Van looks to keep title, ski jump in Olympics

OSLO, Norway (AP) - The stakes are higher now for Lindsey Van. This time, it could be the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

"I think I can handle it,'' she told The Associated Press.

Two years ago, Van became ski jumping's first female world champion. On Friday, she will attempt to keep her title in Oslo and possibly qualify for the next Winter Games.

Women have not been allowed to ski jump at the Olympics, but the IOC is looking favorably at the sport and will decide on Sochi based on Friday's event at the Nordic world championships.

It's been three years since Van and Jessica Jerome - both from Park City, Utah - joined a cluster of other top competitors to file a gender discrimination lawsuit in Canada against the organizing committee for the Vancouver Games. The women lost - the court said the IOC, not VANOC, was the only body authorized to make the call.

"It was tremendously heartbreaking,'' Jerome said. "All of us girls, from all the countries, worked hard and were just as deserving to be there as any other athlete.''

In 2006, the International Ski Federation voted 114-1 in favor of recommending women's ski jumping as an Olympic sport. But the IOC stood its ground. A sport needed to have completed two world championships before joining the Olympic program, it said. Also, with too few competitors, women's ski jumping did not meet the necessary criteria.

But the women were able to point to examples of the IOC disregarding its own standards. Ski cross and bobsled had fewer athletes, for instance, and the women's marathon joined the 1984 Olympics after just one world championship.

"We asked a lot of questions and never really got any straight answers,'' Jerome said. "That's probably the most frustrating thing.''

The jumpers are still angry, but choosing to focus instead on Oslo.

"I'm trying to keep my nose out of the political side of things,'' Jerome said. "My job is to jump far and to the best of my ability, not to get in the faces of the people at the IOC who make the decisions.''

At 26 and 24, Van and Jerome are veterans of the sport. Jerome took first place at a Continental Cup in Finland and is jumping as well as ever. Van also is pleased with her season, but both know they'll have to be at the top of their game to win a medal.

Japanese 15-year-old Sara Takanashi landed a 102.5 meter jump in training Wednesday on the Midtstubakken hill where the final will be held. Elena Runggaldier of Italy and Coline Mattel of France also cleared 100 meters.

Daniela Iraschko has dominated the Continental Cup this season, but a knee injury means the Austrian won't know until Friday if she can compete in the final.

"Our sport has definitely improved in every aspect,'' Van said. "I think when they look at it again it'll be at the standard they're looking for.''

Cross-country and Nordic combined are also on the program in Oslo. Events run through March 6, but the women's ski jump will begin and end Friday at the city's famed Holmenkollen venue.