Simon Ammann entered his 27th World Cup season with “new impulses”.
Photo: image/Eibner
The hardest work for Simon Ammann only begins after landing. Then many of his competitors want to exchange ideas with the biggest ski jumping legend of these days. The fans are scrambling to take a selfie with the 42-year-old veteran. And most TV stations want a conversation with the aviation philosopher, who can talk wonderfully at length about his unique sport.
Ammann likes to take time for these activities, as he did recently at his home World Cup in Engelberg, Switzerland, especially since he is often missing from the final round of the top 30. He came 32nd and 33rd there, and a 24th place in Lillehammer is his best placement in the Ski Jumping World Cup this winter. A remarkable achievement at his age, but nothing compared to the previous successes of the four-time Olympic champion, two-time world champion and overall World Cup winner. His last victory was in 2014. »I have the greatest respect for Simon. But that wouldn’t be anything for me because just jumping in would just ruin me,” says Sven Hannawald, who was the last German to win the Four Hills Tournament 22 years ago.
Ammann was never able to win the ski jumping Grand Slam; it is the only title missing from his great collection of successes. In 2009 and 2011 he came close as second. Perhaps Ammann, who has received “new impulses” from the new Norwegian head coach Rune Velta of the Swiss, is secretly still hoping for a miracle when it comes to the tour in the 72nd edition, which begins on December 28th in Oberstdorf. But above all, he is still involved because he simply still enjoys “this project”. “I’m the only amateur athlete in the World Cup,” he says jokingly.
His life has long been based on other priorities. And Ammann, who has a private pilot’s license for aircraft, skillfully keeps several balls in the air at the same time. The focus at the moment is on his business administration studies, in which he recently had exams and a bachelor’s degree “at some point” is the big goal. Ammann is also the owner of the sports marketing agency ASP Sports together with the former German world-class jumper Martin Schmitt. The eternal flyer sits on the board of directors at Toggenburger Bergbahnen. And then there is a hotel and catering project, because Ammann acquired an inn in need of renovation years ago in his home community of Wildhaus-Alt St. Johann.
Of course, he also helped a lot last year with building a house for his family, which includes his wife Yana and their three small children Théodore, Charlotte and Aaron. So there is enough to do for the Swiss outside of ski jumping. But the 1.71 meter tall man just keeps flying. It has now been ten years since he first announced his retirement. Even in the years after his serious fall in the final competition of the 2015 Four Hills Tournament in Bischofshofen, Ammann regularly talked about jumping into private life.
There is no longer any talk of this. »I will never resign. Only if my body says so,” he said during his twelfth World Cup appearance in February. This winter Ammann is completing his 27th World Cup season. When he celebrated his World Cup debut as a 16-year-old at the start of the Four Hills Tournament in Oberstdorf in 1997, today’s German hopeful Andreas Wellinger was just two years old.
A unique career followed that made Simon Ammann a global star. In 2002, the man with the glasses became a double Olympic champion in Salt Lake City and was given the title “Harry Potter of the Skies” because of his physical resemblance to the magician. He even made it onto David Letterman’s legendary late night show. In 2007 he became world champion in Sapporo, Japan, before the inventor achieved his next big coup three years later: Ammann surprised the entire competition with a curved binding rod, which revolutionized the flying world with the more aerodynamic flight position it made possible. The Olympic gold medals number three and four, the world championship title in ski flying in Planica and the victory in the overall World Cup were the well-deserved reward.
After that it slowly went downhill. After disappointing performances at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Ammann announced that “99 percent of those were my last Winter Games.” But he is still flying, even though a colleague in his Swiss team, Gregor Deschwanden, has now clearly outstripped him. Maybe Ammann will take an example from the Rolling Stones, whom passionate rock fans adore. Her farewell tour also lasts forever. And in 2026, the ski jumping competitions of the Olympic Winter Games in Milan and Cortina will take place on the ski jumps in Predazzo, Italy. There Ammann achieved two podium finishes within 24 hours for the first time in his career. By the way, that was 2001 – some of his current competitors weren’t even born yet.
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