|
 |
Ski jumping hot in U.S. now — but will its popularity last?
By Jason Swensen
Deseret News Olympic specialist
UTAH OLYMPIC PARK — American ski jumping may have gotten its biggest boost during the 2002 Games, ironically, from a skinny, bespectacled Swiss guy.
Switzerland's Simon Ammann pulled off a pair of the Olympics' biggest upsets, coming off a horrific training injury and a pedestrian career to sweep both of the individual jumping events. Ammann's Harry Potter-esque features were noted in countless U.S. news leads. He whooped and hollered into American TV mikes after each win, and soon he was swapping quips with Letterman. Thanks to Ammann, the ski jumps at Utah Olympic Park now enjoy an invaluable, happy identity.
But can the local ski jumping excitement generated by Ammann survive beyond the Olympics? Time will tell if athletic American kids will mothball their snowboards, hang a couple of Simon posters above their beds and dedicate their young lives to ski jumping.
U.S. ski officials and athletes seem both optimistic and realistic.
"We're always going to be underdogs," said Luke Bodensteiner, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association's nordic director.
Indeed, ski jumping and other nordic disciplines are integral to the sports culture in Finland, Norway and other European nations, Bodensteiner said. Most American sports fans tune into ski jumping every four years when the Olympics roll around — Scandinavians watch weekly World Cup competitions in prime time. And while elite ski jumpers such as Germany's Martin Schmitt and Adam Malysz of Poland are national heroes, America's top jumpers, Alan Alborn and Clint Jones, compete in relative anonymity.
Still, there are indicators American ski jumpers could become consistently competitive in the next decade. First and foremost is the Utah Olympic Park jumping facility, considered one of the sport's best.
Prior to the construction of UOP's K90 and K120 jump hill, American hopefuls had to travel to Europe for quality, year-round training — a costly and time-consuming exercise. Now Americans have the same development opportunities as their international rivals.
Already, a pool of local jumpers is learning the sport near Park City.
But will young Yanks make the sacrifices needed to succeed? Ski jumping is a technically demanding sport that requires year-round tweaking and refinement. Train part-time — expect to find yourself near the back of the jump pack.
"We need to keep learning and training," said U.S. ski jumping coach Kari Ylianttila, a former Finnish jumping coach now living in Park City.
Ylianttila believes a formal residency program is needed for U.S. ski jumping to truly succeed. Such a program would likely be based in Park City, allowing coaches and promising young jumpers to work together on an almost daily basis. Both UOP jumps are equipped with a plastic surface for essential summer jumping.
A Utah-based residency ski jumping program would likely attract a significant number of aspiring local jumpers growing up in the shadows of Utah Olympic Park. Simon Ammann hails from a small Swiss village. Who knows, maybe the 2010 or 2014 Olympic champ will come from Wanship or Midvale?
Alborn likely won't be around to witness an American on the Olympic medal podium — but he sees good things ahead.
"It's just going to get better from here."
E-mail: jswensen@desnews.com
|
|
February 25, 2002
|
