And now for the greatest Vancouver story you will probably never hear, at least if you live in the United States: The Harry Potter-looking fellow you see above has accomplished an unprecedented feat by sweeping the Men’s Individual Ski Jump in Vancouver and bringing his Olympic Gold total to 4. Ammann (who hails from Switzerland for those who missed the flag on his jacket) now has twice as many golds as American golden boy Apolo Ohno, but ‘round these parts I fear his story will go all but untold.
In 2002, Simon was a fresh-faced 20-year old relative unknown in the international ski jumping community. He took the world by storm in Salt Lake City, earning gold in both the Normal and Large Hill Ski Jump. At that time, he was only the second person ever to accomplish the feat, following only Finnish Ski Jumping legend Matti Nykänen (who himself owns five Olympic medals, four gold, and nine medals from the Ski Jumping World Championships). Ammann returned to the Olympics in Torino, hoping to build on his accomplishments. He left sorely disappointed, finishing 38th on the Normal Hill and 15th on the Large Hill.
Not willing to resign himself to never again reaching the highest pinnacle of success, Ammann’s comeback began with gold and silver medals in the 2007 Sapporo World Championships and a bronze at the 2009 World Championship in Liberec. 2007 marked his first time medaling in a major event since 2002, and you have to understand how difficult it must be to go from being best in the world to a nonentity in a sport you’ve excelled at since you were a child. Actually, you don’t have to understand unless your initials are PB and you literally shot yourself in the foot trying to get back to the championship. Regardless, the five years of drought Ammann had to endure before his labor began to pay off once more must have been incredibly confusing. In a rare happy ending, his persistence was rewarded.
I actually feel bad for Ammann at this point because he has no opportunity to post a Phelps-like achievement in the Team Ski Jump; Switzerland only has two qualified athletes, while the team event requires a quartet. Missed chances aside, Ammann can rest easy now that he has cemented his place in the pantheon of both great Olympic athletes and great Ski Jumpers. In 2014, Ammann will be 32 years old, the same age as this year’s accomplished silver medalist, Adam Malysz. However, performance with ski jumpers seems to peak in their mid-20s, so there is no telling what the future holds for Simon. All we can say for sure is that he has earned his time in the sun snow and certainly deserves recognition for his record-setting performance.
On a completely unrelated note, please excuse Antawn Jamison’s lackluster 0-12 performance in the Cavaliers’ Friday game. Consider it a side effect of relocating from the exciting people and nightlife of the District of Columbia to the interminable drudgery that is Cleveland. He looked much better in the Cavs’ Sunday loss to Orlando, at any rate.
P.S. That video represents the entirety of my knowledge about the city of Cleveland, so for all Clevelandians ready to take up arms against me, it’s not my fault!
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