UTAH OLYMPIC PARK, Summit County — No one knows if Anders Johnson will end up being the Tiger Woods of U.S. ski jumping. Still, the sport seems to be his destiny.
The Park City sixth-grader has spent all of his 11 years connected to jumping. His father, Alan, has helped coach the U.S. ski team. His baby sitters — typically ski jumpers — would entertain him with jump-training videos instead of Disney flicks. Baby Anders probably could hit a telemark landing before he could walk to the ski lift.
Anders secured his spot in local ski jumping history Friday as the first ceremonial jumper in the grand opening of the K90 and K120 Nordic ski jumps at Utah Olympic Park. The jumps will be used during the 2002 Winter Games as the venue for the ski jumping and jumping section of the Nordic combined competitions.
The first official event on the jumps was held last weekend at the 2000 Visa Oktoberfest International Ski Jump. Anders and dozens of other U.S. and international jumpers competed — then gave the new venue high marks.
"They really did a nice job with the jumps," said U.S. Nordic combiner Adam Schwall, adding the new facility will allow local athletes to improve their training and cut back on costly travel.
The jumps offer a first-rate facility all Americans can be proud of, SLOC President Mitt Romney said.
Salt Lake may not be able to build the kind of massive stadium Sydney used for its opening and closing ceremonies. "But look what we have behind us," Romney said, pointing to the new jumps on the face of a Summit County mountain lush with autumn leaves and clean air. Romney praised the designers, builders and workers who contributed to the construction of the jumps that some are calling the world's best.
Romney told the scores of people who gathered for Friday's grand opening that thousands would be able to attend ski jumping competitions when the spectator areas are completed. A giant scoreboard and super-size television screen will be used during the Olympics.
Besides the K90 and K120 jumps that will be used in Olympic competition, the park is home to K20 and K40 hills for young jumpers who may not be ready for the larger hills. Construction is also under way on a K64 jump.
E-mail: jswensen@desnews.com