I think this is so fun. With the hotter air, it’s super thin and it actually makes for a good ski jumper. You have to learn to do things right. When you go to Europe, it’s like Christmas. – Sarah Hendrickson, 19-year-old Park City native
PARK CITY — It was a Sunday morning that begged for watersports.
But mocking the 88-degree temperatures, the day belonged to winters sports as about 50 aspiring Olympians competed in the U.S. large hill national skiing championships at Utah Olympic Park.
“Nationals is pretty exciting for me actually,” said Sarah Hendrickson, the reigning women's world champion, who won her second national title (first large hill) with a score of 222.1. “It’s not an easy competition.”
The 19-year-old Park City native said the heat was just another element with which to contend, something ski jumpers are accustomed to doing. In the long run, jumping on hot days in Park City can make Hendrickson a better technician.
“I think this is so fun,” said Hendrickson, who won the national title two years ago on the normal hill. She missed last year’s nationals as she recovered from knee surgery. “With the hotter air, it’s super thin and it actually makes for a good ski jumper. You have to learn to do things right. When you go to Europe, it’s like Christmas.”
Hendrickson’s best jump came in the first round of competition as she earned the longest jump among the women at 125.5 meters. Teammate and reigning U.S. champion on the large hill Jessica Jerome was second with a first jump of 120 meters. But the wind changed a bit during the break between rounds and officials moved the women down the ramp because of an updraft that threatened to push skiers farther down the hill.
“Then when Jess and I went, it was completely dead air,” Hendrickson said in explaining the shorter second jumps. And while the skiers get wind compensation points in World Cups, at nationals, “we get what we get.”
That meant shorter jumps and lower scores. Jerome earned 209.8 points to finish second, while 2009 World Champion Lindsey Van was third with 174.5 points.
Jerome said she enjoys the summer competitions.
“It’s really hard to get all of the American athletes — women, men and Nordic combined — together in the winter,” she said.
Jerome said while her first jump was farther, her second jump was more technically sound.
“I knew I could do it better,” she said. “But by the time the last girls went, the wind completely died out. Considering the air conditions on the second jump, I did the best I could, and technically I was better. So I feel good about that.”
Van said it’s not just that Sunday’s competition was a little warmer than most. It’s that it comes when most athletes are focused on training, which can mean making changes that take a while to manifest results.
“Summer competitions are really hard,” said Van. “We’re training, and it’s just a little bit different to go into competition mode.”
But whether the hill is covered with snow or sprinkler-soaked turf, the athletes come to win.
“It’s really hard to compete in August,” Van said. “But it’s still fun. Today wasn’t a great showing, but I’m healthy this year, and for me, that’s my No. 1 goal.”
All of the women said the competition has improved every year since the IOC’s decision to include women’s ski jumping in the Olympics. But there are other changes — better venues, more support and a lot more attention.
“People definitely pay more attention,” Jerome said. “We hope it brings more attention to the sport within the U.S., which is what we all want.”
Van is the oldest member of the team at 29, and she became the face of the sport for many as she joined a lawsuit to try and get the sport included in the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.
For her the real reward is seeing the sport grow at the grass-roots level around the world.
“And seeing that change from within is really rewarding,” said Van. “I never thought I’d see that.”
Now that making a U.S. Olympic team is a real possibility, she tries not to make the assumption that many others want to make for her.
“I try to avoid thinking about that,” she said of becoming an Olympian. “I still have to make the team. I’m not a shoo-in. I think about this week, and that’s it.”
Even with all of her accolades, Hendrickson feels the same, especially since the U.S. team is so deep.
“It’s in the back of my mind, for sure,” said Hendrickson. “But my mom always reminds me that I’m out here to have fun.”
And while the U.S. team has made its mark on the traditional European sport, Hendrickson said they are taking nothing for granted.
“The level of competition is dramatically increasing,” she said. “It’s not going to be easy. Some people think it will be easy for Team USA. But the rest of the world is nipping at our heels.”
In the men’s competition, Candian Maken Boyd-Clowes, 22, won the competition with a total 269.6 points. He had a stunning second jump of 139 meters. The top American athlete was Nicholas Fairall, 24, with a combined score of 260.6 and a long jump of 131.5 meters.
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