Female ski jumpers have petitioned for a spot alongside men in the Winter Olympics since 1998, but have been denied each time — and were again denied for the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Such discrimination hasn’t been allowed by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) for new Olympic sports since 1991, but the rule doesn’t apply to existing sports. (Men’s ski jumping has been an Olympic sport since 1924.)
Not enough nations participate women’s ski jumping, argues IOC chief Jacques Roggeand, and that’s why it remains the only Olympic sport without a women’s competition.
Other sports that do allow women, like ski cross, have a smaller competitive pool, argues ski jumper Alissa Johnson, who advocates aggressively for her sport’s inclusion in the Olympics.
Read Seattle Times and New York Times coverage on the issue.
