Sigmund Ruud (30 December 1907 – 7 April 1994) was a Norwegian

ski jumper Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fina ...

. Together with his brothers

Birger Birger is a Scandinavian name from Old Norse, ''bjarga'', meaning "to help, to save, to protect". It is widely used in Norway as Birger but also as Børge. The Swedish variant of ''Birger'' would soon evolve into ''Börje'', however, the prior for ...

and

Asbjørn Asbjørn is a Norwegian and Danish male given name. In 2013, there were more than 7,000 men in Norway with this name. In Norway it reached the peak of its popularity between 1910 and 1930, during which period approximately 1% of children were given ...

, he dominated ski jumping in the 1920s and 1930s.

Career

At the

1928 Winter Olympics The 1928 Winter Olympics, officially known as the II Olympic Winter Games (french: IIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; german: II. Olympische Winterspiele; it, II Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, II Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. M ...

in St. Moritz, Sigmund earned a silver medal. At the

1929 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1929 took place February 5–9, 1929 in Zakopane, Poland. Men's cross country 17 km February 7, 1929 50 km February 9, 1929 Men's Nordic combined Individual February 5, 1929 Men's ski jum ...

, he won the ski jumping competition while earning a bronze at the 1930 event. Sigmund also competed in the ski jumping competition at the

Holmenkollen ski festival The Holmenkollen Ski Festival ( no, Holmenkollen skifestival or ) is a traditional annual Nordic skiing event in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway. The full official name of the event is Holmenkollen FIS World Cup Nordic. History It takes place in March ...

, which first began in 1933. He also competed at the

1932 Winter Olympics The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February ...

in the ski jumping event, but finished seventh due to

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...

. Additionally, Sigmund wanted to compete in the first alpine skiing events at the

1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games (german: IV. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 ( bar, Garmasch-Partakurch 1936), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 ...

, though he did not start. For his contributions in ski jumping, Sigmund earned the Holmenkollen medal in 1949, the last of the three Ruud brothers to do so. Sigmund was the only one of the three not to win the Holmenkollen ski jumping competition. Sigmund Ruud and fellow Norwegian ski jumper

Jacob Tullin Thams Jacob Tullin "Tulla" Thams (7 April 1898 – 27 July 1954) was a Norwegian Olympian, who competed in ski jumping and sailing. Career He won the first Olympic ski jumping gold medal in 1924, and became the third person (after Gillis Grafström wh ...

are considered co-creators of the

Kongsberger technique The sport of ski jumping has seen the use of numerous different techniques, or "styles", over the course of its more than two-hundred-year history. Depending on how the skis are positioned by an athlete, distances have increased by as much as withi ...

after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, a ski jumping technique that was the standard until it was superseded by the

Daescher technique The sport of ski jumping has seen the use of numerous different techniques, or "styles", over the course of its more than two-hundred-year history. Depending on how the skis are positioned by an athlete, distances have increased by as much as withi ...

in the 1950s. Ruud also served as chairman of the FIS Ski Jumping Committee in 1946–1955 and 1959–1967. He owned and ran a sport shop in Oslo. On 24 February 1931 he set his first official world record at 264 ft (80.5 metres). Later he set two more official world records at 84 m (276 ft) and 86 m (282 ft). Ruud appeared in two films: ''

The White Stadium ''The White Stadium'' (German: ''Das weiße Stadion'') is a 1928 Swiss documentary film directed by Arnold Fanck about the 1928 Winter Olympics which were held in the Swiss resort of St. Moritz. The film received the backing of the Internationa ...

'' (1928, as himself) and ''

The Woman in the Advocate's Gown ''The Woman in the Advocate's Gown'' (german: Die Frau im Talar; no, Frøken Statsadvokat) is a 1929 Norwegian-German silent drama film directed by Adolf Trotz and starring Aud Egede-Nissen, Paul Richter, and Fritz Kortner. The screenplay was ...

'' (1929).

Ski jumping world records

Not recognized! He stood and tied Lymburne's WR distance, but ''hors concours'', outside of competition.
Not recognized! Ground touch at world record distance.

References

External links

*
Holmenkollen medalists
– click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file
Swiss Olympic Committee ''St. Moritz 1928'', 1928. (digitized version)

Swiss Olympic Committee ''Résultats DES concours DES II^mes jeux Olympiques d'Hiver'', 1928. (digitized version)

Organizing Committee ''III Olympic Winter Games Lake Placid 1932'', 1932 (digitized version)

Organizing Committee, ''IV. Olympische Winterspiele 1936 Amtlicher Bericht'', Reichssportverlag Berlin SW 68, 1936 (digitized version)
1907 births 1994 deaths Norwegian male ski jumpers Norwegian male alpine skiers Olympic ski jumpers of Norway Ski jumpers at the 1928 Winter Olympics Ski jumpers at the 1932 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1936 Winter Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Norway Holmenkollen medalists Olympic medalists in ski jumping FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in ski jumping Medalists at the 1928 Winter Olympics Kongsberg IF ski jumpers People from Kongsberg Sportspeople from Viken (county) 20th-century Norwegian people {{Norway-skijumping-bio-stub