Career continues

Swiss demote Olympic ski jumping champion

Simon Ammann remains an active ski jumper at the age of 42. However, the four-time Olympic champion has suffered a setback for the new season and has been demoted to the B squad.

Towards the end of last season, Ammann was mainly only jumping in the second-class Continental Cup. His performances have not been good enough in recent months, his best World Cup result was a 21st place in Engelberg. Ammann has only finished in the points five times. And there is still a lot to come for the Swiss. Gregor Deschwanden, Remo Imhof and Killian Peier are in the A squad.

Simon Ammann(Bild: APA/AFP/NTB scanpix/Terje Bendiksby)

Olympic dream
When will the 42-year-old declare his career over? "To be able to experience the Olympics again in Europe" is a secret dream, he wrote on the blog of the Swiss Olympic Committee. "But judging by my current form, I'm not counting on it."

500 World Cup starts
Ammann now has 500 World Cup starts "under his belt", having made his debut in 1997. "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," explained the Swiss skier.

In addition to four Olympic gold medals, Ammann won the overall World Cup in the 2009/10 season and celebrated a total of 23 first places in the top league of ski jumpers.