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Swiss skier makes history, wins gold medals
PARK CITY, Utah — Simon Ammann of Switzerland became the second ski jumper in history to win gold medals on both hills in the same Olympics Wednesday by surprising the field again at 120 meters. Ammann, who won his country’s first gold in ski jumping with his victory at 90 meters, joined Finland’s Matti Nykanen as the only jumpers to win both events. Nykanen was a double winner in 1988 at Calgary. Ammann won with a final jump of 436 feet (133 meters) and finished with 281.4 points. “I am trembling,” Ammann said. “There are no words for this. I was so nervous. After takeoff, I was flying away. I felt this jump was really, really good. I can’t believe it. I am the champion.” After touching down from the longest jump of the morning, Ammann dropped to his side and skidded through the snow. He popped up with the same look of disbelief he had after winning on the small hill as 20,000 fans shook Utah Olympic Park. Before coming to Utah and mining two golden souvenirs from the Wasatch Mountains, the boyish-looking 20-year-old had never even won a World Cup event. He had missed two races last month after being injured in a spectacular crash in training for a World Cup event in Germany. Adam Malysz of Poland won the silver medal with 269.7 points, and Matti Hautamaeki of Finland had 256 points and won the bronze. Malysz also won a bronze at 90 meters. Germany’s Sven Hannewald, the silver medalist at 90 meters, had a chance to overtake Ammann on the final jump of the competition. He soared 430 feet (131 meters) but couldn’t hold his landing and fell back onto his skis. He finished fourth at 255.3. Kazuyoshi Funaki, the defending Olympic champion from Nagano, was seventh with 245.5 points. Hannawald, who came into the Olympics as the favorite on both hills, then matched the Swiss jumper with a 435-foot leap and the pair entered the final round tied with 140.5 points. |
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TCU Daily Skiff © 2002 |
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