Olympic ski jumpers fearlessly fly with mental fortitude

Anna Hoffmann sat on a metal bar perched about as high as a 40-story building, rolled her shoulders back, took a deep breath and exhaled.

American ski jumper left safe place, went down in-run and took flight length of an football field with her bib flapping in wind before landing smoothly in machine-me sw.

What would frighten almost anyone outside of sport, Hoffmann handled with poise as she prepared to compete Saturday in Olympics for first time at Beijing Games.

“I'm just trying to have some fun and relax," 21-year-old Hoffman, who is from Mison, Wisconsin, said after a training session in China. “When I am on bar, I just remind myself that I love this sport."

women and men who fearlessly fly through air in ski jumping are t old eugh to remember seeing Vinko Bogataj’s wipeout, used in conjunction with “ agony of defeat,” in opening mont of “ABC’s Wide World of Sports,” 50 years ago.

More recently, former Olympian Nick Fairall was left paralyzed with a spinal cord injury and modern-day ski jumpers probably remember crash or have seen it on YouTube.

And yet, brave athletes around world go he first down a steep incline as fast as 100 kph (62 mph) and essentially ski off a cliff for thrill of a potential victory.

“A lot of people think ski jumpers are crazy, but that’s t case," said Logan Sankey, who finished just behind Hoffmann at U.S. trials. “Fear definitely plays a role and it’s a challenge to overcome. I’m still working on it."

USA rdic is trying to help her and or Olympic hopefuls and Olympians in ski jumping and rdic combined with ir mental performance. When five-time Olympian Billy Demong began leing organization as its executive director in 2016, one of his first moves was to hire sports psychologist Nicole Detling .

“She is Ms. Mental Toughness," Demong said.

Detling works individually with USA rdic athletes, helping m overcome mental obstacles in way of ir success with unique strategies that fit each of m.

“One of things that we’ll use with some of athletes is what I call deliberate distraction," Detling said. “If you're thinking about your fingers while you’re visually looking at your fingers, you’re t thinking, `Oh my gosh, I have to go really far on this jump.’ Or, `I’m really afraid.’ Or, `It’s too windy.’ Or, things that might mess you up and make you afraid.

“It’s a way to get ir he out of negative, into something that’s a little bit more neutral and re’s emotional component associated."

Ski jumping certainly isn't only sport in which women and men throw caution to wind as y risk getting seriously injured.

Alpine skiing, for example, can be very dangerous because of breakneck speeds, steep inclines and sharp angles. Even rdic skiing and biathlon have become dangerous in part because of machine-me sw.

Demong insisted ski jumping is a relatively safe sport while ackwledging serious injuries have and will happen. And when y do, it can affect psyche of any woman or man and key for m is to bounce back to get back on hill.

“It is a totally a house of cards sometimes," Demong said. “I use golf analogy. When you take your brain out of equation and just swing, it’s good. second you hit one wrong and you start to overthink, it all goes sideways.

“ only difference in ski jumping is, you’re ball and repercussions are hard."

Fairall, who is from New London, New Hampshire, found that out in 2015. Fairall's skis got stuck in sticky sw on a landing in Austria, catapulting him forward with such force that he broke his lower back and it left him in a wheelchair.

“I lost a lot of credibility about how safe this sport is since my accident," Fairall said in vember, when U.S. ski jumpers and rdic combined athletes were training in Lake Placid, New York. “This sport is actually very, very safe. Mine was just a freak accident. All se things lined up in a certain way that I ended up breaking my spine. I was one very few that h a very serious accident.

“This sport seems extremely dangerous, but you have to realize physics with it. You're jumping with hill and most of your impact and momentum goes with it. If something goes wrong, it's t as catastrophic as people might think it is."

Im: Unsplash/Representative