Vikersundbakken

Vikersundbakken
Location	Vikersund Norway
Opened	29 Jan 1936 (LH test) 16 Feb 1936 (LH official) 12 Mar 1966 (FH conver.)
Renovated	1956, 1966, 1977, 1990, 2000, 2011
Size
K-spot	200 m
Hill size	225 m
Longest jump (unofficial / fall)	254 m (833 ft)* Dimitry Vassiliev (15 February 2015)
Official hill record	251.5 m (825 ft) Anders Fannemel (15 February 2015)
Top events
Ski Flying World Championships	1977, 1990, 2000, 2012
World Cup	1980, 1983, 1986, 1995, 1998, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016

Vikersundbakken or Vikersund Hill^[1][2][3] is a ski flying hill at Vikersund in Modum, Norway. It is one of the largest in the world. Seven world records have been set on the hill, with the current of 251.5 meters being set by Anders Fannemel.^[4] The complex also consists of a large hill, a normal hill and several training hills.

The hill opened in 1936 as a large hill. It was rebuilt to become a ski flying hill in 1964 and has later been converted in 1989, 1999 and 2010. The large hill was built in 1988. The hill was the first to receive floodlights in 2006. It has hosted the FIS Ski Flying World Championships four times, in 1977, 1990, 2000, 2012.

History

In 1894, Vikersund SK was established and started with ski jumping. Until the 1930s, they used six different ski jumping hills around the area. By then, the club had fostered sufficiently good jumpers that it was proposed to build a proper hill. A committee was established on 19 March 1935 and led by Gustav N. Hovde. At first they found a suitable location north of Heggen. However, they failed to reach an agreement with the land owner. Instead, Hovde proposed using the steep hill close to Heggen Church. After purchasing the land, construction started later in 1935. The original hill was designed by Thunold Hansen. Construction cost 6,290 Norwegian krone (NOK), of which NOK 1000 was borrowed and the rest of financed through private donations.^[5]

The first hill had a length from the top of the in-run to the bottom of the out-run of 425 meters (1,394 ft) and an elevation difference of 130 meters (430 ft). The in-run was 115 meters (377 ft) long and had an elevation difference of 46 meters (151 ft).^[5] The hill was inaugurated on 29 January 1936 with a 50-meter jump by Birger Henriksen. The longest jump on the opening day was made by Reidar Andersen, who jumped 86 meters. At the most he was 10 to 12 meters (33 to 39 ft) above the landing slope, so the take-off was lowered 40 centimeters (16 in) from 6 to 11 degrees.^[6]

The main logistical issue with the events was the poor transport service, with only a narrow road to the hill. During the 1950s, the attendance rose well beyond the former 5,000, forcing the road to upgraded in 1955.^[7] By the 1950s, ski jumps were being built larger and in 1954, Kristian Hovde proposed to expand Vikersundbakken, which he hoped would allow jumps of 100 meters (330 ft). The plans were passed by the club's annual meeting on 13 September, with construction starting in the summer of 1955. The lower part of the landing slope was dug down 1.75 meters (5 ft 9 in), the in-run was raised up to 85 centimeters (33 in) and a new jury tower and stairway was built. Additional expansion was passed on 27 April 1956: a 12-meter (39 ft) tall scaffolding in-run was built on top of the old in-run. The hill was designed by Carl Borgen. Contractors were Brødrene Teigen and since the club did not have sufficient funds, they were willing to wait with the payment until they had. The new hill was inaugurated on 10 March 1956.^[8]

The new hill was too large to be regarded as a large hill, but was not large enough to be categorized as a ski flying hill. In 1964, the club appointed a committee led by Ottar Grøtterud to consider an expansion of the hill.^[9] There was only to be built one ski flying hill in the Nordic Countries, with the main alternative being Renabakken in Rena.^[10] Construction cost NOK 445,000 and was in part financed with a NOK 75,000 grant and NOK 150,000 loan from Modum Municipality, NOK 20,000 from volunteer work, NOK 80,000 from the club, grants from companies and banks and from Buskerud County Municipality, and NOK 100,000 in betting funds.^[11] Construction was done by Entreprenør Gunnar Sterkebye. The hill received a new 23-meter (75 ft) tall in-run and a new jury tower 70 meters (230 ft) form the jump. On the landing slope and out-run, 200,000 cubic meters (7,100,000 cu ft) of earthwork had to be moved. Work was made more difficult because of high snowfall and temperatures down to −28 °C (−18 °F). The hill was inaugurated on 13 March 1966.^[12]

The next upgrade of the venue were minor upgrades ahead of the 1977 World Championships.^[12] Ahead of the 1990 World Championships, the venue was again renovated. However, to secure better recruitment, the venue also received a new normal hill with a K point of K-90.^[13]

The hill was rebuilt for the 2012 Ski Flying World Championships. It was the first in the world with a hill size of 225 meters, making Vikersundbakken the largest ski flying hill in the world at the time. It has been built further into the terrain with sidewalls made of natural gravel to avoid wind problems during competitions. Furthermore, it has been slanted slightly to the south from the inrun area to further reduce wind problems. The hill was ready for the 2011 Trial Ski Flying World Championships held on 11–13 February 2011.

