Former Olympian ski jumper Jim Holland will be inducted into the Vermont Ski & Snowboard Hall of Fame during ceremonies Feb 20 at the Harris Hill Ski Jump in Brattleboro.
A six-time national ski jumping champion and two-time Olympian, Holland may be best remembered for his courageous comeback after suffering serious injuries during a training jump at Lake Placid, NY, in 1987. The then 19-year-old broke four vertebrae in a massive fall caused by slipping on& an ice patch while approaching take-off, requiring him to undergo back surgery and threatening his career before it had started.
But Holland persevered and later found success by drastically changing his technique. Instead of jumping the traditional way, with skis straight and body extended forward, he turned the tips of his skis out like a “V” and sailed farther than he ever had before. He went on to place 12th at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, one of the top performances by an American that year. He later competed at the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway, before retiring in 1995.
After graduating from the University of Vermont, Holland headed west to Park City, UT, with a childhood friend, John Bresee. Inspired by their passion for ski mountaineering, the two created Backcountry.com just as internet shopping was catching on. An immense success, Holland and Bresee sold a majority interest in Backcountry.com in 2007. Holland remains involved as a minority shareholder and holds a seat on the board of directors.
In 2007, after the US Ski Team abandoned ski jumping, Holland helped start and fund USA Nordic Sports, a nonprofit in Park City that runs men’s and women’s national jumping and Nordic combined programs, keeping the sport alive. Today, he continues to support the sport of ski jumping, including charitable support to Ford Sayre Memorial Ski Council’s jumping program.
No stranger to confronting challenges head on, Holland now faces his toughest yet. With a Parkinson’s diagnosis, he is determined to fight back and is putting resources toward research to find a cure.
“We are proud to celebrate the impact Jim Holland has had on ski jumping and Nordic skiing in the US,” said Abby Blackburn, executive director of the Vermont Ski and Snowboarding Museum.