Mike Holland (ski jumper)

Michael Harry Holland (born 9 December 1961) is an American former ski jumper. He was world distance record holder for 27 minutes, surpassed shortly after by Matti Nykänen in 1985.

Mike Holland
Country United States
Full nameMichael Harry Holland
Born (1961-12-09) 9 December 1961 (age 62)
Norwich, Vermont, USA
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Personal best186 m (610 ft)
Planica, 15 March 1985
World Cup career
Seasons19831990
1992
Starts74
Podiums5
Wins1
Updated on 10 February 2016.

Biography edit

A native of Norwich, Vermont,[1] Holland was a five time U.S. national champion. Holland competed in the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

On 15 March 1985, he set the ski jumping distance world record at 186 metres (610 ft) on Velikanka bratov Gorišek in Planica, Slovenia.[2][3] And became only the second man to jump over 600 feet barrier. This world record was held for only 27 minutes before Finnish jumper Matti Nykänen passed his mark with a jump one meter longer.

Holland had five top ten world cup results including a 1st-place finish in Bischofshofen, Austria in 1989; three 2nd-place finishes in Harrachov, Thunder Bay and Planica; and 3rd place in Lahti.

World Cup edit

Standings edit

 Season  Overall 4H
1982/83 15 17
1983/84 22 92
1984/85 10 29
1985/86 29 34
1986/87 34 82
1987/88 30 65
1988/89 11 8
1989/90
1991/92 34

Wins edit

No. Season Date Location Hill Size
1 1988/89 6 January 1989     Bischofshofen Paul-Ausserleitner-Schanze K111 LH

Ski jumping world record edit

Date Hill Location Metres Feet
15 March 1985   Velikanka bratov Gorišek K185 Planica, Yugoslavia 186 610

Family life edit

His younger brothers Joe Holland and Jim Holland were also U.S. national champions, Joe competed in the nordic combined and Jim competed in ski jumping. Both competed on the world cup circuit and in the Olympic Winter Games.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ Pictures and a chat with Mike Holland about his World Record Ski Jump, Ski Jump East, archived from the original on 2015-06-27
  2. ^ "V manj kot dveh urah trije svetovni rekordi in kup državnih (page 5)" (in Slovenian). Delo. 16 March 1985.
  3. ^ "Mike Holland - Planica 1985 - 186 m - World record". YouTube. 15 March 1985. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13.
  4. ^ "Meet the Athletes: Ski Jumpers in the Eastern USA". EASTERN SKI JUMPING & NORDIC COMBINED FOUNDATION, INC. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 3, 2014.

External links edit

Records
Preceded by World's longest ski jump
15 March 1985 – 15 March 1985
Succeeded by