Lindsey Van is the 2009 world ski jumping champion. She spearheaded an effort to get women's ski jumping into the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
Van, 27, is the subject of a new documentary about women's ski jumping, Ready to Fly
Van took a break from competition in 2009. "I couldn’t jump without feeling negative about the sport," she says. "I just couldn’t separate it."
In 2005, FIS president Gian Franco Kasper remarked that ski jumping "seems not to appropriate for ladies from a medical point of view." Women regularly jump as far as men.
"I can enjoy the sport now, whereas before I felt a lot of stress to be a political spokesperson," Van says. "It’s a lot more relaxed environment."
Van is currently ranked third in FIS World Cup standings.
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