Equal Jumping Rights

The petite blond girl stood at the top of the Salisbury Winter Sports Association’s 20-meter jump, having lugged her skis up the more than 90 slippery steps that led her to the top of the hill. A quick word from her coach, Ken Barker—“Don’t sit back like you’re reading the paper. Your skis will get ahead of you.”—and she began her descent, launching herself off the bottom of the jump and landing triumphantly on the slope below.

Eve Arenal Hruby, 8, had already progressed to the second level of her jumping career, having mastered the art of sidestepping up the landing slope and successfully navigating its length without falling down. Now, she was airborne, joining a growing number of women athletes who are jumping in America and Europe.

Arenal, and girls like her around the world, may represent the future of ski jumping. Until now, young women have been denied the right to jump in the Olympics, one of the last vestiges of gender discrimination in sports today.Read Story