Turin, Italy 2006 Winter Olympic Games

Olympic Freestyle Skiing Analysis

SAUZE d'OULX, Italy – Heavy fog greeted the women here on Wednesday for the aerials final. The image brought me back to my first World Cup in Inawashiro, Japan. The fog was so thick we couldn't see the jumps from our take off point. When I asked the coaches and athletes about it, they replied, "Don't worry, you'll see the jumps by the time you get to it."

Luckily, officials delayed the competition until the fog thinned out and these Olympians could see the jumps. I'm glad to see that the safety standards have taken a big step up in the last 14 years.

When the women began jumping, it was clear that safety is not the only thing that has taken a big step up.

Watching the final four years ago in Salt Lake City was very difficult for me. Even though gold medalist Alisa Camplin topped my Olympic score, I could have given her a run for her money. The degree of difficulty wasn't much different. There were very few women who were performing triple back flips, and no one was landing them.

But this year was a different story. Women were not only breaking out triples, they were upping the ante by throwing a twist on each flip. I no longer feel that I could pop on the skis and compete with the best of them. It's a new generation.

Believe it or not, I was always afraid of heights. It was hard enough to get me off the triple jump and execute one twist, never mind three. I was happy to be watching this competition from the comfort of my plastic red seat in the stands.

With jumps this risky, landings are extremely difficult. But Switzerland's Evelyne Leu was up for the challenge. Leu has been doing triple back flips for the past three Olympics and Wednesday, the gamble finally paid off. Leu walked away with Switzerland's second Olympic gold medal in freestyle skiing (the first going to Sonny Schonbachler at the 1994 Lillehammer Games.)

The difficult landings did, however, get the best of Australian Jacqui Cooper and China's Xinxin Guo. Both had beautiful form in the air on their triple-twisting triples, but could not stick the landing.

Cooper's results didn't actually surprise me too much. She had finished first in the qualifying and I knew that two first-place Olympic performances would be a hard task for Cooper. She has helped elevate the sport, but has always found it a challenge to step up when the real pressure is on the line.

Guo had hopes of sharing the podium with Leu and second-place finisher and teammate, Nina Li. But Guo's failed landing opened the door for Camplin to grab the bronze. With two wobbly landings, I would have actually dropped Camplin down to fourth.

Overall, the event showed that the sport has taken a huge jump forward. These jumps are even enough to impress the men. I was sitting with American aerialist Ryan St. Onge and he was even blown away by the level of the women's jumping. He turned to me and commented, "Those jumps would rival the guys."

In fact, Cooper's first jump in Tuesday's qualifying was higher than either of St. Onge's qualifying jumps.

This new level of competition will most certainly help women attract more television coverage and attention to the sport. The women's coverage was often cut short by the high-flying men's contest.

The downside is that these risky maneuvers could actually scare off a lot of young girls from starting the sport. And with a sport that is already challenged with attracting women who are gutsy enough, it could narrow the field of competition.

I vividly recall the first time that I saw the sport in person. I thought they were all nuts – and at that time they were only doing single-twisting doubles. It's going to take one tough girl to jump into this arena.

The question is, are the American women up for the challenge? Right now, their degree of difficulty is the main thing holding them back. This showed as neither the American competitors (Jana Lindsey and Emily Cook) qualified for the finals.

Deciding to do these risky jumps isn't even their first hurdle. You look at the strength that athletes like Leu, Cooper and Guo possess and it's clear that these women will need to really hit the gym and start putting on some bulk.

Landing a 50-foot jump definitely requires some hefty gams. And launching off these 12-foot walls will take the guts to match.

Once again, I'm happy that I am watching from the comfort of my plastic red seat.

Updated on Wednesday, Feb 22, 2006 6:26 pm, EST

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