Silje Opseth (born 28 April 1999 in

Hønefoss __NOTOC__ Hønefoss is a town and the administrative center of the municipality of Ringerike in Buskerud county, Norway. Hønefoss is an industrial center of inner Østlandet, containing several factories and other industry. As of 1 January 2022 ...

) is a Norwegian

ski jumper 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 fin ...

, who represents the club Holeværingen IL.

Career

Beside of ski jumping, she was also a

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 ...

skier in her youth and belonged to the female pioneers of this sport in Norway. Opseth made her world cup debut in ski jumping in 2015, only 16 years old. She competed at the

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2017 The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2017 was the 40th World Championships in nordic skiing and took place in Lahti, Finland from 22 February to 5 March 2017.

Lahti Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-Häme. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lahti is approximately , while the Lahti sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mo ...

, Finland. Competing at the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

, she placed 16th in the women's normal hill individual. She won her first world cup victory in

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 ...

in March 2022. After Opseths victory in Willingen in 2024, Sarah Hendrickson named her as an example for the use of irregular jumping suits and demanded her disqualification. Opseth reached a world record distance of 236.5m in training on the

Vikersundbakken Vikersundbakken or Vikersund Hill is a ski flying ski jumping hill, hill at Vikersund in Modum, Norway. It is one of the two largest purpose-built ski flying hills in the world. Nine list of the longest ski jumps, world records have been set there ...

at March 17th in 2024, but fell while landing. At the following competition she jumped at 230.5m, which was a world record for almost a year. Since Januar 30th in 2021 she is also the female hill record holder on the

Hochfirst Ski Jump The Hochfirst Ski Jump (''German: Hochfirstschanze'') is a ski jumping hill located in Titisee-Neustadt in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. The ski jump is named after the mountain Hochfirst (1197 m) in the Black Forest. It is the bi ...

with a distance of 138.5m. In late January 2025 Opseth suffered a knee injury and couldn't continue the world cup season. She is a multiple national champion in ski jumping.

Engagement and awards

In 2016 Opseth and Leif Torbjørn Næsvold received the ''Jubilee Trophy'' of the

Norwegian Ski Federation The Norwegian Ski Federation () is headquartered in Oslo, Norway and is the national representative of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation. Founded on 21 February 1908, it covers the skiing disciplines of alpine, cross-country, freest ...

for Fair Play and engagement. In 2022 she and

Maren Lundby Maren Lundby (born 7 September 1994) is a retired Norwegian ski jumper. She is one of the most successful ski jumpers in the history of the sport, having won three consecutive World Cup overall titles (an all-time record shared with Adam Małysz ...

criticized the Polish Ski Federation for their internal rule to give financial support just to female ski jumpers with a BMI of 21 or under it. Opseth is ambassador of the anti-alcohol-campagne ''Idrett uten alkohol'' (en.: ''sport instead of alcohol''). In 2023 she criticized the consume of alcohol at the

Holmenkollen Ski Festival The Holmenkollen Ski Festival ( or ) is a traditional annual Nordic skiing event in Holmenkollen, Oslo, Norway. The full official name of the event is Holmenkollen FIS World Cup Nordic. History It takes place in March and has been arranged every ...

. In 2023 Opseth gave an interview about the influence of the

menstruation Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and Mucous membrane, mucosal tissue from the endometrium, inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized ...

on physical effectivity and about writing an menstruation diary. She was supported by

Hanne Staff Hanne Staff (born 3 February 1972) is a Norwegian orienteering competitor who has won three individual World Orienteering Championships gold medals. She retired from international orienteering at the end of the 2004 season where she became worl ...

, who is involved in the scientific project FENDURA about this topic. After her knee injury in 2025, Opseth talked in an interview about the pressure to have a low body weight in ski jumping. She was supported by

Katharina Schmid Katharina Schmid (née Althaus, born 23 May 1996) is a German ski jumper. She is a seven-time world champion, including one individual title and six team titles, as well as a two-time Olympic silver medalist, making her one of the most decorated a ...

Eva Pinkelnig Eva Pinkelnig (born 27 May 1988) is an Austrian Ski jumping, ski jumper. Career She competed in the 2014–15 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, 2015 World Cup season. She represented Austria at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2015 in Falun. Majo ...

und Jacqueline Seifriedsberger shortly after.

World Cup

Standings

Individual wins

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Opseth, Silje 1999 births Living people Norwegian female ski jumpers Skiers from Buskerud Ski jumpers at the 2018 Winter Olympics Ski jumpers at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic ski jumpers for Norway FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in ski jumping 21st-century Norwegian sportswomen