Using a sample of the top female ski jumpers competing in most of the 2024/2025 Ski Jumping World Cup events, it was found that approximately 10% of all jumps were classified as long jumps. These were defined as jumps exceeding 95% of the hill size (HS) point. About two thirds of the long jumps ended with a telemark landing. The number of extremely long jumps beyond the HS point was low, accounting for about 1.5% of all jumps performed. Only two athletes were able to perform a telemark landing at such extreme distances. Most telemark landings were performed by the overall World Cup winner, Nika Prevc. Even she struggled to land safely on some of her longest, record-breaking jumps. Female ski jumpers have a short competition history and are much more heterogeneous in terms of competition performance than their male counterparts. Nevertheless, both the quantity and quality of top female ski jumpers are steadily increasing. Despite this progress, the proportion of female athletes capable of performing extremely long jumps remains low. Any extremely long jump is still quite dangerous for a handful of the best competitors. This was evident in the case of the young Norwegian elite jumper, Thea Minyan Bjoerseth, who fell during an extremely long jump of 94 metres on the HS94 hill in Ljubno on 15 February 2025. She suffered serious ligament injuries in her knees and elbows. The competition management and her personal coach could have lowered the start gate before her jump, which might have prevented the fall. They failed to do so, and the consequences for the young athlete were serious. The FIS could have done more to improve the safety of women‘s ski jumping by changing the rule that determines the HS point. The FIS could set the HS point at 95% of the current hill size. Jump lengths up to the 95% of the HS point enable all female ski jumpers to land safely and successfully in the telemark position.
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