We apologize for technical problems March 7-9 ... we think they’re solved.
Ammann & Malysz 1-2 again in Kuopio FIN Tues Mar 9
Olympic gold & silver medalists continue hot streak; Jacobsen 3rd results
The dynamic duo of Simon Ammann and Adam Malysz continue to dominate World Cup
ski jumping. The double gold winner from Vancouver had a huge points lead over the
double silver medalist, scoring 251 points on jumps of 128.5 and 126 meters ... while
Malysz jumped 123 and 123.5 for 234.1 points. Norway’s Anders Jacobsen was only
two-tenths behind Malysz, finishing 3rd on jumps of 121 and 126.6 meters, good for
233.9 points. Austria’s Andreas Kofler was a distant 4th, with 219.6 points. Only the
top nine scored over 200 points, 20th place was achieved with 184.2 points, and 30th
place went to a jumper with only 152.1 points, on jumps of 106.5 and 101.5 meters.
Weather undoubtedly was a factor, and it had also caused cancellation of Monday’s
qualification round. This is one of the overall lowest-scoring World Cup meets in a
long time. It also illustrates how good and consistent Ammann and Malysz are.
This is a busy week on the World Cup circuit. Action now moves to Lillehammer
Thursday & Friday, and to the Holmenkollen in Oslo Saturday & Sunday; this World
Cup event also includes Nordic Combined, and US athletes will compete in both.
Ammann & Malysz on World Cup Podium in Lahti Mar 7
Olympic gold & silver medalists 1-2 in Lahti FIN: Sat team Sun indiv
Younger US skiers compete in Nordic Combined: Friday Saturday
The first post-Vancouver World Cup individual competition was held Sunday in Lahti,
and it looked an awful lot like a repeat from the Olympics. Switzerland’s Simon Ammann
won, followed by Poland’s Adam Malysz ... with an Austrian third. However, this time it
was Thomas Morgenstern rather than Gregor Schlierenzauer, who finished fourth. US
jumper Nick Alexander finished 38th. Saturday’s team competition in Lahti was held to
one round. Norway won, followed by Austria and Germany. In Nordic Combined action,
Taylor Fletcher finished 43rd Sat, 41st Sun, with Nick Hendrickson 44th & 40th, Alex
Miller 50th & 45th, and Bryan Fletcher 51st & 43rd. Friday’s winner was Magnus Moan
of Norway, and Finland’s Hannu Manninen won on Sunday.
Iraschko Finishes Stellar Season in Zakopane LCOC
Graessler 2nd, Sagen 3rd in women’s series: Sat Sun final standings
Austria’s Daniela Iraschko, who has been dominating this year’s Ladies’ Continental
Cup, put an exclamation point on her season by winning both days at the season finale
in Zakopane. Germany’s Ulrike Graessler finished the season second overall, and she
was second both days in Zakopane as well. Norway’s Anette Sagen, who finished the
season in third place, was third on Saturday, fourth on Sunday. Sarah Hendrickson of
the US finished 9th Saturday and 16th Sunday; she finishes the season sixth overall.
Teammates Alissa Johnson and Jessica Jerome finished 10th and 13th on Saturday.
On Sunday, Jerome placed 6th, with Johnson 14th. Overall, Johnson finished 9th in
the overall season standings, and Jerome 12th.
US Junior Olympics - Steamboat Springs CO Mar 2-6
Boys & girls compete in jumping & Nordic combined www.jncjo2010.com
Athletes from all four of the USSA divisions competed in ski jumping and Nordic
Combined this week in Steamboat Springs CO. Local residents and Olympic silver
medalists Todd Lodwick and Johnny Spillane, both former JO champions, participated
in the Opening Ceremonies. There’s more coverage on Facebook ... check it out,
along with event website, link above. Results links on our Schedule & Results page.
Billy Demong Carries US Flag at Closing Ceremonies
Nordic Combined GOLD medalist elected by fellow athletes as US flagbearer
What an end to a memorable two
weeks in Vancouver ... in the
Nordic disciplines of ski jumping,
Nordic Combined, and cross-
country, the US had won only two
medals in the 86 years of Olympic
competition. Anders Haugen
earned a bronze medal in ski
jumping at the first Winter Games
in Chamonix FRA in 1924 ... but
because of a scoring error that
wasn’t discovered for many years,
it wasn’t awarded to him at that
time. Bill Koch brought home a silver medal in cross-country from the 1976 Games in
Innsbruck. Although Nordic Combined, which involves both jumping and cross-country,
has been an Olympic event since those first games in 1924, the US had never won a
medal in NC. That all changed in Vancouver, with a GOLD and three SILVER medals!
The US Nordic Combined team, which has been very successful on the World Cup
circuit the past few years, served notice at the 2009 FIS World Championships in
Liberec CZE that they’d be formidable competitors at the 2010 Olympics. Todd Lodwick
claimed two told medals, while Billy Demong grabbed a gold and a bronze. Demong
had captured a silver at the 2007 Worlds, and Spillane had struck gold at the 2003
Worlds. Injuries had sidelined both Spillane and Demong, and Lodwick had retired after
the 2006 Games in Torino. But with Lodwick’s return last year, and a healthy Demong
and Spillane, they were on a tear this year in World Cup. And the season isn’t over!
In early January, in Val di Fiemme ITA, scene of Spillane’s 2003 World Championship,
Demong won a World Cup event, with Lodwick second. They’d been running 1-2-3 late
in the race, but Spillane encountered an equipment problem that dropped him to 22nd.
That showed definitively that they’d progressed from having one American in contention,
or maybe two, they had become a threat to have three US athletes capable of landing
on the podium on any given day ... maybe all three!
