Husebyrennet was a

ski jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

competition which was held in

Ullern Ullern is a List of boroughs of Oslo, borough of the city of Oslo, Norway. History The borough has its name from an old farm, Old Norse language, Norse ''Ullarin''. The first element is the genitive case of the name of the Norse god Ullr. The l ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. These yearly competitions, held from 1879 to 1891, were a precursor to the

Holmenkollen Holmenkollen () is a mountain and a neighbourhood in the Vestre Aker borough of Oslo, Norway. It goes up to above sea level and is well known for its international skiing competitions. Etymology The name is a compound of the farm name and the ...

event. Starting in January 1892, this competition relocated to the

Holmenkollbakken Holmenkollbakken is a large ski jumping hill located at Holmenkollen in Oslo, Norway. It has a hill size of HS134, a construction point of K-120, and a capacity for 70,000 spectators. Holmenkollen has hosted the Holmenkollen Ski Festival sinc ...

. The first competitions held by

Christiania SK Christiania Skiklub was a Norwegian Nordic skiing club in Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the ...

were different from today's ski jumping in that the ski jump formed part of a course that included a 4 km stretch of

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

(see

Nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics in ...

). No jump lengths were measured. Instead, judges gave points for style, on a scale from 1 to 5. The ski jump, called ''Kastellbakken'', was viewed as gigantic for its time, with length around 20 meters readily achieved. At the first recognized competition held in Husebybakken in 1879, Olaf Haugann of Norway set the first world record for the longest ski jump at 20 meters. In the first years,

Sondre Norheim Sondre Norheim, born Sondre Auverson, (10 June 1825 – 9 March 1897) was a Norwegian skier and pioneer of modern skiing. Sondre Norheim is known as the father of Telemark skiing. Background Sondre Auverson was born at Øverbø, a little ...

was dominating. Later, the brothers Mikkjel and Torjus Hemmestveit were dominant. In 1883,

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and co-founded the ...

participated, and was a main attraction, having then won fame by finishing the distance

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

on skis. The event became very popular, with up to 10,000 spectators.

King Oscar II Oscar II (Oscar Fredrik; 21 January 1829 – 8 December 1907) was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death in 1907 and King of Norway from 1872 to 1905. Oscar was the son of King Oscar I and Queen Josephine. He inherited the Swedish and Norweg ...

and Prince Hans of Denmark were among the spectators.''Markafolk'' (article in ''Tobias'' 3/98, a monthly publication issued by Oslo municipality archive

Norwegian Due to lack of snow, the event was not held in 1880, and in 1890 it was held elsewhere. This uncertainty relating to the conditions led to the competition being moved permanently to the location of what is now

in 1892. Today, only a bronze plaque serves as a reminder of the events.

References

{{Reflist 19th century in Oslo Defunct sports venues in Norway 1879 establishments in Norway Recurring sporting events established in 1879