| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Lindsey Van |
||
| Women's ski jumping | ||
| Competitor for the United States | ||
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | 2009 Liberec | Individual normal hill |
Lindsey Van (born November 27, 1984) is an American ski jumper who has competed since 2002. Van won a gold medal in the inaugural women's ski jumping event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec and has a total of eight Continental Cup victories in her career.
In 2008, Van's knee cartilage was crushed on the landing of a practice jump; she underwent knee surgery and five months of intense rehab.[1] She returned to competition after six months but injured her knee again.[1] Van has experienced four knee surgeries and a ruptured spleen.[1]
Van was a plaintiff in a lawsuit against the organizers of the 2010 Winter Olympics; she and other female ski jumpers claimed that their rights were violated because only male ski jumpers were permitted to compete in the Vancouver Olympics.[2] The appeal was unsuccessful.[3] Van alienated some supporters when she characterized the Canadian legal system as "weak" and said the International Olympic Committee were "like the Taliban of the Olympics."[3]
Going into the Vancouver 2010 Games, Van held the K95 hill record of 105.5 meters at the site of the 2010 Olympic ski jumping events.[4][5] This mark was surpassed several times at the 2010 Olympic Games[6][7][8] and is now held by Simon Ammann with a jump of 108.0 meters.[9]
In 2011, it was announced that women's ski jumping on the normal hill would be included in the 2014 Winter Olympics.[1] Van said, "I was kind of numb when I heard. People expected me to be ecstatic, but I'd been after this for so long, it just didn't sink in at first."[1]
In July 2011, nerve tissues in one of her legs became a problem.[1]
On the appeal of her sport, Van has said, "You are up the in the air and for a minute it's as if you can fly. It's a feeling like nothing else I've ever felt, and as soon as I land, I just want to go back up to the top and do it again."[1]
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