The old inrun was demolished in 2010. Architects of the new and larger hill were Slovenians Janez Gorišek and his son Sebastjan. Janez, together with his brother Lado, is most famous for creating Letalnica Bratov Gorišek in Planica, previously the largest hill in the world at HS 215, before Vikersundbakken was reprofiled and enlarged in 2011. Janez is usually named as the 'father' of modern ski flying and is also known as an expert on ski flying hills.

At the trial ski flying championship, Johan Remen Evensen jumped 243 meters to set a new world record during the first official training on 11 February 2011. Later, during qualification, Evensen improved the world record to 246.5 meters.

During autumn 2011 the hill was further improved with a different radius at HS 225, increasing the ability to stand on greater lengths. Additionally the jump itself was cut a meter short because of decreased inrun speed needed by the jumpers. During the 2011 event, it was deemed necessary to add several inrun gates the hill below gate 1 due to better conditions not anticipated by the organisers during construction in 2010. A total of five gates were added. Gregor Schlierenzauer praised the hill during interviews, calling it the best hill in the world. Evensen was also extremely satisfied with the hill, calling it "perfect". The K point was increased from K-195 in 2012 to K-200 in time for the 2015 event,^[14] resulting in two new world records on the same weekend: Peter Prevc jumped 250 m (820 ft) and became to first to ever surpass the 250 m mark, and this was followed by Anders Fannemel with 251.5 m (825 ft) the next day. In a training round prior to Fannemel's jump, Dimitry Vassiliev jumped 254 m (833 ft) but fell hard upon landing, rendered his jump invalid as a world record.

Events

Opened as large hill in 1936 and converted into flying hill in 1966.

