Canadians fall short in ski jumping

Last Updated: Friday, February 12, 2010 | 10:11 PM ET

CBC Sports

Eric Mitchell of Calgary competed in the ski jumping individual qualification round on Friday at Whistler Olympic Park. (Boris Minkevich/Canadian Press)

Eric Mitchell of Calgary had the honour of being the first athlete to compete at the Vancouver Winter Games, as the first competitor down the ski jumping ramp at Whistler Olympic Park on Friday afternoon.

The 17-year-old wide-eyed Olympic rookie finished a distant 49th out of 51 competitors with a score of 98.5 in the qualifications for the men's ski jumping-normal hill event.

Michael Uhrmann of Germany was first in the qualifying round, posting a score of 138.5.

None of the Canadians qualified for the medal round.

MacKenzie Boyd-Clowes was Canada's top performer, scoring 105.0 in 44th place.

The Canadians weren't expected to do well, as only Stefan Read, who finished 47th, had previous Olympic experience. Canadian jumpers also don't have a single World Cup point this season.

The ski jumpers needed to finish in the top 40 to advance to the medal round on Saturday.

The large hill competition begins with qualifying on Feb. 19.

Medal Count

Top 10 Medal Winners

Country				Total
UNITED STATES	9	15	13	37
GERMANY	10	13	7	30
CANADA	14	7	5	26
NORWAY	9	8	6	23
AUSTRIA	4	6	6	16
RUSSIA	3	5	7	15
SOUTH KOREA	6	6	2	14
CHINA	5	2	4	11
SWEDEN	5	2	4	11
FRANCE	2	3	6	11

Full Medal Standings

Key Dates - Ski Jumping

Men's Normal Hill Individual
CHE POL AUT

Men's Long Hill Individual
CHE POL AUT

Men's Team
AUT DEU NOR

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