Winds postpone Park City women's jumping

Kjell Ivar Magnusson, the new-this-season head coach of the U.S. women jumpers, was philosophical as the sun became to drop behind the ridgeline above Utah Olympic Park and its 2002 Olympic jumps. “They never had a chance,” he said, referring to Saturday’s postponement of a Continental Cup ski jumping meet.
PARK CITY, Utah — Kjell Ivar Magnusson, the new-this-season head coach of the U.S. women jumpers, was philosophical as the sun became to drop behind the ridgeline above Utah Olympic Park and its 2002 Olympic jumps. “They never had a chance,” he said, referring to Saturday’s postponement of a Continental Cup ski jumping meet.
    “It’s an outdoor sport. It’s not fun, but you have to expect this kind of thing sometimes,” said an equally philosophical Jessica Jerome, who returned home with back-to-back fifth-place performances earlier in the week in Lake Placid, New York.
    The Visa Women’s International Ski Jumping Festival was set for two days — Saturday and Sunday afternoon during Labor Day weekend. But perhaps a clue to potential trouble came Friday when stop-start-stop, erratic winds forced more than 90 minutes of postponements before the women were sent home for the day without a jump being made.
    Saturday, there wasn’t a whisper of wind for three rounds of jumping at 9 a.m. However, the winds picked up in early afternoon and the 4:30 p.m. competition was pushed back to 5, then 5:30, back again to 6 p.m., and then 6:30 … and then nada. Organizers, citing safety concerns for the women, postponed things overnight, setting the stage for two meets Sunday before the women run into a break until resuming in mid-December in Norway.
    Meanwhile, Abby Hughes, who had back problems in Lake Placid and missed the final round of the first day’s event and the second competition entirely, said a medical exam showed a back spasm with a slight tear. “I should be OK in about two weeks,” she said. That would be good news for Magnusson and if he can get two contests Sunday, that would be pretty good, too.

— Paul Robbins