onight it was the semi-final of The Jump 2017 and the eight remaining competitors were all ready to battle it out for a place in next week’s live grand final. There were three events between them and next week’s show. All they needed to do was Air Jump high, race hell for leather in the epic Giant Slalom and jump further than they have before should they find themselves at the top of the Ski Jump to stay in the running to be crowned champion next week.

In the first event of the night the competitors needed to hurl themselves skyward in the exhilarating Air Jump. If the Ski Jump is a long jump then think of the Air Jump as a high jump. But this jump isn’t about the landing – it’s about the speeds reached on the in-run and the amount of height you are able to achieve. The aim is to get as much height as possible by jumping off the kicker and landing safely into a giant airbag. It takes skill, daring and athleticism to successfully pop off the kicker and gain the air and height needed to stay in the competition and with the lowest two jumpers heading straight to the Ski Jump, the pressure was on.

With Lydia and Kadeena heading straight to the Ski Jump, the remaining six competitors battled it out in head to head Giant Slalom races. Paired based on their training times, the celebrities prepared to take on the 300m course – the longest, fastest and toughest race ever on The Jump. The two slowest losers would head straight to the Ski Jump, with the winners and fastest loser racing again, before the winners of those races faced- off to be crowned Giant Slalom Champion 2017.

First to jump tonight was Kadeena Cox, it was her fourth time jumping in competition and she looked confident and landed solidly at 14.65m. Up next was Lydia Bright, with her second appearance on The Jump this series, she’s a nervous jumper but she rose to the challenge reaching 12.25m.

Emma Parker-Bowles jumped next landing 12.25m, exactly the same distance as Lydia and with the two women tied it was down to their earlier Air Jumps to decide their fate. Emma had managed 7.87m, with Lydia only reaching 7.64m she was still in danger of going home.

The fourth jump of the night came from Gareth Thomas. He’d jumped big last week and was under pressure to pull it out of the bag again, he jumped 14.58m and managed to keep his place in the competition. Jason Robinson jumped next, having fallen in training earlier in the day he was nervous but he landed strong and stayed on his feet reaching 15.18m.

The final jumper of the night was Amy Willerton, she’s no stranger to the Ski Jump having jumped every week of the competition. All the practice paid off as she flew 13.70m knocking Lydia out of the competition.

Lydia said: “It has been the most amazing experience. I didn’t expect that I was going to get this far. I’ve made friends for life, I’ve overcome massive fears so you know that’s all I can ask for.”

Tune in to Channel 4 next Sunday for The Jump Live Final where the celebrities will battle it out in Ski Cross, Snow Cross and face The Jump to be crowned The Jump Champion 2017.

ENDS

For further information and interviews with the competitors, please contact: 
Samantha Fraser / 020 7306 3769 / sfraser@channel4.co.uk
Kate Conway / 020 7306 3751 / kconway@channel4.co.uk