Ski jumping is one of six sports to appear at every Winter Olympics, from the inaugural Winter Games in 1924 to the 2026 edition.

The first measured ski jump was constructed in Norway in 1860, and the first ski jumping test was held two years later. Ski jumping was included in Norwegian ski carnivals throughout the mid 1800s but was not a true competition until 1892, when the Norwegian royal family awarded a “King’s Cup” trophy to a winner at a small competition near Oslo. The longest jump was 21.5 meters (about 70.5 feet).

Norwegian immigrants brought the sport to the United States in the late 1800s, and the first competition in the U.S. was held in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1887. Around the same time, the sport’s popularity was growing in New England.

Ski jumping made its way to American traveling circuses, being included in the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus in the early parts of the 1900s and into the 1930s, when two-time Olympic gold medalist Birger Ruud went on tour throughout the United States. He participated in a 60-man competition before 88,000 people at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1938 and before 50,000 spectators at Chicago’s Soldier Field.

When ski jumping made its Olympic debut in 1924, the only contested event was the men’s large hill, then called the sprint. The Olympic catalog wouldn’t expand until 1964, when the International Olympic Committee added the men’s normal hill. Twenty-four years later, the men’s team event was added.

Women’s ski jumping wasn’t included in the Olympics until 2014 with the addition of the women’s normal hill — just three years after the sport was included on the FIS World Cup circuit. The United States’ Sarah Hendrickson was the first woman to jump in an Olympic competition.

Three new events have been added to the last two Games. The mixed team made its Olympic debut in Beijing, 10 years after the event made its way to the international stage at the 2012-2013 World Cup. New to the Olympic program in 2026 are the women’s large hill, only the second-ever Olympic ski jumping event for women, and the men’s super team, which replaces the men’s team event.

Finland’s Matti Nykanen holds the most career Olympic ski jumping medals with five (4 gold, 1 silver) collected over two Games. At his second Olympics, in 1988, Nykanen became the first ski jumper to claim two top prizes at a single Games, sweeping the individual events. He then added a third gold in the inaugural team jumping competition. He still stands as the only jumper to win all three men’s competitions at one Olympics. 

Over the course of his decade-long career, Nykanen also claimed nine world championship medals and 22 Finnish championship medals. Nykanen, who died in 2019 at age 55, is the only ski jumper in history to have won titles in all five of the sport’s major events: the Winter Olympics, the Ski Jumping World Championships, the Ski Flying World Championships, the World Cup, and the Four Hills Tournament. Though a series of legal disputes followed his retirement, Nykanen still is recognized as one of the most talented ski jumpers of all time. 

Nyanken shares his record of four Olympic golds with Switzerland’s Simon Ammann. Ammann joined Nyanken as only the second man to sweep the individual events at one Games, securing golds at both the 2002 and 2010 Olympics.

Several other ski jumpers earned four Olympic medals over the course of their careers, including: Austria’s Thomas Morgenstern, Gregor Schlierenzauer and Martin Hollwarth; Germany’s Jens Weissflog and Andreas Wellinger; Poland’s Kamil Stoch and Adam Malysz; Slovakia’s Peter Prevc; and Finland’s Matti Hautamaki.

The 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary cemented two different kinds of legacies in the ski jumping world: Finland’s Matti Nykanen, who now is revered as one of the best ski jumpers who ever lived, and Michael "Eddie The Eagle" Edwards, known for his underdog status and lack of Olympic success.

After a successful Olympic debut in 1984 in which he took home gold in the large hill and silver in the normal hill, Nykanen swept all three men’s events in 1988, becoming the first man (and to this day, the only ski jumper) to do so. His golden trio made him, along with Dutch speed skater Yvonne van Gennip, the most decorated athlete of that Games.

Edwards also made history in 1988, becoming the first athlete from Great Britain to participate in the Olympic ski jumping competition. And then he came last — by a long shot. Edwards finished the normal hill competition with 69.2 points. The second-to-last finisher, Spain’s Bernat Sola-Pujol, totaled 140.4 points between his two jumps, and winner Nykanen earned 299.1. Edwards also capped the bottom of the table in the large hill.

But his backstory captivated fans across the world. A plasterer by trade, Edwards spent all of his money on his training, cutting financial corners to save pennies whenever he could. He slept in cars, barns and, temporarily, an unused hospital in Finland. He borrowed equipment, even when it meant wearing six pairs of socks to fill the boots he acquired that were too big. He often limited his diet only to staples like bread. 

During the Games, he gave it his all, looking into the camera with a beaming smile upon safe completion of each jump. Despite his lackluster results, his unrelenting positivity and underdog status made him one of the most cherished ski jumpers in Olympic history. His story was memorialized in a 2016 film titled Eddie the Eagle, starring Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman and Christopher Walken.

