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Olympian Jay Rand became first person to test new ski jump in Lake Placid ahead of 1980 Games
Quite *** privilege to be the first person off this jump. It’s *** real challenge. The best word to describe the 90 m jump is immense. It easily towers over the 70 m jump adjacent to it. It is so tall, it needs *** flashing white light at the summit to warn oncoming planes of its presence. Jay Rand, the manager of the Interval ski jumping facility for the Lake Placid Olympic Organizing Committee, was selected to take the first jump. Rand is famous in ski jumping circles around the world. He was *** member of the US Olympic team in Grenoble for the 1968 Olympics. He talked about today’s historic jump shortly before takeoff. How do you psych yourself up for this? I mean, I’m looking at the thing and it’s huge. How do I psych myself up? Well, I think it’s, uh, I consider it quite *** privilege to be the first person off this jump. It’s *** real challenge, and I think it’s going to be extremely exciting, and I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve been *** jumper since I was 4 years old, and to have *** jump like this. In the United States is something that every jumper and coach has always dreamed about. The crowd lined the jump in anticipation of the one o’clock scheduled flight. Final preparations were made. An eerie silence came over the crowd, and suddenly the moment belonged to Rand. It is huge now. The man’s jump was good for an outstanding 90 m. Over the next two weeks, teams from over 20 countries will be here practicing for the 1979 pre-Olympic Games.
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Olympian Jay Rand became first person to test new ski jump in Lake Placid ahead of 1980 Games
In the lead-up to the 1980 Olympic Games in Lake Placid, one man dared to soar higher than all the rest.The MacKenzie Intervale Ski Jumping Complex, better known as The Lake Placid Olympic Ski Jumping Complex, completed the 90-meter jump in 1979, one year before athletes from all over the world would descend upon the village of Lake Placid for the historic Games.One fateful day in early 1979, Olympic jumper Jay Rand was the first person to test the newly-completed jump in front of an eager crowd of onlookers.Rand competed in the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble, France, and was the manager of the Lake Placid Ski Jumping Facility.This video from the archive shows the moment when Rand took that fateful leap, cementing himself in the pages of history.
In the lead-up to the 1980 Olympic Games in Lake Placid, one man dared to soar higher than all the rest.
The MacKenzie Intervale Ski Jumping Complex, better known as The Lake Placid Olympic Ski Jumping Complex, completed the 90-meter jump in 1979, one year before athletes from all over the world would descend upon the village of Lake Placid for the historic Games.
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One fateful day in early 1979, Olympic jumper Jay Rand was the first person to test the newly-completed jump in front of an eager crowd of onlookers.
Rand competed in the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble, France, and was the manager of the Lake Placid Ski Jumping Facility.
This video from the archive shows the moment when Rand took that fateful leap, cementing himself in the pages of history.