Date	Hillsize	Competition	Winner	Second	Third
LARGE HILL (original)
16 Feb 1936		OP	Hilmar Myhra
1937		VIKC	Reidar Andersen
1938		VIKC
1939		VIKC
1940		VIKC	Reidar Andersen
17 Feb 1946		VIKC	Arnholdt Kongsgård	Reidar Andersen	Vidar Lindboe-Hansen
9 Mar 1947		VIKC	Thorleif Schjelderup	Svein Haakonsen	Hans Kaarstein
14 Mar 1948		VIKC	Arnholdt Kongsgård	Ivar Nilsen	Christian Mohn
1949		VIKC	cancelled
19 Mar 1950		VIKC	Hans Bjørnstad	Ivar Nilsen	Birger Arnesen
18 Feb 1951		VIKC	Kjell Knarvik	Arne Hoel	Reidar Andersen
2 Mar 1952		VIKC	Arnfinn Bergmann	Arne Hoel	Svein Lien
8 Mar 1953		VIKC	Georg Thrane	Per Thyness	Thorleif Schjelderup
28 Feb 1954		VIKC	Asgeir Dølplads
3 Apr 1954		NRA
13 Mar 1955		VIKC	cancelled; wind, rescheduled to 26 Mar
26 Mar 1955		VIKC	Arnfinn Karlstad	Simon Slåttvik	Erling Kroken
4 Mar 1956		VIKC	Asbjørn Osnes
10 Mar 1957		VIKC	Arne Hoel	Simon Slåttvik	Asbjørn Osnes
15 Mar 1958		VIKC
1 Mar 1959		VIKC	Arne Hoel	Odd A. Brevik	Olinius Skaaret
27 Mar 1960		VIKC	Markku Maatela	Paavo Lukkariniemi	Asbjørn Osnes
5 Mar 1961		VIKC	Olinius Skaaret
4 Mar 1962		VIKC	Asbjørn Osnes	Pekka Remes	Vesa Ekholm
10 Mar 1963		VIKC	Torbjørn Yggeseth	Torgeir Brandtzæg	Raimo Vitikainen
8 Mar 1964		VIKC	Toralf Engan	Bjørn Wirkola	Christoffer Selbekk
FLYING HILL (converted)
13 Mar 1966		VIKC	Bjørn Wirkola	Toralf Engan	Christoffer Selbekk
11-12 Mar 1967		ISFW	Reinhold Bachler	Jiří Raška	Bjørn Wirkola
10 Mar 1968		KOP	cancelled; strong winds
8-9 Mar 1969		KOP	Bjørn Wirkola	Jiří Raška	Zbyněk Hubač
27-28 Feb 1971		KOP	Frithjof Prydz	Zbyněk Hubač	Bent Tomtum
11-18 Feb 1973		KOP	cancelled; lack of snow
22-23 Feb 1975		KOP	Reinhold Bachler	Hans Wallner	Edi Federer
18 Feb 1977	K-150	SFWC	Walter Steiner	Anton Innauer	Henry Glaß
2 Mar 1980	K-155	WC	Per Bergerud	Stanisław Bobak	Ján Tánczos
18 Feb 1983	K-155	WC	Matti Nykänen	Pavel Ploc	Hans Wallner
19 Feb 1983	K-155	WC	Matti Nykänen	Horst Bulau	Tuomo Ylipulli
20 Feb 1983	K-155	WC	Matti Nykänen	Olav Hansson	Pavel Ploc
15 Feb 1986	K-155	WC	Andreas Felder	Matti Nykänen	Piotr Fijas
16 Feb 1986	K-155	WC	Andreas Felder	Ernst Vettori	Matti Nykänen
25 Feb 1990	K-175	SFWC	Dieter Thoma	Matti Nykänen	Jens Weißflog
20 Mar 1993	K-175	WC	cancelled
21 Mar 1993	K-175	WC	cancelled
18 Feb 1995	K-175	WC	Andreas Goldberger	Takanobu Okabe	Lasse Ottesen
19 Feb 1995	K-175	WC	Andreas Goldberger	Takanobu Okabe	Roberto Cecon
28 Feb 1998	K-175	WC	cancelled; postponed on next day
1 Mar 1998	K-175	WC	Andreas Widhölzl	Sven Hannawald	Akira Higashi
1 Mar 1998	K-175	WC	Takanobu Okabe	Hiroya Saito	Noriaki Kasai
12-13 Feb 2000	K-185	SFWC	original date; strong winds, posponed to 14 Feb
14 Feb 2000	K-185	SFWC	Sven Hannawald	Andreas Widhölzl	Janne Ahonen
6 Mar 2004	K-185	CC	Roland Müller	Olav Magne Dønnem	Balthasar Schneider
7 Mar 2004	K-185	CC	Roland Müller	Balthasar Schneider	Martin Koch
13 Jan 2007	HS 207	WC	cancelled
14 Jan 2007 (night)	HS 207	WC	Anders Jacobsen	Thomas Morgenstern	Matti Hautamäki
14 Mar 2009 (night)	HS 207	WC-T	Austria Martin Koch Wolfgang Loitzl Thomas Morgenstern Gregor Schlierenzauer	Finland Matti Hautamäki Kalle Keituri Ville Larinto Harri Olli	Norway Johan Remen Evensen Bjørn Einar Romøren Anders Bardal Anders Jacobsen
15 Mar 2009	HS 207	WC	Gregor Schlierenzauer	Simon Ammann	Dimitry Vassiliev
12 Feb 2011 (night)	HS 225	WC	Gregor Schlierenzauer Johan Remen Evensen		Simon Ammann
13 Feb 2011	HS 225	WC	Gregor Schlierenzauer	Johan Remen Evensen	Adam Małysz
25 Feb 2012 (night)	HS 225	SFWC-I	Robert Kranjec	Rune Velta	Martin Koch
26 Feb 2012	HS 225	SFWC-T	Austria Thomas Morgenstern Andreas Kofler Gregor Schlierenzauer Martin Koch	Germany Andreas Wank Richard Freitag Maximilian Mechler Severin Freund	Slovenia Jernej Damjan Jurij Tepeš Jure Šinkovec Robert Kranjec
26 Feb 2013 (night)	HS 225	WC	Gregor Schlierenzauer	Simon Ammann	Robert Kranjec
27 Feb 2013	HS 225	WC	Robert Kranjec	Michael Neumayer	Gregor Schlierenzauer
14 Feb 2015 (night)	HS 225	WC	Peter Prevc	Anders Fannemel	Noriaki Kasai
15 Feb 2015	HS 225	WC	Severin Freund	Anders Fannemel	Johann André Forfang
12 Feb 2016 (night)	HS 225	WC	Robert Kranjec	Kenneth Gangnes	Noriaki Kasai
13 Feb 2016 (night)	HS 225	WC	Peter Prevc	Johann André Forfang	Robert Kranjec
14 Feb 2016	HS 225	WC	Peter Prevc	Stefan Kraft	Andreas Stjernen

*OP - opening; VIKC - Vikersund race; NRA - National race; ISFW/KOP - Ski Flying Week; SFWC - Ski Flying World Championships; CC - Continental Cup; WC - World Cup; T - team; I - individual

