Training jumps are just the start for Englund
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea – Ski jumper Nita Englund has had a challenging season on the World Cup circuit, but current form is all that matters at the Olympic Games.
And after three training jumps at the Alpensia Ski Jumping Center, Englund likes the way she’s trending.
The 25-year-old from Florence, Wis., was ranked 28th, 20th and 26th after her jumps Thursday, but each one got successively longer, culminating in a jump of 89.5 meters.
“I really like the hill,” Englund said during a news conference Friday. “I struggled a lot this season with mental preparation, but I’ve thought these three training jumps is maybe the best I’ve done all season. I don’t know if it’s the mood, the excitement of the Olympics, but I thought it was awesome.
“It does great things for my confidence. I think ski jumping, there’s a huge aspect to, like, if you have some good jumps under your belt in a competition or training, that makes you feel like, ‘OK, I can be here in the competition.’ You want to shoot for something realistic.”
Englund has finished as high as 10th in the World Cup standings but is ranked 49th this season.
She said she wasn’t worried about wind on the hill because it is protected by wind nets.
“It’s more of an intimidation because when you’re walking up there you feel like your skills are going to blow away,” she said. “Your skis are going everywhere and the wind is everywhere. When you get on the ski jump, I haven’t seen or experienced any problems with it yet.
“I kind of just trust that if they gave me the green light that means the wind is within the legal framework. I kind of go, like, if there’s a green light it’s no problem.”
Englund, who lives and trains in Slovenia, spent a good portion of the news conference answering questions about growing up on a farm in Florence. She lived just six miles from the jump at Pine Mountain in Iron Mountain, Mich., and considers herself a Yooper.
“Technically, I was born in Iron Mountain, Mich.,” she said. “That’s a big town. So even anyone on the Wisconsin side consider ourselves Yoopers. We’re Packers fans but we’re definitely Yoopers. We eat pasties.”
Englund’s ski jumping suit is green and gold, a happy coincidence.
“It’s good because it’s Packers colors and it’s also my hometown color, but that’s just luck,” she said. “I was like, oh, that green material in the back is just perfect. I already knew I loved the gold. I’ve jumped in it before.”
She said she would set a goal for these Olympics after her final training jumps. But regardless where she finishes, this is just the beginning.
“I kind of hope to carry the torch,” she said. “I hope to jump for the next four years. I kind of think this is like feet-inthe-water Olympics for me.”