Jumpers Go Big in 2008
The U.S. Ski Jumping Team took off in the 2008 season thanks in large part to Lindsey Van (Park City, UT), who took the podium twice in 24 hours, and Jessica Jerome (Park City, UT) who came back from an ACL injury to grab two U.S. championships titles in a sweep performance at the Utah Olympic Park.
Ski Jumping: Van on fire
Taking a step up to become one of the world's best ski jumpers, Van dedicated herself to excelling as an athlete and a team leader this season, and there was no one who could get in her way of being the top dog.
"There was no one in the world this winter that she didn't beat, and she was only beaten by two other jumpers," said Nordic Program Director John Farra.
Van was on fire, landing on the podium twice in 24 hours during the Continental Cup competitions in Norway. She then repeated her double-header podium success less than a week later in Germany before being sidelined with an injury. Even after missing part of the season, Van finished sixth in the world standings with teammates Jerome in seventh and teenager Avery Ardovino (both Park City, UT) in 14th.
"Unfortunately her season was ended early with a knee injury, but next year women's ski jumping will debut at World Championships," Farra said. "With the focus and conviction Lindsey has brought to the table recently, she is fully capable of making history next season."
Jerome Bounces Back
Jerome, having missed half of the 2007 season with an ACL injury, finished her comeback year on a high note taking third at the last Continental Cup competition of the season in Japan. She went on to also add two U.S. championships titles for a career total of six. Jerome swept both the large and normal hills at the 2008 backcountry.com U.S. Championships on the team's home hill at the Utah Olympic Park.
"It was important to see a step forward for our young jumpers. We hope to see continued progress next season," Farra said.
Young athletes step up
Another highlight to the 2008 season included the Junior World Championships team that finished eighth in the team event, marking the best finish since 2002. The team event was made up of junior jumpers from across the country including the New York Ski Education Foundation's Nick Alexander (Lebanon, NH) and Chris Lamb (Lake Placid, NY) as well as Nick Fairall (Andover, NH/ Andover Outing Club) and Anders Johnson (Park City, UT/ National Sports Foundation).
Johnson took that momentum to finish out the season winning the large hill competition at U.S. championships. His win ended a title drought for special jumpers who for years have conceded the large hill title to the nordic combined jumpers.
The Team now moves into the summer training season, which includes seven camps from June through October
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Jumpers Go Big in 2008
