RE photo, above, Walt Cherry writes: I’d swear the jumper is Toralf Engen, ’64 Olympics, Innsbruck. I was trial riding for the Games- it just looks really familiar- and only 54 years ago! Engen was #1 every day, training and comp- Balfanz was as consistent every day at #3 behind Brantzeig- Gene Kotlarek was suffering w/ a cold/flu.. . I had fun: my forerunner bib gave me more rides every day (Seefeld & Innsbruck) than the competitors.
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Estella found inspiration in Lake Placid- it was worth the 16 hour drive from Madison, WI.
ESTELLA HASSRICK
Blackhawk Ski Club
Madison, WI
jhassrick@gmail.com
On the Fourth of July weekend in 2016, my family packed our car full and drove a whopping sixteen hours to get to Lake Placid for the Grasshopper camp. Before that camp, I had only been jumping for fun, not competitively. I hadn’t learned what it felt like to fly. By the time we were driving back home, my entire perspective on what I wanted to do with the sport had changed. After all, ski jumpers know what flight can do to you. But wait, let’s back up a second.
I’m from Madison, Wisconsin, and I jump at the Blackhawk Ski Club https://catalunyafarm.com/comprar-viagra-generico-online/. We have four jumps from K5 to K60. When we got to Lake Placid, I had only jumped the K15 for a little bit. The smallest jump that Lake Placid had was a K25 and I’ll admit, I was a little freaked out about that. The two families who also came met up with us and we learned new dryland training, and jumping technique. By the time we had our first session, I was ready to jump. I first started down the landing hill and I did that for a couple runs. Then, the coaches said I was ready to start on the actual jump. The next few practices mainly consisted of me not really jumping and kind of riding off the end. Then, one practice, my body started to get the movement. I was able to jump. My first time actually flying, I fell on my butt.
But, I got up and tried again. I was so happy after that practice and I could actually feel something that was supposed to happen. I didn’t really care where I placed in the competition afterwards. My mind was so focused on jumping more and jumping better. I didn’t care what it would take to get to a level where I could compete confidently, I just wanted to get there. Soon thereafter, going to the Olympics became my dream. Ski jumping had found a special place in my heart.
The view from the top
Estella leads the way, far left, during dry land training.