Spillane almost won the first event of the Olympics, the NH/10K, which involves jumping
on the “normal” (K95) hill, followed by a 10 kilometer race with start times determined by
jumping scores. Lodwick finished 4th, and Demong, who’d had a mediocre jump, had
started way back in 24th place, and racet to 6th. USA 2-4-6 ... a sign of things to come.
In the team competition, where the race portion
is a relay, with each of the four team members
having to run 5 kilometers, the US got a big boost
by being the ONLY team to have all four jumpers
exceed 130 meters. Brett Camerota, put himself
in position to lead after the first group of skiers,
and he did just that. By the time it was over, the
US had scored another silver medal, finishing
just 5 seconds behind mighty Austria ... and
all four Americans stood on the podium!
When the jumping round was over on the large hill, Spillane had finished 2nd, but
Austrian Bernhard Gruber had jumped 134 meters to Spillane’s 129. Demong had the
6th longest jump at 127 meters. Lodwick jumped 122.5 and started 13th. When the
race started, Gruber had a 34 second lead over Spillane and 46 sec over Lodwick, but
they rapidly overtook Gruber, and the three of them battled throughout the race,
separated by about one second, but consistently putting distance on the rest of the
field. When it came time for the final sprint, Demong had the lead, and Spillane blasted
past Gruber ... USA gold and silver! Lodwick ran as high as 4th, in a tight pack through
most of the race, and finished 13th. His efforts helped to control the pace of the pack,
keeping pace with anyone who threatened to break away, much the way it would happen
in a long-distance bicycle race.
Four medals ... one individual gold, two individual silver, and team silver. Biggest day
in the history of the US Ski Team in the Nordic disciplines. This was the culmination of
years of progress, and couldn’t have happened to a more deserving group of athletes.
Not only did these achievements get significant attention when they happened, but the
spotlight continued to shine. The NC medals were brought up numerous times in the
NBC coverage, as well as in the coverage of other media. The Today Show had a
feature on Demong on Friday 2/26, and it was still dark in Vancouver when they were
interviewing him. In the course of the interview, they mentioned that he’s proposed to
his girlfriend, Katie Koczynski, the night before ... and they also told him on air that he’d
been elected by all the other US athletes to be America’s flagbearer at the closing
ceremonies on Sunday night.
To most of the American public, this was all a big surprise. But Demong and Lodwick
were reigning World Champions, and both Demong and Spillane had previous World
titles. This was the fifth Olympics for Lodwick, and the fourth for Spillane and Demong.
They’ve been training and competing together since the mid 1990s, and the faith the US
Ski Team showed in these guys paid off in the most emphatic way. Congratulations to
Billy, Johnny, Todd, Brett, and the fifth man, Taylor Fletcher, who competed in the LH
individual event. Also to coaches Dave Jarrett and Chris Gilbertson.
All in all, this was beyond what those of us who’ve followed jumping an Nordic
Combined could have allowed ourselves to dream of. A magnificent performance
in every respect. Silver in NH individual, silver in team relay, gold and silver in LH
individual. “Do you believe in miracles? ... YES!”
click logo to visit site
click logo to visit site
Click “Expanded News”
button at left of page to
find more articles about
Olympic events, with
links to results, video
clips, etc. We’re moving
some things around to
make room for current
news during the rest of
the US and international
competition season,
which runs through late
March. Once you’re into
“Expanded News” there
are “next” and “previous”
arrows to help navigate
through those pages.
We want to thank Adam
Schwall for the photos
used in this story and in
the graphic at the top of
each page.
How Do People
Start Ski Jumping?
Nobody just picks up a
pair of skis and gives it
a try. Not on big hills,
anyway. Ski jumpers
start young, on very
small jumps, and learn
incrementally, moving
gradually to larger
jumps as their skill and
confidence develops.
Here’s a short video
from a junior jumping
event in St Paul MN.
** WATCH VIDEO **
When Do People
Quit Ski Jumping?
The answer to this one
is quite simple ... when
they want to! Once a
jumper is 30 years of
age or older, he or she
becomes eligible to
participate in “Masters”
competition. Jumpers
age 30-39 are class M1,
40-49 M2, 50-59 M3, 60-
69 M4, 70-79 M5, etc.
Currently, the oldest
active Masters jumper in
the US is Don West, of
Plattsburgh NY, a retired
college professor. He’s
an M5 jumper, and in
recent years has
competed in Masters
World Championships
in Europe.
Another active Masters
jumper is Tom Ricchio,
a semi-retired corporate
jet pilot, who is also the
coach of the junior
program in Iola WI; he
jumps in class M4. Tom
has also competed in
the Masters World
Championships.
** READ ARTICLE **
about Tom, and his
recent participation in
the US Masters Nat’l
Championships in
Coleraine MN 2/27-28.
Complete results from
the Masters Nationals
can be found on our
Schedule & Results page
via link button above, left.
For those who enjoy ski
jumping, it can be a
lifetime sport. Some like
to continue competing,
others become coaches
or volunteers.
If you live anywere near
one of the clubs listed on
our Regional Clubs page,
make an effort to see
some live ski jumping,
and if you’re inclined to
give it a try, talk to one of
the coaches. Although
most jumpers start very
young, there are adults
who would like to try it,
and they’re welcome, if
they’re willing to “start
small” and work their way
on up, just like kids do.
FIS Home Page
NEW FROM FIS
Ski Jumping
Nordic Combined
FIS Jump Schedule
FIS Jump Results
FIS N/C Schedule
FIS N/C Results
US Ski Team News
Jumping & N/C
US Nordic Combined
www.usnoco.org
Made with Xara Web Designer
© 1999 - 2010 KJA & Associates
WomensSkiJumpingUSA
www.wsjusa.com
For more information related to ski jumping ...