Oman and Kuter celebrate Switzerland's first and only ski jumping double victory

memorable

December 2, 2006: Simon Ammann wins another World Cup event after 1,722 days without a win. With his good friend Andreas Couter finishing second, the pair secured the first and so far double Swiss ski jumping title.

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Simon Ammann's pain lasted four and a half years, the equivalent of 1,722 days. He had waited so long to finally be able to celebrate his second World Cup victory. In Lillehammer, the Toggenburg native finished ahead of his friend Andreas Küttel in the second race of the 2006/07 season.

A year on from his first World Cup triumph at the same venue, Couter still held a slim lead at half-time – 0.8 points ahead of Oman. But “Simi” was still able to turn the tide in the final. Oman's second jump flew to 138 meters and took the lead. He only had to wait for Kutel. His friend made a mistake and only jumped to 133.5 meters, and Oman won.

But Couter was also delighted: more than 18,000 francs in prize money and two kilograms of chocolate wafers. Of course, it was also for his friends and for Switzerland's first ski jumping double since the World Cup. Something similar happened only in the 1973/74 Four Mountains Championship, when Hans Schmid and Walter Steiner finished second and third in Innsbruck.

“In the summer we talked a lot about being on the podium together one day. Now we've done it. It's unbelievable and hard to repeat,” said Cootel, who said that so far, With three wins at the World Cup, Couter has more success than Oman.

Amman always believes in himself

For the people of Toggenberg, victory equals salvation. In 2002, just weeks after winning two gold medals at the Salt Lake City Olympics, Amman won its first World Cup title in Holmenkollen, Oslo.

“The circle is closed in Norway,” Oman said after his victory in Lillehammer. “It's great that Andreas and I were able to stand on the podium together. It was clear after the first round that we were going to get the job done.”

Andreas Küttel, Simon Ammann and Thomas Morgenstern on the podium in Lillehammer.Image: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Despite a long drought, Amman never gave up its courage and will to keep going. “I always knew I was capable. It never occurred to me that winning wouldn't be valid anymore,” Toggenberg said.

But Amman's return to victory isn't so self-evident. After two Olympic victories in Salt Lake City, all was not well for the farmer's son. Because the results are wrong, the confidence is gone. This is especially fatal for ski jumpers, who must exert an extreme mental effort.

Simon Oman's career

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Simon Oman's career

At the age of 16, Simon Amann made his ski jumping debut at the 1997/98 Four Mountains Championships. Over the course of his long career, the native of Toggenberg from Untwasser became the most successful Swiss ski jumper of all time.

Those: keystone / arno balzarini

There was a complete crash at the 2006 Games in Turin: Amman finished 15th on the big hill and 38th on the normal hill. But not being able to defend the title was a blessing for “Simi”. “Simon was able to take off his bag in Turin,” coach Berni Scheidler revealed after the Lillehammer win.

Celebrate with pizza, beer and cake

Aman seemed to have been relieved of a huge burden and could finally focus on the important things again. In summer training, he laid the foundation for his comeback – which also benefited from the leaping performance of teammate Kurter. Finally, everything comes back together mentally, physically and materially. “Winning is the reward for hard work,” Aman said.

The victory was not widely celebrated. “After the jump we were invited to Norwegian Lars Bystol’s birthday party and had cake,” said trainer Schödler the next day. There wasn’t much time to celebrate either. Finally, the next race has arrived: the Swiss team confirmed the double victory of the previous day with fourth (Oman) and fifth (Kutter) results. Now it's time to celebrate: “Now we're going to eat pizza together. And maybe have a beer or two to toast,” Scheidler said.

Simon Oman finally confirmed Salt Lake City's double Olympic victory with gold and silver medals at the 2007 World Championships in Sapporo.Image: KEYSTONE

The good results motivated Amman for the rest of the season. At the Four Mountain Championships he finished third overall; at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Sapporo he won gold on the big mountain and silver on the normal mountain, and at the end of the season he won again in Oslo champion. This is a preview of what will happen in the next few years.

In 2010, Oman won another double at the Vancouver Olympics and subsequently became its only overall World Cup champion to date. Since then, however, his record has been mixed. On November 29, 2014, Amman celebrated his last World Cup victory, more than 3,000 days ago.

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