Below are the men’s and women’s Olympic records for ski jumping:

Unsurprisingly, Norway has commanded Olympic competition historically — especially in the beginning, and especially in the individual events; of the 24 Olympic Games in which Norway has participated, it has made the podium in at least one event in 15 of them. The Scandinavian nation has collected 36 total medals and holds the most golds with 12. 

Between the years of 1924 and 1952, when the only contested event was the men’s large hill, Norway captured at least two podium spots at every Games, won gold in every competition and even swept twice, in 1932 and 1948. Athletes from Norway also currently hold two of three Olympic records in the pre-existing events included in the 2026 program. 

Other northern and central European nations have followed closely behind. Austria and Finland have earned 27 medals (7 gold, 10 silver, 10 bronze) and 22 medals (10 gold, 8 silver, 4 bronze), respectively.

The only time an athlete from the United States has secured an Olympic ski jumping medal was in 1924, when Anders Haugen took home bronze. 

Of the events currently in the Olympic program, Austria’s Gregor Schlierenzauer owns the record for the longest jump in any event. He set the mark at the 2010 Vancouver Games when he jumped 146.5 meters in the men’s large hill.

Underdog Slovenia dominated Olympic ski jumping competition in Beijing, winning more medals than any other nation and almost doubling its Olympic ski jumping medal total. The country found the podium in three of the five contested events: the women’s normal hill and both team events. 

Slovenian standout Ursa Bogataj, who placed dead last in the women’s normal hill in 2018, earned the country’s second-ever gold in the sport. Her teammate Nika Kriznar took bronze, and both women helped Slovenia to its second-ever ski jumping gold in the mixed team event. 

On the men’s side, Japan’s Ryoyu Kobayashi flew past World Cup champion and event favorite Karl Geiger, of Germany, in the men’s normal hill, ending the country’s 50-year golden drought in the event. 

In the men’s large hill, Norway, a ski jumping giant in the normal hill event, finally found its way back to the top of the podium for the first time since the event’s Olympic debut in 1964 behind Marius Lindvik. He was the only Norwegian to secure a medal in Beijing.

PyeongChang 2018

Four years after sweeping the men's individual events, Poland’s Kamil Stoch was dethroned in the normal hill in South Korea by German Andreas Wellinger. Stoch managed a disappointing fourth place but set things right on the large hill with a repeat gold-medal performance.

Wellinger, with a silver on the normal hill and with Germany in the team competition, managed a medal in all three events, as did Robert Johansson, who earned gold with Norway's foursome and bronze in both individual events.

The second-ever Olympic women's competition featured a completely different podium than the first. Norway's Maren Lundby outscored Germany's Katharina Althaus and Japan's Sara Takanashi to become Olympic champion. 

Lundby (women’s normal hill) and Johansson (men’s large hill) also set Olympic records in PyeongChang.

Sochi 2014 

Kamil Stoch doubled up to take home gold on the normal hill and on the large hill, becoming just the third-ever ski jumper to sweep the individual events at one Games. Slovenia’s Peter Prevc also stood on the podium for both events, claiming silver on the normal hill and bronze on the large hill. Japan’s Noriaki Kasai competed in a record-tying seventh Winter Olympics and earned his first individual medal in Sochi, a silver on the large hill. He also finished eighth on the normal hill. Norway’s Anders Bardal claimed the normal hill bronze medal. Austria was unsuccessful in its attempt to three-peat in the team event, managing a silver medal behind Germany’s team. Japan took home the bronze.

Also at the Sochi Games, women competed in ski jumping for the first time on a single event, the normal hill. Germany’s Carina Vogt won the inaugural gold medal, while Austria’s Daniela Iraschko-Stolz claimed the silver. France’s Coline Mattel earned the bronze.

In the summer of 2013, the United States’ Sarah Hendrickson tore her ACL, MCL and more than three-quarters of her meniscus during a training run. Despite that, she was included on the Olympic team and was the first woman to ski jump in Sochi, wearing bib No. 1. She finished 21st. Her teammates Jessica Jerome and Lindsey Van fared better, finishing tenth and 15th. 

Vancouver 2010 

Switzerland’s Simon Ammann repeated his double-gold feat from 2002, topping the podium in both the normal hill, and, a week later, the large hill. Poland’s Adam Malysz followed for silver in both events, while Austria’s Gregor Schlierenzauer took bronze in both. Schlierenzauer and his Austrian teammates — Thomas Morgenstern, Andreas Kofler and Wolfgang Loitzl — defended the country’s team gold medal from Torino. Germany followed for silver in the team event, while Norway collected bronze medals.

Ammann stirred controversy by implementing a new, innovative binding system, but the International Ski Federation ruled it was legal. Malysz’s fourth Olympic medal made him the most decorated Polish man at the Winter Games.

