Simon Ammann - Ski-jumping's
Harry Potter - Returns To Form
The Harry Potter novels are coming to an end in
2007 while the ski-jumper nicknamed after the famous
character can complete an unexpected comeback next
year.
Simon Ammann became the toast of the 2002 Salt Lake
City Olympics when he won double gold in his sport
at age 19 - his looks swiftly earning him the Harry
Potter nickname.
Ammann went on to get his first World Cup win at
the end of the 2002 season before virtually disappearing
into anonymity due to terrible form.
Now he is back with a bang, leading the World Cup
standings and among the top favourites for the Four
Hills Tour - which runs from Saturday until January
7 - and the World Cup title in March.
Ammann says that he doesn't care about Harry Potter,
neither the nickname nor the boooks and movies which
have passed him by.
"It was a big thing at the time (in 2002),
but I don't care what the people call me,"
he said.
"I prefer my own story, despite the lows. But
now I am on top again."
Ammann doesn't dwell on the past, saying he has
all but forgotten about his gold medals which rest
in a Swiss bank vault.
"They are lying around there and getting bored.
I can't remember when I saw them the last time,"
he said.
More important is his return to the top after years
of hardship and poor results.
"I always believed in it, worked hard for it
and had a lot of patience. I am calmer now, that
led me back to success," he says.
"Over the past years I thought a lot about
life and myself. The key issue is to look at the
positive things and to stay calm."
All this has now paid off as Ammann won for the
first time in four and a half years on December
2 in Lillehammer and also has two second-place finishes
from five events so far.
That makes him favourite for the Four Hills alomng
with Austrian two-timwe season-winner Gregor Schlierenzauer
and Norway's Andreas Jacobsen.
The two are making their Four Hills debut while
Ammann can count on experience on top of success
as he enters the difficult event in Oberstdorf (Saturday),
Garmisch-Partenkirchen (January 1), Innsbruck (January
4) and Bischofshofen (January 7).
"Given my form I am convinced that I can make
the podium. My form is good. There has never been
a Four Hills winner from Switzerland, it would be
great if I could do it," he said.
