Čerťák

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Čerťák

Ski flying hill to the right, large hill to the left
Location
City Harrachov
Country Czech Republic
Opened 1979
Renovated 1992
Size
K-spot K-185
Hill size HS205
Hill record Matti Hautamäki
(214.5 m in 2002)
Championships
World championships
*1983 Ski flying World Championships
*1992 Ski flying World Championships
*2002 Ski flying World Championships

Čerťák is a ski jumping hill located in the city of Harrachov in the Czech Republic. The venue is most notable for being one of five ski flying hills in the world, though it also has three smaller hills close by. It is owned by the sports club TJ Jiskra Harrachov. Audience capacity is about 50,000.

[edit] The hills

The hills are located on the north side of the mountain Čertová Hora, not far from the border to Poland. The first hill in Harrachov was built in 1922, but at a different location in town. Later in the 1920s the first hill in Čerťák was built. It was eventually expanded and supplemented with more hills. The ski flying hill was built in 1979 and opened in March 1980.

The large hill in Harrachov was built at the same time as the ski flying hill, and renovated in 1992. This hill has K-spot 125 meters and hill size 142 meters. The official record on the large hill is 145.5 meters, set by Janne Ahonen (Finland) on December 12, 2004 in a World Cup tournament. The unofficial record is 151 meters set by Martin Koch (Austria) on December 17, 2004 in a Continental Cup tournament. The hill is one of the largest large hills in the world.

The standard hill has K-point 90 meters, hill size 100 meters and record 102.5 meters. Two small hills have K-point 70 meters (record 77 meters) and K-point 40 meters (record 43.5 meters). The standard hill has plast mats, allowing summer use.

The ski flying hill in Harrachov early got a rumour of being quite dangerous to jump in. The first years the jumpers had a very high height over the sphere, up to twelve meters. The height resulted in that a gust of wind or error from the participant could end fatally, and many jumpers injured themselves in bad falls on the hill. During the World Championship in 1983 both Steinar Bråten (Norway), Horst Bulau (Canada) and Jens Weißflog (DDR) were severely injured. The venue was in the end closed by the International Ski Federation (FIS), and rebuilt between 1989 and 1992, and has since kept the requirements from FIS.

[edit] Records

There have been set world records at Harrachov twice. Armin Kogler (Austria) jumped 176 meters on March 27, 1980 while Pavel Ploc (Czechoslovakia) jumped 181 meters on March 19, 1983. The hill has been used for three Ski flying World Championships, in 1983, 1992 and 2002.

Year Name Length
1980 Flag of AustriaArmin Kogler 176,0 m
1983 Flag of the Czech RepublicPavel Ploc 181,0 m
1985 Flag of NorwayOle Gunnar Fidjestøl 183,0 m
1992 Flag of GermanyChristof Duffner 194,0 m
1996 Flag of NorwayRoar Ljøkelsøy 201,0 m
1996 Flag of AustriaAndreas Goldberger 201,0 m
1996 Flag of the Czech Republic Jakub Jiroutek 201,0 m
1996 Flag of the Czech Republic Jan Balcar 203,0 m
1996 Flag of Austria Andreas Goldberger 204,0 m
2001 Flag of Finland Matti Hautamäki 205,0 m
2001 Flag of Poland Adam Małysz 206,5 m
2001 Flag of Germany Sven Hannawald 211,0 m
2001 Flag of Poland Adam Małysz 212,0 m
2001 Flag of Finland Risto Jussilainen 212,5 m
2002 Flag of Norway Anders Bardal 212,5 m
2002 Flag of Finland Matti Hautamäki 214,5 m