Hautamaeki Flies 231 Meters At Planica
New world record set in final World Cup event of 2003 season
After establishing a new world record of 227.5 meters during qualifying, Finland's Matti Hautamaeki stretched it to 231 meters (758 feet) on his first ride Sunday, and followed up with a 224 meter effort on his final ride. He was followed by Germany's Sven Hannawald, Japan's Hideharu Miyahira, and Poland's Adam Malysz, who had clinched the overall World Cup points title on Saturday. Click FIS link at left for more info, or visit the   Planica website. ... NOTE: Click British flag, upper right on Planica's website, to view in English.

Saturday's meet was the final competition for the U.S. Ski Team's Alan Alborn, who is retiring. We extend our thanks for representing the U.S. so well on the World Cup Circuit and through many seasons and two Olympic Games. He finished 31st, while his teammate Clint Jones placed 13th. Best wishes for the future to Al as he moves on, and to Clint and all the young U.S. jumpers we'll be hearing about in years to come.

Jimmy Denney 2nd in Zao, Japan COC
Adds to strong performances in recent Continental Cup competition

Jimmy Denney of Duluth scored a huge second place at Zao, Japan on March 12 after a fifteenth last week in Sapporo. He placed 5th, 7th, and 8th in Ishpeming recently. The Continental Cup(COC) features a strong international field. Congratulations, Jimmy!!! As this year winds down, we've had a lot of good news for American skiers, and for those from the Central Division. Read on; we'll be keeping some of these articles in place for a while now that there won't be updates every week. Two World Cup events remain in the 2003 season ... in Lahti, Finland this weekend, and the World Ski Flying Championships in Planica, Slovenia, March 20-23.

Johnny Spillane Takes GOLD in Italy!
First U.S. gold medal EVER in a nordic event at World Championship or Olympic level
On Friday, Feb 28, in Val di Fiemme, Italy, the U.S. Ski Team's Johnny Spillane captured the gold medal in the Nordic Combined Sprint event. In fourth place with a leap of 124 meters on the 120 meter jump, Spillane stayed with the three lead skiers and won with a magnificent pass as they entered the stadium on the final lap of the 7.5K sprint. A strong jumper, he recently won the U.S. national large-hill championship in his home town of Steamboat Springs after a very solid year in international competition. Read about it in the "Jump / Nordic Combined" section of the U.S. Ski Team site; there's also an extensive interview.

Central Jumpers Take Team Title in Park City
Four Central skiers in top ten in individual competition at Junior Olympics
The Junior Olympics has wrapped up with a lot of smiles for Central Division skiers! They captured the gold medal in the team event, and placed four jumpers in the top ten in individual competition. They were Jerry Jonas (5), Mike Furey (7), Mike Glasder(9), and Kyle Lockhart (10). Jerry Jonas led the jumping portion of Nordic combined, but had to withdraw from the cross-country portion due to illness. Also representing the Central Division were Cameron Helmer, Andrew and Evan Schauer, Jason Jonas, Johnny Lyons, and Austin Ragotzkie. Look for JO wrap-up coverage on the National Sports Foundation website; click their "Score Board" link for results.

American Women's Team Wins In Austria
Team event was one of five meets in FIS Ladies' Grand Prix tour - congratulations!
The U.S. Women's team scored a huge win at Saalfelden, Austria on Feb 23, beating the home team in their own back yard. The team was comprised of Karla Keck, Lindsey Van, Jessica Jerome, and Alissa Johnson. Taylor Lyons, on her first European tour, was teamed with a Swiss jumper. In the four individual competitions, among nearly forty skiers, the U.S. women took three of the top ten places in two of the meets, and two of the top ten places in the other two meets. Results of all Ladies GP events are available via Schoenwald Ski Club website. Scroll down this page to read our "Air Female" feature on Taylor, and click to our "Air Force Archive" page to read our earlier feature on Karla.

Air Female ... Taylor Lyons
St Paul girl, 15, represents U.S. at FIS Ladies Grand Prix in Europe
See previously featured Air Male & Air Female skiers on our "Air Force" Archive Page.

