What’s the difference between Ski Jumping and Freestyle Skiing?

Both sports involve strapping on skis and flying through the air. But there are major differences between ski jumping and freestyle skiing.

Over the next few weeks, there will be plenty of action for winter sports fans at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Athletes from around the world will converge on Pyeongchang, South Korea for action in 15 winter disciplines.

Freestyle skiing and ski jumping offer up 14 sets of medals between them. Both sports feature high-flying excitement and talented stars on skis. But there are some critical differences between ski jumping and freestyle skiing. One is among the oldest sports on the Winter Olympics program. The other is a discipline encompassing several distinct skiing competitions that were a far more recent addition to the calendar.

Yes, they both involve similar equipment. Athletes doffing aerodynamic clothing compete in both events while strapped into a pair of skis. And yes, both sports involve opportunities to see human beings getting big air. But freestyle skiing and ski jumping are hardly one and the same.  Let’s dive in and look at what separates ski jumping from freestyle skiing.

What exactly is freestyle skiing?

Freestyle skiing encompasses a range of skiing activities that fall outside the traditional purview of either Nordic or Alpine skiing. First appearing as demonstration sports at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, freestyle skiing includes moguls, aerials, and ballet events. Moguls became the first medal event when it was included in the program at the 1992 Albertville Games.

The next freestyle events added to the Olympic calendar was aerials in 1994. Ski ballet was deserted after two demonstration appearances, and moguls and aerials remained the only two freestyle events for the next decade and a half.

Beginning in 2010, moguls and aerials were joined by ski cross. Featuring multiple skiers racing down a course simultaneously, ski cross quickly gained popularity. Since the Vancouver Games, this freestyle trio has been joined by a couple of X Games favorites. Slopestyle, featuring graded runs down an obstacle course, and the halfpipe complete the quintet of freestyle events at the Olympics.

So what, then, is ski jumping?

Those who remember ABC’s iconic Wide World of Sports are all too familiar with ski jumping. Vinko Bogataj’s failed attempt at the 1970 World Ski Flying Championships on the hill at Oberstdorf, Germany served as the backdrop for the “agony of defeat” in the introduction each week.

Ski jumping is among the oldest events on the Winter Olympic program. The event has been included in every Winter Games since Chamonix in 1924. The sport itself is relatively self-explanatory, as each skier speeds down a ramp and launches as far as possible through the air. Ski jumping is thus a pure test of mettle, concentration, nerves, and aerodynamics.

Beginning in 1960, the height of the launch ramp was standardized at 80 meters. Four years later in Innsbruck, a second set of medal opportunities was added to the program with a normal-hill jump from 70 meters.

Next: Best Olympian from each state

At the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, there will be four disciplines in which ski jumpers can fight for medals. The individual large-hill and normal-hill competitions are joined by a team event. Also included on the program for the second time is women’s ski jumping, which debuted on the normal hill in Sochi after a long fight for inclusion.