WHISTLER, British Columbia — Ski jumping and nordic combined are the only events at the Winter Games that bar women from competing. And yet before any man takes flight during competition, a woman has probably cleared the way.
Atsuko Tanaka, 18, is a forerunner, someone who jumps ahead of the competition to make sure conditions are optimal. She and another Canadian, Nata de Leeuw, are the only women among the 20 forerunners.
“It’s every athlete’s dream to go to the Olympics,” Tanaka said. “So just to be even a little bit a part of it — I don’t know, it just feels amazing.”
But that rankles other elite women ski jumpers, who say they fought too hard to be included in the Olympics in just a menial role.
“I just feel like it’s being part of the Olympics for the wrong reason,” said Katie Willis, a Canadian ski jumper who was one of 15 women who sued and lost in Canadian courts to force their inclusion in these Games.
The New York Times
