"You horny bastard"

Cult ski jumper open: “I fell into a hole”

Cult ski jumper Simon Ammann hasn't had enough yet.(Bild: APA/AFP/NTB scanpix/Terje Bendiksby)

Cult ski jumper Simon Ammann has told how his double gold at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City affected his life. The Swiss athlete "fell into a hole" and eventually sought help. At the age of 42, he set his sights on his eighth Olympic Games.

The double Olympic triumph in 2002 turned his life upside down, explains Ammann. The expectations placed on the Swiss athlete were suddenly enormous, as he now explains: "Always and everywhere Simi, give me Simi, do Simi, Simi you horny bastard. A lot of things came at me unfiltered and it was extremely difficult to block it out - I wouldn't wish such an experience on anyone." 

In the end, he fell into a deep mental hole: "My hair was often as disheveled as my inner life," says the 42-year-old. He finally decided to seek help. The time he spent with a sports psychologist ultimately gave him new strength. This enabled him to cope better with the new wave of euphoria following his double gold in Vancouver in 2010.

"The search continues"
The Swiss celebrated his debut in the Ski Jumping World Cup in 1997. He can now look back on 500 World Cup starts. A feat that otherwise only Noriaki Kasai has achieved. However, things are no longer going according to plan in sporting terms. Nevertheless, he still secretly dreams of taking part in the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina. 

"I'm not making any more plans, but experiencing the Olympics in Europe again would be a dream come true. Considering my current form, however, I don't think so," says Ammann. It would be his eighth participation in the Winter Games. Only Kasai and the German speed skater Claudia Pechstein have managed so many participations. 

Stopping ski jumping is currently not an option for the 42-year-old: "Letting go is difficult. I haven't yet found a strategy for cutting myself off from this world. In recent years, I've been involved in various projects and tried out new things, but I haven't found my new passion yet, the search continues."