European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 19, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 22 the stars and stripes Winter olympics v Means Victory for jump Star by Jim litre Cour Chevel France apr Toni Nieminen launches himself in Pursuit of the Angels at 60 Mph skis splayed and left hand waving a first fluttering then flapping and flailing until finally All 127 pounds of him chates against the flights Frontier. Then he lands the olympics newest and youngest King of the Hill and says with out guile a i am the Luckiest Guy in the Lucky maybe. The Harbinger of things to come certainly. For the past five years a debate Over technique has raged in towns with names like Lahti Finland and Assam Austria and even Norwich Vermont where they turn out world class ski jumpers in much the same Way that san Pedro de maoris turns out major league shortstops to v or not to v. But thanks to Nieminen it May be Over. Granted gentle persuasion May not work with every Man reckless enough to enter space on thin slats of fibreglass at speeds the rest of us enter expressways in cars. And the most obstinate jumpers will still be Able to choose Between the a a classic style of keeping the skis directly beneath them and parallel during the Short flight or playing the boards at a 45-degree Angle to form the but the results leave Little room for argument. Jumpers using the v won All of the first six placings on both the 90 and 120-meter Hills in these games. Quot probably this Means the end of the classic style a Nieminen the teen age finnish sensation announced sunday after winning an olympic Gold in the Large Hill event to go with the Bronze he won a week earlier on the Normal Hill. A the jumpers who Haven to changed yet will have to a Nieminen added. Quot and within the next with the Mist gathering lazily at the top of the injun and austrian Martin Hoellwarth clinging stubbornly to the Lead Nieminen approached the ramp sunday for his second jump with his stomach churning. Talk about needing a Home run by the time he settled into the Gate Nieminen knew that he needed to finnish teen Ager Toni Nieminen soars to his second Gold and third medal Overall i sundays 120-meter ski jumping. Jump at least 114 meters a roughly 374 feet or the distance a baseball travels to Clear the Wall in the Power alleys at most ballparks a if he was going to win. And talk about pressure Finland is a nation of just 5 million people Ana Nieminen knew that at least 2 million of them were watching him live on to at that moment Back Home. A i Felt the pressure after Martins Good jump but i had to forget it a he said a to concentrate on my own so he did. Nieminen adjusted his goggles tightened his crash helmet zoomed Down the ramp in a tuck and exploded. In the Bat of an eyelash the tips of his skis Only inches apart when he left the ramp swung Well wide of either shoulder. Stretched to his full 5 feet 7 inches Nieminen leaned Low Over the boards and offered himself to the wind like a Sheet of paper with the letter v writ Large across its Page. When Jan Bok Loev of Sweden unveiled the v in 1987, fans were amused purists blanched and More than a few of his competitors laughed it off As some kind of publicity stunt. After All in a sport where tech Nique Hadnot changed since its inception it was easy to look at Bok Loev a then 24 a As too old and the v As nothing More than a desperate attempt to stretch out a career. But not everyone saw it that Way. Some saw Promise in the v and they saw that jumpers like Nieminen still Young enough to be genuinely fearless were in the pipeline. Ultimately wind Tunnel testing gave the technique much needed credibility by proving that it gave a jumper 28 percent More lift than the classic style largely because it offered More surface area to the wind. Nieminen is aloft for something like four seconds when All this Arm waving ceases and in the Bat of yet another eyelash he draws the skis Back into the parallel position grudgingly preparing to land. Above the boards his left knee flexes to absorb the Impact and both arms shoot skyward in Celebration. Behind him the Board registers 123 meters a 403 feet 6 inches a the Best Ever in olympic Competition though not quite enough to catch the Angels. But perhaps that a his widening smile now nearly shaped like a a seems to suggest a will come next mixes with War in Croatia by John e1senberg the Baltimore Sun Albertville France the words were Handwritten in English on a wrinkled piece of paper and tacked Between bus schedules onto the press Center bulletin Board Quot come for a talk with our athletes about sports and sports and War. You say they done to belong in the same sentence and then you meet the olympians from Croatia. The figure skater who practice last fall because they kept switching off the electricity in his rink during bombing raids turning the ice into puddles. The ski coach whose Best Friend a former National slalom Champion was shot dead in a Battle outside Dubrovnik a couple of months ago. The 18-year-old skier whose hands Shook As he spoke about training with his teammates in Austria and being unable to think straight calling his parents every night to see if they were All right. Quot it is a very hard thing Quot said the Young skier Vedran Pavlek Quot to train for sports when your country is at it is an ethnic civil War that is shredding Yugoslavia. Croatians and slovenians re established their republics last year and now the croatian army is fighting the yugoslavian army made up mostly of serbians. The United states still has t recognized Croatia but the International olympic committee did on Jan. 17, just 22 Days before the opening ceremonies of these Winter olympics. Quot a Day of great Celebration Quot Pavlek said. There was t time to put together much of a team just a couple of skiers and figure skaters. Everything was harried and complicated. They found a sponsor to pay for Winter boots but the boots were confiscated by Border guards. No matter. Just having the team a that was what mattered. You say sports and War Don t belong in the same sentence and then you meet these croatians. A we Are competing Here for the people on the front lines a Pavlek said. A it is important for them and All the people at Home to see this the croatian Flag in the opening ceremonies the croatian name on the he was wearing a purple sports jacket Gray tie and mousse in his hair and like All of his coaches and teammates spoke Beautiful English. As he was interviewed a press agent handed out Media guides postcards and croatian olympic team buttons. It is All merely symbolism but with a powerful thrust. Other visible croatians in sports a Tennis pros Goran Ivanisevic and Goran Prpic and Drazen Petrovic of the a bad a new Jersey nets Send Money for food and medical supplies. But Only olympians can March in front of the world with a croatian Flag. A at first when the War began it was very hard to take our sports seriously a Pavlek said. A but then you realize this is a Way you can help Croatia for the people at Home to see us Here it is a special Pavlek is the Only member of the four Man National ski team who did no to get called to serve. The others Are army ski instructors an important Job in a War with so much Mountain fighting that the slovenian National team had to postpone training because their ski runs were sprayed by Rifle fire. A if i think about my teammates in the army Long enough a Pavlek said a it becomes difficult to meanwhile he is spending these two weeks in the olympic Village at brides Les Baines sharing Buffet lines and dance floors with some of the 22 athletes a mostly serbians a that Yugoslavia brought. It can be so difficult. The War has split such old friends As Petrovic and Vlade Divac the los Angeles lakers serbian Center. Divac stomped on the croatian Flag at basketball a world championships last year angry that politics were breaking up the powerful yugoslavian National team. Petrovic forgive him. A but me i have no problem with the serbian athletes a Pavlek said. A in sport there is nothing that can Divide us. We see each other we say hello in be known them for years. Competed with them on the Junior circuit. It is the members of the delegation i say nothing to. The officials. These people Arentt interested in a 23-year-old figure skater was chosen by the infant croatian olympic committee to carry the Flag in the opening ceremonies. Tomislav Cizmesija is a medical student who could t practice last fall because the yugoslavian military kept bombing Zagreb where he lives. A at the worst there were sirens maybe five six seven times a Day a he said. A no ice of course. And if you re caught outside when it happens you go running crazy to find shelter somewhere. It was impossible to train. Your mind is just going sports and War. They belong in the same sentence this time. A we Are Here As sportsmen a said Pavlek Wise far beyond his 18 years a but we Are really Here to let the world know that we Are on our own now that we Are not part of Yugoslavia anymore. That we Are a country. A new country fighting a
