If you went back 20 years to the end of the 4-Hills-Tournament in January 2002 and asked the experts who could surprise at the Salt Lake City Olympics, many would say Simon Ammann. At the turn of the year, the Swiss was doing very well – in the first 13 competitions of the 2001/2002 season he was on the podium four times – he was second twice, and third twice. The lowest step of the podium was, among others, in Oberstdorf, in the TCS opening competition.
And suddenly it came on January 11, 2002. The world of jumping held his breath when, during training in Willingen, Ammann got out of the threshold badly, turned on his side in the air and fell to the jump, hitting his face against a bull. The Swiss shifted several times after hitting the snow and for a long time seemed to be unconscious.
With the help of medical services, Ammann left the landing area on his own legs, which reassured the slightly concerned fans. Soon after, the first information about the Swiss’s injuries appeared – apart from numerous bruises and wounds on his face, Ammann also suffered a slight concussion. After being transported to the hospital, however, it turned out that he also damaged the cervical vertebrae.
Great disposition that no one knew about
Berni Schoedler, the coach of the Swiss team at the time, immediately after the fall in Willingen decided to withdraw Ammann from the World Cup competition. The Swiss did not perform in Zakopane, Hakuba and Sapporo. This was to give 20-year-old Ammann time to come to full strength and prepare for the upcoming Olympics. Resting physically and mentally, concentrating on leisurely training has proven to be crucial.
Ammann had two camps before the Olympics – in St. Moritz and then in Engelberg. We know from later reports that he was at his disposal at that time. – Simon has only just come back from a serious fall and has already made some amazing jumps. He was on an extraordinary level. We knew that this could give him a place in the lead – admitted Schoedler years later.
In February 2002, however, practically nobody knew about it. Before the Olympics in Salt Lake City, no one gave Ammann any greater chance of success. Sven Hannawald, who was ahead of Adam Ma³ysz in the ratings, was to win two individual gold medals in bookmakers’ ratings.
Simon Ammann “stole” the gold from Ma³ysz and Hannawald
And these two of them did a great job in qualifying for the competition on the normal hill. The German won them, and the Pole made the longest jump – however, Ma³ysz lost on the notes for style and was finally third. And the favorites were separated by Ammann, who jumped one meter shorter than the Pole, the same as Hannawald.
However, the real sensations were yet to happen.
Ammann was already leading after the first round of the competition on the normal hill, although Ma³ysz jumped half a meter further. The Pole, however, lost on notes again, which made him only the third. Hannawald was second, only 2.5 points behind the Swiss. Many may have wondered if Ammann would withstand the pressure of the decisive leap at the Olympics. After all, Ammann has not won a single World Cup competition in his career! Now he had a chance to go down in history.
Ma³ysz launched an attack – he jumped 98 meters in an exquisite style. The Pole was already certain of the medal, at the same time setting a difficult task for his rivals. Hannawald, however, repelled the attack – 99 meters, very highly rated by the judges. Ammann had to jump at least 98 meters to defeat the German. And he did! 98.5 meters, which saw Ammann win his first Olympic gold medal by just 1.5 points.
Three days later, the scenario repeated itself. Ammann was in the lead after the first round, although this time ex aequo with Hannawald, Ma³ysz was third. In the second series, the Swiss did not allow his favored rivals to take his lead – he jumped 133 meters, the farthest in the competition. Thus, he won his second gold medal, demolishing his rivals. Ma³ysz, after jumps on 131 and 128 meters, won silver, losing as much as 11.7 points to Ammann, and a bronze was in the hands of Matti Hautamaeki. Hannawald, who was finally fourth, losing the medal by just 0.7 points.
Success in Salt Lake City was the beginning of the great career of “Harry Potter”
Ammann made history with great impetus – he was only the second jumper in history to win two gold medals in individual competitions at one Olympic Games. Before him, only the legendary Matti Nykaenen managed to do that, who won both competitions in 1988 in Calgary.
On the podium in Salt Lake City, Ammann appeared in his signature spectacles that closely resembled the young Daniel Radcliffe, actor playing Harry Potter. No wonder he was swiftly dubbed the “Harry Potter of the Jumps”. And it has been forever.
This was the beginning of Ammann’s great career. Although the Swiss did not experience an increase in popularity just after the triumph. At least in Salt Lake City itself, as evidenced by his coach’s memory of the first moments after the second gold. – After all the checks, interviews and duties we went down the hill to the village, but we knew it would be best to stop and eat something along the way. We stood at McDonald’s and ordered. We had a great time with the people who also came there. They didn’t so much know Simon as they were fascinated by him, but they didn’t know he was standing next to them. They talked about this hero of the skies, who won two gold medals. And Simon Ammann was standing beside him, just nodding his head. He was saying, “Yeah, he must be cool, huh?” Schoedler replied
Yes, it has to be. “Harry Potter” of ski jumping at the Olympics in America presented his magic on the hill in 2010. This time not in the USA, but in Vancouver, Canada, when he again dominated the competition and won two more gold medals in individual competitions.
Today Ammann is 41 years old and he is still an active jumper – of course he is taking part in the Olympics in Beijing. In China, nobody counts on his spells anymore, but this evening from the normal hill in Salt Lake City, the excellent jumps that allowed Malysz and Hannawald to be beaten, every fan of jumps remembers. Even if 20 years have passed since them.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
