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(Photo via Women's Ski Jumping USA Facebook Page)

PARK CITY, Utah - Three of the top women ski jumpers in the world were nominated today to represent the U.S. on the first-ever Olympic women's ski jumping team. Lindsey Van, Jessica Jerome, and Sarah Hendrickson will make their historic Winter Games debut on Feb. 11 in Sochi, Russia.

The announcement came during a U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association press conference at Utah Olympic Park in Park City where the U.S. women's ski jumping team lives and trains. After a decade-long push, the 2014 Olympic Winter Games mark the first time a women's ski jumping event is included at the Olympic level.

Jerome, 26, a 10-time national champion and international leader in the sport, secured her nomination after winning the 2014 U.S. Olympic Trials Dec. 29. Lindsey Van, 29, was the first women's world champion in ski jumping and was pivotal in getting the sport into the Olympics for women. Sarah Hendrickson, 19, is the reigning world champion and first-ever women's World Cup circuit champion. She was selected to the team after a promising return to snow following an August knee injury.

"This inaugural Olympic women's ski jumping team has already inspired so many people around the world and will continue to do so for years to come," said Alan Alborn, head coach for Women's Ski Jumping USA (WSJ-USA).

"They are strong athletes and strong individuals because of the challenges and hardships they have faced both in the sport and outside of it. They have built this path to the Olympic Games brick-by-brick and they have done most of the heavy lifting."

Athletes were selected based on World Cup results over a set Olympic qualification period, Olympic Trials performance, and coaches' discretion. The formal naming of the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team by the United States Olympic Committee is set for Jan. 27.

Deedee Corradini, president of WSJ-USA, said families, friends and supporters have been looking forward to this historic announcement.

"This is more than just about ski jumping or sport. It's about this team inspiring other women and girls all over the world to follow their dreams and never give up," she said.

Luke Bodensteiner, Executive Vice President, Athletics, USSA:

Today marks an historic occasion. This is a stepping stone along what has been a long journey to include women's ski jumping in the Games. These women have raised the level of athleticism in the sport and because of this, grown their sport to the Olympic level.

Sarah has distinguished herself over the past three seasons as one of the world's top competitors. Her accident in August prevented her from competing in the World Cup, but her subsequent rehab was effective, she's maintained a high level of fitness and her return to the jumping hill has shown us that she's ready to compete at the top end of her sport.

Alan Alborn, Women's Ski Jumping Head Coach:

This inaugural event is more than just three medals at an Olympic Winter Games. It is historic and a legacy that we hope will inspire more young women to engage in sport and have it be part of their lives and their family's lives.

 

The struggle for Olympic inclusion

Women's ski jumping has fought a very long and very expensive battle to get added to the Olympic program by the IOC. Prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics, Lindsey Van held the hill world record, for men and women, in Vancouver. Her record was broken by a male during the Games. Van was unable to defend it on site, as she and her teammates had lost what became a legal battle with the IOC to get on the program. T

he IOC maintained that women's ski jumping lacked diversity, but the numbers didn't like: at the time of the IOC decision, women's ski jumping had 83 athletes from 14 nations competing at the highest levels; skier cross had 30 athletes from 11 nations; bobsleigh 26 athletes from 13 nations, luge had 45 athletes from 17 nations, and skeleton had 39 athletes from 12 nations. (source: WSJUSA)

Finally, on April 6, 2011, the IOC announced that a women’s ski jumping event would be added to the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games program - the normal hill competition. The men have three events (normal hill, large hill, and team competition). The women continue to lobby to reach parity in ski jumping in the Winter Games, via the well-organizated Women's Ski Jumping USA.

Director Bill Kerig has produced an amazing documentary about the women's fight for Olympic inclusion, "Ready to Fly." Check out the trailer below and then Click Here to purchase the documentary on DVD and support the team in their fundraising efforts to pay for their coaches and travel for the 2014 Games.

• More on the struggle for Olympic Inclusion
• More stories about women's ski jumping in the Olympics

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