Ski Jumpers' Nicknames Trivia Quiz

Answer: Eddie the Eagle

British jumper Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards became famous for spectacular crashes and the fact that he'd 'have a go' despite his conspicuous lack of success. Because of this, he became the man most likely to be named by 'the man in the street' when asked to 'Name a famous ski jumper'. (A ski jumping fan would have given a different answer!)

Answer: Harry Potter

Although already in his twenties at the time, fresh-faced Simon Ammann certainly did look a bit like the Hogwarts schoolboy. He missed the treble at Salt Lake when the Swiss team could do no better than seventh in the team event. Ammann himself had the best individual score in that event, too, but his three teammates could not match his standard. Gold went to the more consistent German team.

Answer: Janne Ahonen

Ahonen, who was World Cup champion in 2003-04, could afford to take a weekend off. His lead over second-place Austrian, Martin Hoellwarth, was over 500 points (equivalent to five victories). Like Formula 1's Schumacher, he seemed to be unbeatable. This indeed proved to be the case, as he finished the season almost 300 points ahead of his nearest rival.

The other three choices are all from Norway, and only Ljoekelsoey was active in 2004-05, eventually finishing second to Ahonen.

Answer: Tommy Ingebrigtsen

Norwegian Ingebrigtsen has never returned to his early form, despite some hopeful results. Time and again he'd put in a stylish and long first jump in an event, only to plummet in the standings when his second round jump fell short. The Austrian, Morgenstern, who was only 8 when Ingebrigtsen did the championship double, debuted in the 2002-03 season, securing his first World Cup victory in only his fifth senior event. Schwall, from the USA, and the Pole Pochwala have had lesser careers.

Answer: The Feather

Because it happened in Japan, far away from the European limelight for the sport, Nico's win got somewhat less recognition than it deserved. He was still competing in the 2004-05 season, but had not managed to duplicate his winning performance, nor had any other French jumper been successful.

Answer: Masahiko 'Happy' Harada

Although he retired from World Cup competition in 2003, Harada continued to compete in lesser events in Japan thereafter. During his career he amassed nine World Cup victories, and won a bronze medal on the large hill at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

Answer: Nukes

Matti Nykaenen went from national hero after his exploits in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, to national disgrace in 2004, when he was convicted of manslaughter. His many stormy marriages, singing career and other exploits had made him front-page 'news' for the tabloid press in his homeland throughout much of the 1990s.

Answer: Goldberger

Andi Goldberger, from Austria, was World Cup champion in 1993, '95 and '96 and also won the Four Hills Tournament twice. A comeback after a 1997 ban for a drugs infraction was only partly successful, and he failed to add to his total of twenty victories at the World Cup level. He announced his retirement in May 2005.

Answer: kamikaze

On form, Kasai, still active in 2004-05, has always been a joy to watch, attaining an almost perfect flying position. He had a number of individual World Cup wins to his credit by the end of the '04-05 season, and was usually an integral part of the Japanese team in team events.

Answer: The agony of defeat

Slovenian Vinko Bogataj was competing for what was then still Yugoslavia, when he was captured on film tumbling off the end of the jump, through a fence and into the crowd during an event in 1970. The clip was used for years in the opening sequence of the ABC show, always accompanied by the phrase 'the agony of defeat', and North American sports fans saw him fall over and over again.

It is said that Bogataj had no idea that he was famous in the US until he was invited to an anniversary celebration for the show in 1991.

The amazing thing is, as bad as his crash appeared, he suffered only a minor concussion!