By JANIE McCAULEY
The Associated Press
Friday, May 26, 2006; 4:14 PM

-- Women ski jumpers cleared their first big hurdle toward becoming Olympians.

The International Ski Federation, or FIS, voted Friday to add an individual event in the 2009 World Championships in Liberec, Czech Republic, a necessary prelude to the sport attaining Olympic status.

Canada, Norway and the United States worked together in their efforts and proposals to FIS, with representatives attending the FIS Congress in Vilamoura, Portugal. A Normal hill competition was approved for 2009. World championships are required before an event can be part of the Olympics.

"This is one of the most amazing days of my life so far," American jumper Alissa Johnson said in a phone interview from Park City, Utah, where she and her teammates received the news in a phone call at 4:30 a.m.

"It was just such a relief for all of us. All of us are so excited. We got to hear the conversation on speaker phone. It was just something we love and now we can make a career out of it and a future out of it. It's not just a hobby for me."

For women jumpers to compete at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the sport still must be accepted by the local organizing committee in Canada and be approved by the International Olympic Committee at its meeting in July 2007 in Guatemala.

"We couldn't be happier," Deedee Corradini, president of Women's Ski Jumping USA and former mayor of Salt Lake City, said in a telephone interview from Portugal. "We can't wipe the smiles off our faces. This is huge."

There had been concerns by FIS officials in the past that there wasn't enough interest in women's jumping _ meaning not enough athletes _ to hold a major world competition. Only about 12 countries have women's ski jumping programs, though that number has more than doubled in recent years.

The U.S. jumpers are confident the rest of the necessary steps will now fall into place.

"Our biggest worry was FIS," said Johnson, who could only watch when her 16-year-old brother made his Olympic debut in the jump in the Turin Games in February. "We're just happy we're all getting the support we need."

A team jumping event will be added for women at the 2011 world championships in Oslo, Norway.

A Continental Cup series for women jumpers was introduced in 2004. In January, the inaugural women's ski jumping event was held at the FIS Junior Nordic World Ski Championships in Kranj, Slovenia.

A preliminary vote of FIS delegates approved women's jumping for inclusion in the 2011 world championships, meaning it couldn't become an Olympic event until 2014. Then the proposal was revised to have an individual event in 2009.

"We were on pins and needles," Corradini said. "We got it done. We all worked very hard for this. We're on our way."