The distance they jump/the speed at which they fall seems like it would be impossible to land without falling flat on your face. There is obviously some cool physics going on, but please.
In: Mathematics
The short answer is that force is a vector. So explaining this more ELI5, if you jumped from a high surface on to the ground, all of the force of gravity from you falling is returned right back up in to you. This is what causes the risk of injury to your feet, ankles, legs, knees is all of that force pushing back on those.
However ski jumpers don’t land on a flat surface, they are landing on a very sloped surface. So the force is much more in a horizontal direction rather than pure vertical. It should also be noted that where they land is covered with very loosely packed snow. This snow will also absorb that force and disperse it as they are landing.
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