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 fin ...

. 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 form ...

and Asbjørn, 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 ...

St. Moritz St. Moritz (also german: Sankt Moritz, rm, , it, San Maurizio, french: Saint-Moritz) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in ...

, Sigmund earned a silver medal. At the 1929 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, 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 Marc ...

, which first began in 1933. He also competed at the 1932 Winter Olympics 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 r ...

. 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 are considered co-creators of the Kongsberger technique after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, a ski jumping technique that was the standard until it was superseded by the Daescher technique 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'' (1928, as himself) and '' The Woman in the Advocate's Gown'' (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