olyparks.org

July 2004

Athlete Feature

 Here’s the story from Jones’ triumph at the Continental Cup:

 For the second time in 24 hours, Olympian Clint Jones of Steamboat Springs, Colo., used a strong final-round jump on Sept. 28 to capture the Visa Continental Cup 120-meter contest, edging nordic combined skier Johnny Spillane by 3.1 points with Olympic champion Simon Ammann of Switzerland third.

 Jones, who uncorked a 130-meter ride on Sept. 27 at Utah Olympic Park to beat Ammann by 8.5 points, went 124.5 meters the next day and finished with 236.8 points. Spillane, the surprising leader with a 119-meter jump in a gust-filled first round, jumped 124 meters in the final round and finished with 233.7 points. Local teen Skyle Keate (Park City) was the only other American in the top 20, finishing 11th.

 ”It was pretty squirrelly wind,” said Jones, who turned 18 on Oct. 5. “There was quite a bit on the knoll and then it was kinda on and off coming down the hill. It was kinda the luck of the draw, but at the same time I think all the last 10 guys [i.e., the top 10 from the first round, jumping in reverse order of the top 30- skiers in the first round] got pretty similar wind. It really stabilized.”

 Ammann, third in the opening round, had little headwind and worked his way into the longest jump of the day to that point, 120.5 meters, to take the lead with only Jones and then Spillane remaining. 

 ”I knew I’d have to have a better one than the jump before,” Jones said. “The takeoff felt pretty good and – I don’t know what I beat [Spillane] by, maybe half a point – it was awesome to have that close a competition. I was happy for that.”

 ”I downloaded jumps from [Saturday's] competition and we compared those with the Grand Prix. He agreed he’s not back to that level but to win with those jumps is a good sign.”

 Spillane, who was a standout with his jumping during the five-meet nordic combined Summer Grand Prix, said the team’s new jumping coach, Corby Fischer has had a big impact on his improved jumping. He also said he’s had about twice as many training jumps during this preseason, which helps boost his performance.

 ”Seems like all the guys at the end had pretty similar conditions,” Spillane said. “I watched Clint go pretty far from the top and knew I could do it, too. I just wanted to go out there and do my best.”