The inaugural competition was held on 25 February 1936 in front of 5,000 spectators.^[6] Hilmar Myhra won the race, setting the first official hill record at 86 meters (282 ft).^[15] The hill was used for a single major competition each year, Vikersundrennet. Arnold Kongsgård beat the hill record in 1946 when he jumped 87.5 meters (287 ft) and then beat it with another meter two years later. The ultimate hill record in the original hill was 98 meters (322 ft), which was also a new Norwegian record, set by Arne Hoel in 1951.^[16] After the opening of the new jump in 1957, Hoel set a new hill record of 100.5 meters (330 ft).^[8] The following year, Asbjørn Osnes set a new hill record of 108.5 meters (356 ft) and then again in 1960 by Paavo Lukkariniemi of 116.5 meters (382 ft).^[7]

On the first ski flying competition on 14 March 1966 saw Bjørn Wirkola set a new world record at 146 meters (479 ft).^[12] Starting on 12 March 1967, the club introduced the International Ski Flying Week. The inaugural tournament was held on 12 March 1967^[17] and saw Austria's Reinhold Bachler set a world record of 154 meters (505 ft). On 11 March 1968, the tournament was canceled due to strong winds, although 22,500 people had come to spectate.^[18] In 1973, the International Ski Flying Week was canceled because of lack of snow.^[12] On this hill were also two Continental Cup competitions in 2004 both won by Austrian Roland Müller.

In the late 1960s, the International Ski Federation (FIS) started planning a world championship in ski flying. The Norwegian Ski Federation was opposed to this.^[19] Vikersundbakken was awarded the fourth FIS Ski Flying World Championships, held in 1977. Switzerland's Walter Steiner won the race, while Czechoslovakia's František Novák set a new hill record of 157 meters (515 ft). Vikersundbakken was used in the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in 1980, 1983 and 1986.^[20]

The normal hill was used for the Norwegian Ski Championships in 1989. As there was no snow, 3,000 cubic meters (110,000 cu ft) was freighted by train from Finse via the Bergen Line and up from Vikersund Station by truck.^[21]

Hill record

Men

Date Length Feb 1936 Hilmar Myhra 85.0 m (279 ft) 1946 Arnold Kongsgård 87.5 m (287 ft) 1948 Arnold Kongsgård 88.5 m (290 ft) 1951 Arne Hoel 98.0 m (321 ft) 1957 Arne Hoel 100.5 m (330 ft) 1958 Asbjørn Osnes 108.5 m (356 ft) 1960 Paavo Lukkariniemi 116.5 m (382 ft) Mar 1966 Bjørn Wirkola 145.0 m (476 ft) Mar 1966 Bjørn Wirkola 146.0 m (479 ft) 12 Mar 1967 Reinhold Bachler 154.0 m (505 ft) 20 Feb 1977 František Novák 157.0 m (515 ft) 15 Feb 1986 Piotr Fijas 163.0 m (535 ft) 25 Feb 1990 Matti Nykänen 171.0 m (561 ft) 25 Feb 1990 Dieter Thoma 171.0 m (561 ft) 18 Feb 1995 Lasse Ottesen 175.0 m (574 ft)

Date Length 18 Feb 1995 Andreas Goldberger 179.0 m (587 ft) 18-19 Feb 1995 Espen Bredesen 185.0 m (607 ft) 19 Feb 1995 Janne Ahonen 187.0 m (613 ft) 19 Feb 1995 Andreas Goldberger 188.0 m (617 ft) 1 Mar 1998 Takanobu Okabe 194.0 m (636 ft) 11 Feb 2000 Andreas Goldberger 207.0 m (679 ft) 12 Jan 2007 Michael Uhrmann 214.5 m (704 ft) 14 Mar 2009 Martin Koch 216.5 m (710 ft) 14 Mar 2009 Harri Olli 219.0 m (718 ft) 11 Feb 2011 Daiki Ito 220.0 m (722 ft) 11 Feb 2011 Johan Remen Evensen 243.0 m (797 ft) 11 Feb 2011 Johan Remen Evensen 246.5 m (809 ft) 14 Feb 2015 Peter Prevc 250.0 m (820 ft) 15 Feb 2015 Anders Fannemel 251.5 m (825 ft)

Invalid

Date		Length
1969	Ladislav Divila	166.0 m (545 ft) WR
15 Feb 2015	Dmitri Vassiliev	254.0 m (833 ft)WR

• world record jumps with fall; Vassilev's is longest ever.

Women

Date		Length
6 Mar 2004	Anette Sagen	174.5 m (672 ft)
7 Mar 2004	Helena Olsson Smeby	174.5 m (672 ft)

Technical data

References

Bibliography

• Drolsum, Nils; Flattum, Odd; Lund, Thure (1994). Klang har navnet: Vikersund idrettsforening 1894–1994 (in Norwegian). Vikersund: Vikersund idrettsforening. ISBN 82-993278-0-6. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vikersundbakken.

• Official site
• The Skiflying Hill - Technical Data

Coordinates: 59°56′18″N 10°00′22″E / 59.93833°N 10.00611°E / 59.93833; 10.00611