition to the length of the jump, judges give points for style. The skis used for ski jumping are wide and long...
takes place year round thanks to a plastic mat out-run on the 90m jump. The Freestyle Aerial Training Center is located to the right of the base of the jump towers. Aerialists can train in the summer months by jumping into a 750,000 gallon pool.
History
The Lake Placid ClubLake Placid Club
The Lake Placid Club was a social and recreation club founded 1895 in Lake Placid, New York by Melvil Dewey, and intended as a place where educators might find health, strength and inspiration at modest cost...
built the first ski jump on this site in 1917, using the hillside itself as the jump surface. The next year, the first tower constructed of wood, and the jump enlarged to 35 meters. In 1921, a major competition was held which drew close to 2000 spectators, many arriving via a special train; the record jump was 124 feet. In 1923, the jump was enlarged to fifty meters, and in 1927, a new steel tower was built, raising the jump to 60 meters. In 1928, the tower was raised to 75 meters; this was the tower used for the 1932 Winter Olympic Games. In 1977, the old tower was demolished to make way for new 70 and 90-meter jumps, used for the 1980 Winter Olympic Games. In 1994, the landing hills were re-graded to bring the jumps into compliance with current rules, and increasing their height to 90 and 120 meters.
The towers were built using a jacking system that lifted and poured concrete into the forms continuously, night and day, for 15 days for the larger jump, and 9 days for the smaller one.
The present record jumps stand at 105 meters for the 90-meter jump, set by Andrew Osadetz of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and 135.5 meters for the 120-meter jump, set by Veli-Matti Lindstrom of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.