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Ammann jumps to surprise victory in the K90
By Jody Genessy
Deseret News Olympic specialist
No offense to Lifehouse, but Van Halen probably would've been the most fitting group to have performed at the Medals Plaza Ceremony on Sunday night.
There couldn't have been a better song for Switzerland's Simon Ammann than the rock band's popular '80s hit "Jump."
For starters, Ammann put on a dazzling ski jumping show on Sunday at the Utah Olympic Park. That resulted in the energetic Swiss athlete getting jumped on in the snow by exuberant teammates. Next was his exciting celebratory jump onto the winner's stand during the on-site flower ceremony.
And all of this because the 20-year-old jumped smack dab out of nowhere to win the gold medal in the individual K90 competition.
Just how big a jump from obscurity did The Swiss Mystery Man make?
Ammann did have five top-10 finishes in World Cup action in December, but he had finished 35th at the 1998 Nagano Games and was 45th overall in 1999-2000. Plus, Ammann missed a month of jumping in January after he suffered a concussion.
Coming into the 2002 Olympics, he was ranked ninth in the world. While that sounds respectable, but in comparison to his ranking to ski-jumping giants Sven Hannawald of Germany and Adam Malysz of Poland, it's about the equivalent of being the ninth man off the bench on Michael Jordan's team.
Nonetheless, Ammann was the world's best on this clear and cold Sunday. He totaled 269.0 points, stunning Hannawald (267.5) and Malysz (263.0). Alan Alborn, who finished 11th with 240.0 points, was the highest-ranked U.S. jumper.
Still, the partisan crowd of 20,000 routed for Ammann the underdog like he was their next-door neighbor.
"It was not really surprising that I jumped well, but to become Olympic champion is a little bit surprising," Ammann said. "I didn't really imagine it was possible that I would win. It's a dream."
Ammann had everyone pinching themselves after his first jump of 98 meters — combined with excellent judges' marks for technique and landing — put him atop the leaderboard with 133.5 points. That gave him slight lead over the heavily favored Hannawald (131.0) and Malysz (129.5). It also set the stage for a dramatic ending.
With three Finnish jumpers in the top three spots and only three jumpers left, Malysz and Hannawald made consecutive clutch jumps of 98.0 and 99.0 to move into first place. That left Ammann, the final jumper, with a make-or-break last attempt.
"I was more nervous than ever," Ammann said three hours later. "My hands are still shaking, but they were shaking more then."
Despite his trembling hands, his legs were as steady as could be on his last jump. He awed the loud fans with a beautiful leap of 98.5 meters. Because his jump was shorter than Hannawald's last one by a half-meter, there was some doubt as to whom would win gold. So, the crowd and competitors collectively held their breath for a long minute, awaiting the judges' final scores.
"I came down and looked at the board and there was a long wait," Ammann said. "Suddenly my name appeared (in first place) and my two teammates came out (and jumped on me). . . . It was a special moment."
Hannawald, the favorite after becoming the first jumper in 50 years to sweep the 4 Hills Tournament last month, took his third straight Olympic silver medal in stride.
"It's no problem at all. At the Olympics, it is the medals that count, not the colors," he said. "I was happy for him (Ammann). He's such a nice guy one can't be jealous of him." Ammann's medal was the gold ever won for Switzerland in this event.
Sunday's competition began with a 60-person qualifying round (originally set for Friday but postponed due to inclement weather), which trimmed the group to 50 jumpers.
For the U.S., Brendan Doran (44th place) qualified but missed the final round, while Brian Welch took an early exit.
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February 11, 2002
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