Torino 2006 

Norway, the all-time leader in Olympic ski jumping medals, failed to collect a single prize at both the 1998 and 2002 Games, but rebounded at the 2006 Torino Games, largely thanks to 27-year-old Lars Bystol. Bystol became the fifth man to win three ski jumping medals at a single Games. He won gold on the normal hill over Finland’s Matti Hautamaki by one point and bronze on the large hill behind Austrian teammates — and roommates —  Thomas Morgenstern (gold) and Andreas Kofler (silver). In the team event, Austria took the gold with the help of Morgenstern and Kofler, Finland earned the silver, and Bystol & Co. earned the bronze for Norway.

Salt Lake 2002 

On the normal hill, Switzerland’s Simon Ammann upstaged favorite Adam Malysz of Poland for the gold medal. He also drew attention for his significant resemblance to J.K. Rowling’s boy wizard character Harry Potter. Sven Hannawald of Germany captured the silver and Malysz earned the bronze. 

On the large hill, Ammann became just the second man to sweep the individual events in a single Olympics. Malysz claimed the silver, while Finland’s Matti Hautamaki captured the bronze. 

Germany won the team event gold, followed by Finland for silver and Slovenia for bronze.

Nagano 1998 

Finland’s Jani Soininen captured normal hill gold ahead of Japan’s Kazuyoshi Funaki, who took the silver. Austria’s Andreas Widholzl earned the bronze. On the large hill, Funaki flipped the script, winning gold ahead of Soininen, who took silver. 

Masahiko “Happy” Harada, known for his unfailing cheerfulness — despite botching the jump that cost Japan the team gold in 1994 — took bronze on the large hill and followed it up by aiding his country in winning team gold on home soil.

Lillehammer 1994 

Norway took the top two spots on the normal hill podium; Espen Bredesen claimed gold, and Lasse Ottesen earned silver. Germany’s Dieter Thoma took home the bronze. 

On the large hill, Jens Weissflog of Germany returned to the podium after 10 years to win gold. Bredesen earned the silver while Austria’s Andreas Goldberger took the bronze. 

In the team event, Weissflog set what was then an Olympic record en route to their gold medal victory. Japan took the silver and Austria secured bronze.

Albertville 1992 

Austria claimed two normal hill medals in Albertville, with Ernst Vettori winning gold and Martin Hollwarth earning the silver. Finland’s Toni Nieminen took bronze and later became the youngest male to win a Winter Olympic gold medal in an individual event on the large hill at age 16 years and 261 days. 

Hollwarth earned another silver on the large hill, while Austria’s Heinz Kuttin earned the bronze medal. In the team event, Finland secured the gold, while Austria (including Hollwarth, Kuttin, and Vettori) earned silver, and Czechoslovakia took the bronze.

Calgary 1988 

Matti Nykanen of Finland swept the individual events, becoming the first man to win two jumping golds in one Games. He then added a third gold medal in the inaugural team jumping competition, which was introduced for the Calgary Olympics. 

On the normal hill, Czechoslovakia’s Pavel Ploc and Jiri Malec earned silver and bronze, respectively. Great Britain's Michael “Eddie the Eagle” Edwards finished last among normal hill jumpers, but developed a cult following from British and American fans. 

On the large hill, Norway’s Erik Johnsen and Yugoslavia’s Matjaz Debelak finished with silver and bronze medals, respectively, behind Nykanen. Yugoslavia and Norway earned silver and bronze medals behind Finland’s large hill team.

Sarajevo 1984 

East Germany’s Jens Weissflog topped two Finns on the normal hill podium, with a 17.5 points margin, the largest margin in individual Olympic jumping history. Matti Nykanen and Jari Puikkonen earned silver and bronze, respectively. In his Olympic debut, Nykanen, who is now revered as one of the best ski jumpers of all time, also won gold on the large hill, while Weissflog earned the silver. Pavel Plov of Czechoslovakia captured the bronze.

Lake Placid 1980 

Austria’s Anton Innauer won gold in the normal hill, followed by East Germany’s Manfred Deckert for silver. Japan’s Hirokazu Yagi earned the bronze. On the large hill, Finland’s Jouko Tormanen won the gold, and countryman Jari Puikkonen claimed the bronze. Hubert Neuper of Austria took the silver.

Innsbruck 1976 

Austria and East Germany split the six available medals; each country won a gold, silver and bronze. East Germany’s Hans-Georg Aschenbach, who won the normal hill, later admitted to having taken anabolic steroids for eight years. In describing the anxiety he felt over the possibility of being caught (which he wasn’t), Aschenbach said, “Nobody can imagine what you go through. You even forget that you have won.” 

East Germany’s Jochen Danneberg captured normal hill silver and Austria’s Karl Schnabl took the bronze. On the large hill, it was Schnabl with the gold, followed by countryman Anton Innauer for silver. East Germany’s Henry Glass came away with the bronze.

