BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — An 18-year-old Slovenian bested two dozen of the world’s best up-and-coming ski jumpers Sunday to win the Harris Hill Ski Jump’s annual namesake Fred Harris Memorial Tournament.
Blaz Pavlic broke the hill’s long-distance record with a 104-meter jump in front of a crowd of several thousand spectators, with Brian Wallace, 23, of St. Paul, Minn., placing second and Zak Silih, 21, of Slovenia third.
“The headwind helped me,” Pavlic said of his historic leap. “It lifted me up, and then I just said, ‘Go for it.’”
The nearly century-old event featured athletes from eight states, Austria and Slovenia shooting off New England’s only Olympic-size venue at speeds of 60 mph before soaring more than 300 feet in the air.
The late Fred Harris started it all 95 years ago when, after founding the Dartmouth Outing Club as a college student in 1909, he returned to his hometown to create the ski jump — now one of just six of its size in the country — in 1922.
Harris’ daughter, Sandy, presented this weekend’s winners with medals.
Harris Hill boasts a snowmaking system, so the program takes place annually regardless of ground cover in surrounding areas. More information about the ski jump can be found at www.harrishillskijump.com or the event’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
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Photo:
Blaz Pavlic, 18, of Slovenia won Harris Hill Ski Jump’s annual namesake Fred Harris Memorial Tournament on Sunday in Brattleboro, Vt. Photo by Dana Sprague
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Sally Seymour
Harris Hill Ski Jump
Media Coordinator
sallyvt@me.com
603-852-0731
