Ski jumping at the 2022 Winter Olympics kicks off with the men’s individual normal hill qualification and the women’s individual normal hill final. Athletes will compete from the brand new ZhangJiakou Ski Jump Center, nicknamed “Snow Ruyi” for its resemblance of a Chinese talisman called a Ruyi scepter.
Expected to bullet down the ramp in the men’s individual normal hill event is Kevin Bickner of the United States. The Wauconda, Illinois, native will make his Olympic return after an impressive 2018 run in the men’s normal hill in PyeongChang. Following Bickner’s glide to his Olympic berth, he will face Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi and Norway's Robert Johansson -- virally known as “The Flying Mustache.”
With Austrian ski jumping powerhouse Marita Kramer out of the Games after failing to recover from a positive COVID-19 test, and previous 2018 gold medalist Maren Lundby pulling out of the Games, up-and-coming U.S. ski jumper Anna Hoffmann will get her big break on the ramp. Joining Team USA late as the sixth alternate, 21-year-old Hoffmann earned her Olympic berth and a chance at Olympic hardware.
As competition for the individual normal hill events begins, ski jumpers will be scored based on distance jumped, style points earned, and whether they reached or exceeded the K-point -- the target for landing. In comparison, large hill events feature a K-point of about 120 meters, while normal hill events have a K-point of 90 meters.
The men’s individual normal hill qualification will begin on Feb 5. at 12:15 a.m. ET and the women’s individual normal hill qualification will begin on Feb. 5 at 4:45 a.m. ET.
Sign up to stream every event from the 2022 Winter Olympics LIVE on Peacock. Users can also verify their TV provider to access stream events in the NBC Sports app or on NBCOlympics.com. You can also see a full ski jumping streaming schedule on NBCOlympics.com.