Crazy day in Planica

WOW! This was definitely an awesome day! Thank God jury let those
extra long jumps. I enjoyed watching those guys live. I'm really happy 'coz of Bjoern. After he jumped 234,5 m, he said that his dream came true. After the jump of 239 m he said he was speachless.
I'm glad Janne Ahonen is fine. It would be awful he'd get injured at the end of the season. But he jumped 240 m anyway, unlucky he landed awkwardly.

And here is live pick of new world record owner from Planica:



Nat

The problem with jumping these days is that officials make the best ones to jump too far. I know it gets more even that way, but for suer it ain't fair for the guys who fly some 25meters further than the rest of the pack to *have to* take jump down before landing to parking lot

Exactly! Instead of making it safer for the jumpers, which is the general trend in any other sports, in jumping they just make them go way too far. If they want the jumpers to jump a quarter of a kilometer and longer they should build bigger hills! Jumpers' safety should come first.

Another thing about the competition is that if u saw Janne's jump from side view, it was very clear that he did take his jump down, he landed from *so* high. So it's fair to say he would have gone over 245 easily. But that would have been landing on bottom of the pit. Point is, as I noted before, with the way jury is running the competition, best jumper doesn't always win having to "cut short" his jump.

I couldn't agree more.

And on Kranjska Gora TV it said that Janne broke the same rib as
before again, but otherwise he should be okay, just sore and bruised.

Nat

I am not as techincal as you all but jeeeez those jumpers are amazing !! I cannot believe it but they can fly !! They must feel so good !! Each time i saw them I am speechless ... I didn't know some had to make their jump shorter to not land in the parking lot .. I am impressed (honestly)

Believe me. it has a price.
I found this English article about Sven Hannawald in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 2004

+++++

When the soaring stops: Ski jumper takes deep plunge
Sven Hannawald, one of Germany's most popular athletes, suffers from burnout syndrome and lands in special clinic

By Aaron Kirchfeld


Pressure. Top athletes are always fighting the pressure. Pressure from coaches, pressure from fans, pressure from the media and, above all else, pressure from themselves.
Sometimes the pressure is just too much. For Sven Hannawald, the German ski jumper who has reached the heights of pop-star popularity, the pressure was just too much.
The 29-year-old recently approached the German ski jumping team doctor, Dr. Ernst Jakob, asking for help. Shortly thereafter, Hannawald checked into an unidentified rehabilitation clinic to be treated for "burnout syndrome."
The illness leading to physical and psychological exhaustion was once considered limited to individuals with high-stress jobs such as managers, doctors or teachers. But experts say highly talented and dedicated people who are intensely committed to their profession are also apt to fall victim to burnout syndrome.
And there's no denying the talent and dedication of the Olympic and World Cup ski jumping champion. But the days of glory, including the 2001/2002 season during which he became the first and only jumper to win all four events of the famous Four Hills Tournament, are melting away like springtime snow covering the steep jumps.
But the pressure has stubbornly stuck around.
"Hannawald couldn't deal with the permanent pressure as of late and as a result checked himself into a special clinic," said a statement issued by his manager late last week.
Last season was a year of flops for Hannawald, known by his fans, and in particular his large following of teenage girls, as "Hanni." And he did not finish the season.
Dr. Edda Gottschaldt, who has treated a number of prominent
people suffering from burnout, described some of the symptoms. "The body can no longer regenerate itself and breaks down," said Gottschaldt. But she did not rule out a comeback. "Sven Hannawald finds joy and reassurance in ski jumping," Gottschaldt said.
May 7