Simon Ammann Explained

Simon Ammann
Birth Date:25 June 1981
Birth Place:Grabs, Switzerland
Height:1.73 m[1]
Club:SSC Toggenburg
Personalbest:239.5m (785.8feet)
Vikersund, 2017
Seasons:1998–present
Individual Starts:502
Totalpodiums:80
Wins:23
Wcoveralls:1 (2010)
Nttitles:1 (2010)
Updated:24 March 2024

Simon Ammann (; born 25 June 1981) is a Swiss ski jumper. He is one of the most successful athletes in the history of the sport, having won four individual Winter Olympic gold medals in 2002 and 2010. His other achievements include winning the 2007 Ski Jumping World Championships, the 2010 Ski Flying World Championships, the 2010 Nordic Tournament, and the 2010 Ski Jumping World Cup overall title.

Career

Ammann made his debut at the age of 16 during the 1997–98 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup season. He qualified for the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan, where he finished 35th.

Before the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Ammann crashed and suffered injuries during training in Willingen. Despite this, he won a gold medal in both the individual normal hill and large hill competitions, being only the second athlete to accomplish this feat (Matti Nykänen having done so in 1988). During the Olympics, Ammann gained international attention not only for his victories but also for his youthful and bespectacled appearance on the podium that many compared to Harry Potter.[2] In addition to acquiring Swiss stardom he also made appearances on American talk shows, such as the Late Show with David Letterman (on 20 February 2002).

Ammann also won the ski jumping event at the Holmenkollen Ski Festival in 2002 and 2007. This earned him the Holmenkollen medal in 2007 (shared with Frode Estil, Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset, King Harald V, and Queen Sonja of Norway).

He made his third Olympic appearance in 2006 in Turin, Italy.

On 24 February 2007, he won his first medal at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with a victory in the individual large hill in Sapporo, Japan. Ammann would follow this with a silver medal in the individual normal hill the following week. Ammann would complete his set of medals with a bronze medal in the individual normal hill event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, Czech Republic.

In 2010, competing in his fourth Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, Ammann won the gold medal in the individual normal hill event, becoming the first athlete in Olympic history to win gold medals in the individual normal hill event at two Olympic Games. He also won a gold medal in the individual large hill event, thus becoming the first athlete to win gold medals in both individual ski jumping events at two Olympic Games, as well as the most decorated Swiss Olympic athlete of all time.

In March 2010, Ammann became the overall winner of the 2009–10 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, winning all four events at the Nordic Tournament and nine World Cup events in one season overall. He finished the season by becoming the ski flying World Champion in Planica. His 236.5m (775.9feet) fourth round jump was the longest jump of the event, and also the second longest jump in history at the time.

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, he was selected as flag-bearer for the Switzerland Winter Olympics team.[3]

On 6 January 2015, Ammann was injured on his second-round jump in Bischofshofen during the final stage of the 2014–15 Four Hills Tournament. His representation has since stated that his condition is stable, with most of the damage being on his face.

Ammann also competed in the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics, with his best finish being eleventh place in the normal hill event in 2018.[4]

In February 2024, in Lake Placid, he made his 500th individual start in the World Cup.[5]

World Cup

Standings

 Season Overall
scope=row align=center1997–9870 48 N/A 67
scope=row align=center1998–9963 N/A
scope=row align=center1999–0045 70 N/A 45
scope=row align=center2000–01N/A N/A
scope=row align=center2001–027 6 N/A N/A 4 N/A
scope=row align=center2002–0328 24 N/A N/A 13 N/A
scope=row align=center2003–0413 14 N/A N/A N/A
scope=row align=center2004–0523 37 N/A N/A 27 N/A
scope=row align=center2005–0617 13 N/A N/A 21 N/A
scope=row align=center2006–07align=center align=center N/A N/A N/A
scope=row align=center2007–089 15 N/A N/A 20 N/A
scope=row align=center2008–09align=center N/A N/A
scope=row align=center2009–105 align=center N/A N/A
scope=row align=center2010–115 N/A N/A N/A
scope=row align=center2011–1211 19 N/A N/A N/A
scope=row align=center2012–1314 27 10 N/A N/A N/A
scope=row align=center2013–147 align=center 4 N/A N/A N/A
scope=row align=center2014–1511 17 N/A N/A N/A
scope=row align=center2015–1615 11 15 N/A N/A N/A
scope=row align=center2016–1729 44 24 11 N/A N/A
scope=row align=center2017–1819 29 align=center 11 12 N/A N/A
scope=row align=center2018–1924 13 13 6 N/A N/A
scope=row align=center2019–2035 27 32 N/A N/A
scope=row align=center2020–2141 47 N/A N/A N/A
scope=row align=center2021–2241 37 40 35 N/A N/A
scope=row align=center2022–2347 32 25N/A N/A
scope=row align=center2023–2452 32 N/A N/A

Wins

No.SeasonDateLocationHillSize
scope=row style="text-align:center;"117 March 2002   Holmenkollbakken K115
scope=row style="text-align:center;"22 December 2006   Lysgårdsbakken HS134 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"318 March 2007   Oslo Holmenkollbakken HS128 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"429 November 2008   Rukatunturi HS142 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"57 December 2008   Granåsen HS140 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"613 December 2008   Stadio del Trampolino HS140 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"720 December 2008   Gross-Titlis-Schanze HS137 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"829 December 2008   Schattenbergschanze HS137 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"96 December 2009   Lillehammer Lysgårdsbakken HS138 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"1018 December 2009   Engelberg Gross-Titlis-Schanze HS137 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"1120 December 2009   Engelberg Gross-Titlis-Schanze HS137 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"1217 January 2010   Ōkurayama HS134 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"133 February 2010   Vogtland Arena HS140 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"147 March 2010   Salpausselkä HS130 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"159 March 2010   Puijo HS127 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"1612 March 2010   Lillehammer Lysgårdsbakken HS138 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"1714 March 2010   Oslo Holmenkollbakken HS134 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"181 January 2011   Große Olympiaschanze HS140 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"1922 January 2011   Wielka Krokiew HS134 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"2013 March 2011   Lahti Salpausselkä HS130 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"2129 December 2013   Oberstdorf Schattenbergschanze HS137 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"2228 November 2014   Kuusamo Rukatunturi HS142 LH
scope=row style="text-align:center;"2329 November 2014   Kuusamo Rukatunturi HS142 LH

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Simon Ammann – Player Profile . eurosport.com . 16 March 2023.
  2. News: 2002-02-15 . Swiss 'Harry Potter' takes flight . en-GB . 2022-12-01.
  3. Web site: The day when Simon Ammann became the most decorated Olympic ski jumper . olympics.com . 18 February 2024.
  4. Web site: AMMANN Simon – Athlete Information – Olympic Winter Games . fis-ski.com . 17 January 2023.
  5. Web site: Ski jumping World Cup returns to Lake Placid . Adirondack Daily Enterprise. 18 February 2024. 12 February 2024.