Legend of skiing reveals the truth just before the World Championships

Ski Jumping

Despite the challenging weeks, Simon Ammann has made it into the Swiss squad for the World Championships in Trondheim. The four-time Olympic champion speaks openly about his problems, stating "I feel like I have an empty sheet in front of me," as reported by Blick.

Despite recent weeks being tough for the 43-year-old, he received the call-up for his thirteenth World Championships. This occurred because at the start of the season he managed to rank twice within the top 30 at the World Cup, thus meeting the selection criteria. "After that, it only got worse," Ammann candidly admits during a recent media meeting, marking the first time he openly discussed the "difficult period" he has been through.

The biggest blow came at the end of December during the inauguration of the Four Hills Tournament in Oberstdorf, where Ammann failed to qualify for the competition and had to return home, recalling, "I was totally devastated and really angry."

Earlier, the famous jumper had tested several new solutions, but they did not yield results. A change of bindings, for instance, did not bring the expected results. Nonetheless, he wasn't thinking about retiring. "It was frustrating, but I knew I just had to keep going," he says.

Simon Ammann fought hard, but the coaches were unyielding

A few days later, he faced another disappointment – the coaches scratched him from the World Cup team. "Thanks to that, I had more training jumps than I have in a long time," he notes, looking for the positives.

Training in a calm atmosphere, away from the big stage, gave him hope ahead of the World Championships, though he would have preferred different preparations. "I would have liked to go to the World Cup in Sapporo to check myself in competitive conditions. The training is promising, but I still don’t know exactly what level I’m at," he admits.

His arguments did not convince the coaches. "They just told me to keep training," he reveals. In Kandersteg, he primarily worked on the first phase of flight. "I need to generate even more speed there," he explains, revealing that at times he managed to achieve this.

Friday saw the renowned jumper perform well enough in practice to earn himself the right to compete in Saturday’s qualifiers leading up to Sunday’s competition on the normal hill. Along with the 43-year-old veteran, Switzerland will also be represented by Yanick Wasser, Gregor Deschwanden, and Killian Peier.

What will happen to Ammann after the World Championships and after the season? That remains to be seen.

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Source: Przegląd Sportowy Onet

Author: BLC

Date: March 1, 2025 15:53