(ats) – Simon Ammann, when did you decide to want to pursue your career?
– For me, it was clear very early on that the World Ski Flight Championship at Planica could not be the end of my career. I already knew this before the northern tour. I must have wondered what was driving me. It’s simple: I am motivated in training, I try to stay in front, even if it did not really work. But the energy to continue fighting is there. The fact that I keep going is the combination of a big goal and the confidence that I am capable of making good jumps. It is sometimes difficult to understand how we can feel that when we fight in such areas of the ranking (red: Ammann did not manage a top 15 of the season). In ski jumping, a little less does a lot. And we quickly find ourselves behind. These details are to be corrected. It only takes a little time and I want to give myself that time. I don’t want to stop while I’m in this project. “
– After Sochi, you have always extended by one year and now it is two years. What thinking is behind it?
– There are different things. I need a big goal that makes me exceed each limit. And the Olympics have always been. Second, in Pyeongchang in 2018, we had a bad grip on the question of equipment (change of skis, new shoes). I want to continue the project. And third, planning year after year was always difficult for me. This time, I have the feeling that this project is the right one. Two more years and it’s over for me.
– A year ago, you said that the good results at the end of the season motivated you to continue. This time, it is not the case. Can you explain it?
– It has to do with skis and boots. If we had a difficult winter, it was also a question of adjustments. We designed the shoe late last fall. We had little time until the start of the competitions. For skiing, a return to Fischer is not excluded. We wanted to settle this after the end of the season but because of the springboard closure, it is not possible. But we will have enough time during the summer.
– Are you sure everything will be fine?
– Two things are important to get the last percent in training: that I can work with a motivated team and the project with the shoe. I have great confidence that it will end up paying off. And I hope that the whole national team can benefit from this carbon shoe.
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