Hjalmar Hvam

Hjalmar Petterson Hvam (16 November 1902 – March 30, 1996) was a competitive Norwegian-American Nordic skier and inventor of the first safety ski binding.

[2] In 1932, he won the first U.S. nordic combined championship held at Lake Tahoe, California, taking first in jumping and cross-country racing.

[1][3] While celebrating his 1937 repeat victory in the Golden Rose, Hvam, like many skiers of his era, broke his leg.

[1] While laid up in the hospital, he had an inspiration for a new design, which became the Saf-Ski, the world's first ski safety bindings.

Hvam sold and rented thousands of pairs until the early 1970s, when insurance premiums for sale of the bindings became too expensive and the Saf-Ski disappeared from the market.