BEAR HOLLOW — The overwhelming feeling Tuesday at the Utah Olympic Park was that it was good, finally, to get the feet off the ground.
America's top ski jumpers have been grounded too long, in most cases for nearly three months.
So Tuesday, on the first official day of training for the upcoming winter jumping season, about a dozen of the country's best jumpers took to the air like caged birds given their freedom.
They jumped and jumped and jumped off the big K90 jump until the parallel porcelain inrun was closed. They then took questions from the gathering of media. Common responses were:
Yes, it was good to be in the air again.
No, they were not nervous on first liftoff.
And, yes, they had set goals and, for the most part, they were to be better by the end of training season.
Before the leaves begin to turn in the fall, each of the jumpers on the jumping and nordic combined teams will have anywhere from 700 to 800 practice flights. Tuesday was a start.
The 2002-2003 season was worth remembering for the U.S. Ski Team. Johnny Spillane, 22, of Steamboat Springs, Colo., literally flew into the world spotlight this past February by becoming the first American to win a nordic gold medal in Olympic or World Championship competition.
He bettered a field of the world best combined competitors — cross country and ski jumping — at the World Championships in Val di Fienne, Italy.
Tuesday, after changing out of his protective foam jumping suit, he was quick to give credit where due . . . "To this facility (Utah Olympic Park) and my jumping coach," he said without hesitation.
"This facility made a huge difference. I went from being just another jumper in the middle of the pack to being a serious competitor."
The facility helped refine his jumping; his coach helped to reshape his thinking.
"I probably think about jumping 11 out of every 12 hours. When you've been thinking about the wrong style all those years, and then having to change — it's hard," he said.
But he did it and, as he said, became a serious threat to any title.
There was some concern about the jumping of Bill Demong of Vermontville, N.Y. He left the jumping life back in August of 2002 after falling and suffering a serious concussion.
For nine months, he said, he's been grounded, "which is the longest time I've been away from ski jumping since I was 6."
His first jump was technically flawless and his second as good, but longer. He did take one spill at the bottom, but it was one of the falls commonly taken by jumpers starting summer training on the slippery nylon landing surface.
"And, it was so mellow you pay no attention and just feel good because the jump itself was long," he said with a smile.
Demong said he took the time off, having missed all of the 2002-2003 season, getting his mind back in shape and strengthening his cross country style.
On the slim skis, he said, he's as good now as he was before the accident, "but I've got a ways to go with jumping. I'm at about 75 percent right now. I'm planning on working myself back this summer and being back to where I was before the accident by the start of the season."
They were all there Tuesday, riding the Olympic lift up, stepping into their bindings and then waiting for their time to fly. And it will go like this throughout the summer. Then it will be time to show the world what they've learned by sliding along the dual porcelain tracks to liftoff, then settling down on the slippery nylon landing — time after time after time.
E-mail: grass@desnews.com