Ammann wins record 4th ski jump gold
Sweeps Whistler events after double-gold effort at Salt Lake Olympics
Last Updated: Saturday, February 20, 2010 | 5:45 PM ET
By Doug Harrison, CBC Sports
Switzerland's Simon Ammann celebrates his second gold medal at the Vancouver Olympics and record-setting fourth of his Winter Games career. (Matthias Schrader/Associated Press)Simon Ammann warmed up with an Olympic record before going where no ski jumper has gone before.
The 28-year-old from Switzerland became the first-ever ski jumper to win four individual gold medals at the Winter Games with a sensational performance at Whistler Olympic Park on Saturday afternoon.
Ammann turned in a jump of 138 metres in the final of the men's individual large hill (140-metre) competition after his 144m effort in the first round earlier Saturday to shatter the old Olympic mark of 141m.
He showed solid form with a well-timed takeoff and good acceleration while his arms came down almost immediately after takeoff.
The top-ranked jumper on the World Cup circuit finished with 283.6 points in the Callaghan Valley for a 14.2-point victory over Adam Malysz of Poland.
"What can I say? I was so nervous up there," Ammann said.
"This is all very nerve-racking. I always have this magical force to jump far here and that is amazing. This is truly amazing."
His rivals thought so, too.
"He jumped unbelievable," Malysz said.
"Simon is really amazing," bronze medallist Austrian Gregor Schlierenzauer agreed.
Malysz had 269.4 points and Schlierenzauer 262.2.
A week ago, Ammann prevailed on the normal hill (106 metres), eight years after taking home two golds from the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
Matti Nykanen, considered the greatest jumper of all time, won four Olympic gold medals spanning the 1980s and '90s, but one was captured in a team competition.
Malysz, who led until Ammann's final jump with jumps of 137m and 133.5m, also won silver on the normal hill.
Schlierenzauer and Austrian teammates Andreas Kofler (261.2) and Thomas Morgenster (246.7), the defending Olympic champion, rounded out the top five.
Schlierenzauer, second to Ammann on the World Cup circuit, was considered the latter's biggest threat in B.C., but he has struggled of late. In the first round Saturday, the six-foot, 140-pounder went 130.5 metres, followed by a 136m showing in the final.
Disappointing results by Austria earlier in the competition led to a protest from the country's officials about Ammann's ski bindings, which they claimed gave an illegal advantage. The International Ski Federation rejected the protest on Friday.
Ammann was near flawless at these Olympics, delivering big jumps, having fun with the media and surprising himself.
"I am in such awesome shape, it makes me a bit nervous," he told reporters on Friday.
Meanwhile, Edmonton's Stefan Read, the lone Canadian to qualify for Saturday's first round, finished 46th in the field of 50 with a jump of 104.5m and 71.6 points.