Sapporo 1972 

Before these Games, Japan had taken home only one medal in the history of the Winter Olympics. But ski jumper Yukio Kasaya was Japan’s best hope for a medal in Sapporo, and he performed well in front of the 100,000 spectators, recording the best jump of each round of the normal hill competition. Japan swept the medals in that event, as Akitsugu Konno and Seiji Aochi took the silver and bronze medals. 

In the large hill, Poland’s Wojciech Fortuna won with a spectacular first jump. His second jump was only 22nd-best in the round, but it was still good enough for the gold. It was Poland’s first gold medal at the Winter Games. Switzerland's Walter Steiner took home the silver and East Germany’s Rainer Schmidt finished third.

Grenoble 1968 

Czechoslovakia’s Jiri Raska claimed gold in the normal hill and silver in the large hill. Reinhold Bachler and Baldur Preiml, both from Austria, earned the silver and bronze normal hill medals, respectively. The Soviet Union’s Vladimir Belousov took the large hill gold, while Lars Grini of Norway captured the bronze.

Innsbruck 1964 

A second individual jumping event was added to the Olympic program in 1964: the normal hill. Also that year, jumpers were allowed to discard the worst of their three jumps — a system unique to the Innsbruck Games. This rule saved Finland’s Veikko Kankkonen in the normal hill event; his first jump was only 29th-best, but his second and third jumps won him the gold medal. Norway’s Toralf Engan and Torgeir Brandtzaeg took home silver and bronze, respectively.

The same three men also made up the podium in the large hill, albeit in a different order. Engan claimed gold, Kankkonen earned silver, and the bronze went to Brandtzaeg.

Squaw Valley 1960 

Helmut Recknagel became the first German athlete to win a gold medal in ski jumping at the Olympic Winter Games. Finland’s Niilo Halonen earned the silver while Austria’s Otto Leodolter captured the bronze medal.

Cortina D’Ampezzo 1956 

Finland’s Antti Hyvarinen finally snapped Norway’s six-Olympics-long win streak in 1956, when he took gold and silver, respectively. The medals were attributed to perfecting a more aerodynamic style in the air, leaning forward with both arms pinned to their sides. East Germany’s Harry Glass captured the bronze.

Oslo 1952 

A crowd of approximately 150,000 people watched the host nation’s Arnfinn Bergmann and Torbjorn Falkanger finish first and second, respectively. Sweden’s Karl Holmstrom earned the bronze.

St. Moritz 1948 

At age 36, Birger Ruud, the gold medalist in 1932 and 1936, returned to Olympic competition after the 12-year break for war. Ruud had been held at a Nazi prison camp for 18 months during World War II and later fought in the Norwegian resistance. In 1948, he went to St. Moritz as a ski jumping coach but decided to enter himself in the competition in place of an inexperienced jumper when he saw that the weather conditions were poor. He secured a silver as part of a Norwegian sweep of the medals (Petter Hugsted won the gold and Thorleif Schjelderup earned the bronze). His competitive Olympic career spanned 16 years and yielded two golds and a silver. He became the first ski jumper to win a medal in three different Olympics, and he accomplished that feat even with two Winter Games in the middle of the string (1940 and 1944) cancelled because of war.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 

Birger Ruud won gold for the second consecutive Olympics. Countryman Reidar Andersen earned the bronze medal, while Sweden’s Sven Eriksson captured the silver. 

Ruud also competed in Alpine skiing, a sport that was making its Olympic debut with the men’s and women’s combined events. Ruud led after the downhill portion of the combined but was penalized six seconds for missing a gate in the slalom. The penalty ultimately cost him a medal; he finished fourth.

Lake Placid 1932 

Norway’s Birger Ruud won the gold, his first of three career Olympic medals. His gold medal spearheaded a Norwegian medal sweep in ski jumping, as Hans Beck took home the silver and Kaare Walberg earned the bronze.

St. Moritz 1928 

Norwegian jumpers won gold (Alf Andersen) and silver (Sigmund Ruud) despite the fact that they thought the high starting point chosen by the hosts gave an unfair boost to mediocre jumpers. The Norwegians, who had also won gold and silver in 1924, were called “cowards” by the Swiss for disputing this point. Czechoslovakia’s Rudolf Burkert claimed the bronze.

Chamonix 1924 

Norway’s Jacob Tullin Thams won the first ski jumping Olympic gold (the large hill, then the sprint, was the only event contested at Winter Olympics prior to 1964). Countryman Narve Bonna claimed the silver. Though Norway’s Thorleif Haug originally was awarded the bronze, a computational error discovered 50 years later found the United States’ Anders Haugen actually had come in third. Haugen was awarded the bronze at age 86 in a special ceremony in Oslo.

Thams later became the second athlete in history to win medals at both the Winter and Summer Games; he placed second in sailing at the 1936 Olympics.