Ski jumping may not be a mainstream sport in the United States, but whether it’s Michael Jordan or the space shuttle, Americans love to see things fly.
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The 120-meter jump is the Winter Olympics’ ultimate air show, and a packed house of 19,200 roaring spectators turned out to watch the event’s qualifying round Tuesday at Utah Olympic Park.
Only 16 of the 66 competitors were eliminated from Wednesday’s finals, and Tuesday’s marks don’t carry over, so it was a day to sit back and enjoy watching men who appear to be suspended on strings.
World Cup leader Adam Malysz, nicknamed “the Polish Batman,” seemed to be riding in his Bat glider as he soared 123.5 meters, the day’s third-longest jump. Combined with style points, it gave him the lead with 120.8 total points.
German co-favorite Sven Hannawald and Robert Kranjec of Slovenia tied for second with 119.1 points, both on jumps of 122 meters.
Roberto Cecon of Italy, fourth with 118 points, and Peter Zonta of Slovenia, 20th with 103.5, had the day’s longest jumps, 125 meters.
Simon Ammann of Switzerland, the surprise gold medalist in Sunday’s 90-meter jump, flew 119.5 meters but received mediocre style marks and finished 13th.
Alan Alborn of Anchorage, the top U.S. jumper, placed eighth with 114.1 points on a jump of 119.5 meters and appeared ready to improve on his 11th-place finish in the 90-meter competition.
On Wednesday Alborn will be after the first U.S. Olympic ski-jumping medal in 78 years and to prove “American ski jumpers are competitive,” he said. “Once you have a medal, it’s proof. Everybody can say he could have won a medal, but that doesn’t cut it until you do it.”
Alborn said competing in front of large crowds overseas had helped him learn to block out cheering when he was ready to jump, but he appreciated Tuesday’s enthusiastic turnout, which included Britain’s Princess Anne and former Polish President Lech Walesa.
“It was definitely a boost to have all these people root for you,” he said.
Clint Jones of the U.S. jumped 111.5 meters for 97.2 points and qualified for the finals in 34th place. Americans Brendan Doran and Tommy Schwall were among those eliminated.
Hannawald, the 90-meter silver medalist, said the young U.S. jumpers have the talent to do better but need experience.
“They’re getting better, but they need more time,” he said. “They can’t think they can rebuild this in one year, so they have to train.”