LIBEREC, Czech Republic (AP) - Lindsey Van of the United States became the first ever women's ski jumping world champion Friday after nailing a perfect second jump to edge Ulrike Graessler of Germany.

Van was fourth after the first round but soared nearly 320 feet through heavy snow in the second — by far the longest jump of the competition — to finish with 243 points.

Graessler led after jumping almost 307 feet in the first round and managed 305 in the second to finish with 239 points. Anette Sagen of Norway was third with jumps of 306 and 308 feet for 238.5 points.

"I had fun on the second jump," Van said. "I really don't remember it. I have no words for it yet."

Van had jumped 292 feet in the first round, and her second effort immediately drew a large roar from the small, flag-waving American crowd in the stands — consisting mostly of friends and family.

The 24-year-old Van could not contain her excitement as she waited for her last rivals to come down, jumping up and down and sticking her tongue out for the cameras.

"It feels pretty good" to be the first world champion, Van said. "But I have to wait for a few days to see what happens. I need to think about it, for sure. But I'm happy right now."

Women's ski jumping is making its debut at this year's Nordic skiing world championships and the sport is hoping to earn a spot on the Olympic program for Sochi 2014. It failed to win approval for inclusion at next year's Vancouver Games.

There were concerns this week that the debut may have come too soon, as 14-year-old Czech jumper Lucie Mikova crashed in training and was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The youngest athlete of the championships, 12-year-old Natalie Dejmkova of the Czech Republic, withdrew after she fell on her first training jump on Tuesday.

But there were no crashes during Friday's competition and six of the 31 starters managed at least one jump over 295 feet. Nine of the competitors were 15 or younger and there are still large gaps in ability, with several jumps of less than 200 feet.

By MATTIAS KAREN
Associated Press
February 20, 2009 - 5:56 AM