The Central Division's Taylor Lyons (St. Paul Ski Club) started jumping when she was five years old. She has left behind the baby blanket she's holding in the bottom photo, but we have found out through unnamed sources that it is actually still on her bed! She hopes to someday follow in the footsteps of her grandfather who was a two-time national champion. After years of competing on the Central Division circuit with her cousin Johnny, Taylor qualified for the Junior Olympics in Lake Placid in 2000 and tackled her first 90-meter hill there. She has since had the opportunity to train some in Park City on the 90, and had quite a trip recently to Steamboat Springs. She went to train and compete on the K90, but once there, was compelled to try the K118. Her coach, Martin Bayer, watched through the viewfinder of his video camera with amazement as she jumped 75 meters on her first attempt! Another few tries found her floating to the 90 meter mark. That was enough to convince Coach and Taylor that she should try to compete on the big hill the next day. She did, placing 3rd in her class! Another trip to Lake Placid and the 120-meter hill over the New Year Holiday has resulted in an invitation to travel to Germany and Austria in February to compete with America's top girls in the FIS Ladies Grand Prix. Taylor considers it just another step along way. Her goal is to make the first U.S Women's Olympic Team, hopefully in 2006. We salute Taylor for her dedication to off-season training that resulted in this accomplishment, and we wish her well on the upcoming trip to Europe! Read more about other "Air Female" skiers on our "Air Force" Archive Page.

Daniela Iraschko Flies 200 Meters at Kulm
Austrian woman achieves milestone, Germany's Hannawald sets hill record at 214M
Although Takanobu Okabe's old hill record of 205 meters at Kulm (Tauplitz / Bad Mitterndorf) was smashed Friday by Germany's Sven Hannawald with a qualification leap of 214 meters, another historic flight had occured in training on Wed, Jan 29. Following her second jump of 188 meters, Daniela Iraschko hit the magic 200 meter mark. Previously, Austria's Eva Ganster held the honor at 167 meters (set in 1997). Wednesday's longest flight was recorded by one of Austria's outstanding jumpers, Wolfgang Loitzl, who flew 204 meters, starting from the same gate as Iraschko, (thus carrying similar speed).

Central 2003 Season Ends In Minocqua
Good turnout in picture-postcard setting on fresh snow under blue sky
We've had a good year for Central Division skiers, culminating with some outstanding performances at the Junior Olympics. The Minocqua Ski Club hosted the final midwest tournament of the season on Sunday, March 9. We'll post results as soon as they're available.

"The Thrill of Victory!"
Focus will be on personal accomplishments ... and lots of smiles!
Each week during the competition season, there are many winners in formal competitions at the regional, national, and international level, and we provide links to official results. But there are a lot of accomplishments that don't make the news ... they just make smiles!

We'd like to receive information and photos on USSA Central Division skiers showing the joy that comes from personal achievement. First ride on a bigger hill? Long jump after long slump? First ribbon or medal? Please submit brief writeup to webmaster@skijumpingcentral.com; if skier is a minor, info must be submitted by a parent or guardian.

• Andrew Turner and Richard Brown, of Northern Ireland, traveled to Sweden in September 2002 to learn the sport of ski jumping. They were successful, and had a great time. Watch this cool video (2mb avi) of Richard on the 15 meter jump. Cheers, guys! Most people start ski jumping as little kids, but adults can and do learn this great sport. More info, bigger photos!
• Andre Denney and Tyler Hutchins; in early March 2002, several days after the Junior Olympics ended in Coleraine MN, these two little guys became the youngest skiers (ages 7 & 8) to ever fly from Coleraine's 70 meter jump. Though young, they've acquired skills and confidence over hundreds of rides on smaller jumps, with good coaching and supervision. You can expect to hear these two names in the future! Click for larger image. Andre was in our first "Air Male" feature.

JUST FOR FUN!

PICTURE PUZZLE
Click here to try our picture puzzle. Current image shows the 90 meter and 120 meter jumps in Park City, Utah.

SKI JUMPING COW
Click image to see cool VIDEO of Lovely, the mascot of the Federation of Swiss Milk Producers, making a graceful flight! (large video download)

SKI JUMPING TRIVIA
Did you know that an NFL Hall of Fame kicker first came to the U.S. on a ski jumping scholarship, and that a well known major league pitcher and future Hall of Famer jumped as a kid? Also an NFL head coach, and a well-known race driver and team owner? Do you know which senior U.S. senator once jumped in the midwest? That temporary ski jumps have been constructed in football stadiums in two of our biggest cities? Click here to learn more!

MORE COWS
Ever wonder what Norwegians do during the off season? They fling cows! Click here.