With pleasure, almost like a big winner, she could watch another successful step of women in bridge competitions in Norway, this time also on the mammoth one.
How many times in her life has she heard that ski jumping is not a sport for women. But now, after all, he feels a change, not the former moderation. “Now as a jumper you feel like you are part of the world of jumping, before there was a feeling that you shouldn’t be here,” Vanová said in an interview with przegladsportowy.pl.
She herself once lived through the prehistory of women’s leap. She won gold in the first women’s race at the World Championships 14 years ago in Liberec. At the time, she fought in court to allow female jumpers to participate in the Olympic Games in 2010. In vain. The women finally got it, but not until four years later.
Despite all the troubles, and often humiliating or absurd situations. “Actually, it was really stupid. Anyway, there were many questions or statements that made me want to burst out laughing. It’s 2023 and you still hear these stupid slogans, even though it’s clear that jumping is medically safe for women,” the shift reminded.
Vanová once faced the question of whether she was afraid that her uterus would fall out during the jump. “At times like these, one thing must be said: Our reproductive organs are inside, the male outside. If you worry about ours, then you should worry more about yours. Mine are more protected,” she directed criticism at the camp of male opponents in particular. “They were really stupid questions to which it is difficult to find an answer. I could not believe that someone would even ask such a thing,” she marveled years later.
If Vanová’s career had not taken an unexpected turn, she could theoretically have competed in mammoth races at the age of thirty-nine herself as a competitor. “But I’ve had nine knee surgeries. The decision to end my career was not mine, but the doctor’s. He said I just can’t jump anymore. I really wanted to continue my career, I didn’t plan to end it. It was a very difficult time,” continued the former jumper, now a real estate agent in Park City, but recently also a technical delegate of the FIS ski federation, which opens the way for her to compete. Even those in Vikersund.
Even though she hasn’t raced in years, she could now feel a bit like a winner in the long fight for this chance for women… “I think it’s a big step forward. Flights are simply the pinnacle of this discipline. I had the opportunity to try flying (only in training) in 2004 and 2009 and it was probably the best moment of my entire career. Something I was really proud of because it was hard to convince people that we could do it. It takes time to change the mindset, especially among older men who work in FIS,” she went on to outline what difficulties accompanied the promotion of women on the bridge.
“I still feel a bit of anger and resignation that it took so long and that they were so stubborn. It was a long time before they even took the first steps in this matter. Now girls have opportunities that we didn’t have. I’m happy about it,” she did not hide her pleasant feelings after a successful battle with mistrust.
However, she also recalled the difficulties that applied in the past and now. As a particularly burdensome person after his experiences, he perceives the problem with weight, which is often the edge between success and failure. And often even the border, when the jumper can reach the bridge.
“When I was trying to lose weight, my body wasn’t very healthy. In such a situation, you don’t know what to do and then you get hurt. I think that’s one of the reasons why my career ended,” she recalled, noting that her body was still reacting.
“My hormones are raging, even though I retired from sports nine years ago. I still can’t stand on the scale and calmly look at the result. I will have to struggle with weight loss issues for the rest of my life. Your brain doesn’t work properly when you’re starving. I think weight is the biggest problem in ski jumping. Not only for women, but also for men,” she reflected.
In this context, she was struck by the attitude of the Polish association towards female jumpers. Precisely with regard to maintaining weight… In our neighbors, they tried to introduce a rule according to which those whose BMI is higher than 21 will not be able to count on finances for preparation.
“That’s definitely not a good idea. This may be a certain limit, but not a strict requirement. It’s an absurd, crazy idea. It’s like going back to the stone age. Not all body types can be completely slim. This is not healthy for young women who are still developing. It should never be about their weight, but about the level of their jumps. I don’t think I’ve ever reached that level of BMI either, and I was a world champion and I was at the top for a long time. If such a rule had been introduced for us, my career would not have even started,” she added.
