Swiss ski jumper Simon Ammann shocked the world when he captured two gold medals in the Salt Lake City Games eight years ago. Then, he struggled in 2006. Ammann returned in force in Vancouver, stunning his critics with a dominant performance in the men's ski jumping long hill competition on Saturday, The Toronto Observer reports.
The Swiss ski jumper had the longest jump in both rounds, finishing the competition with a combined score of 283.6, nearly 15 points better than his closest competitor, Adam Malysz of Poland. Ammann broke Finnish ski jumper Matti Nykanen's record by capturing his fourth individual skiing gold medal.
Ammann fought his nerves to capture the gold.
"What can I say? I was so nervous up there," Ammann told The Associated Press. "This is all very nerve-racking. I always have this magical force to jump far here, and that is amazing. This is truly amazing."
Malysz, also known as the "Polish Batman," won silver with a total score of 269.4, while Austrian Gregor Schilierenzauer scored 262.2 total points to capture the bronze.
Malysz believed Ammann would break the record when the Swiss ski jumper captured the gold in last week’s normal hill event.
"I think he can do it," Malysz told the AP last week. "Simon is very strong right now."
Malysz was impressed with Ammann’s follow-up performance on Saturday.
"He jumped unbelievable," Malysz said.
Heading into Saturday's competition, the Austrian team appeared to be the heavy favorites in the competition, but with Amman's performances in Vancouver, the Swiss team may have become the new favorites going forward.
