Interview: Martyna Ostrowska
GUTS OVER FEAR I meet Tom Hilde during one of the Continental Cup competitions in Austria. Chilled, with a cheerful smile and a boisterous hat on his head. It seems hard to imagine that this ski jumper with a carefree look on his face has over ten years of World Cup competitions and an enormous amount of experience. Would you confirm my thesis that ski jumpers are addicted to adrenaline?
focused and train really hard to be better.
- Maybe. I think as a ski jumper you are not so much adrenaline addict. You are more perfectionist. You want to succeed in what you are doing. When I jump I am more nervous and focused on succeeding than actual the danger of the jump itself. The level is so high now. You can succeed if you have enough experience instead of adrenaline. You have to be
According to that, do you remember your first jump? Were you really nervous?
Do you remember what was the main reason that you have started with that sport?
- I have started ski jumping because of my brother. We were three brothers in
Fot.: Jagoda Bodzianny
- Of course I was really nervous. Actually I do not remember my very first jump but I remember jumping as a kid. Everybody starts at the smallest hills so it was not that scary for me. It was exciting and it still is. I think it is one of the closest things you
can do to be able to fly. I think every human being has a dream of flying and we are pretty close. That is why it is so cool. Then we can maybe change the word adrenaline to the word excitement.
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issue no 04 | march 2017
Photos: Facebook Toma Hilde
my family and my parents did not have enough time to take care of the three of us all the time so I was tagging along with my brothers for seven years and that is how it all started. From the beginning I thought it is cool. After eight years I decided that this is what I would really like to do and I started to do it fulltime. Are you happy with that decision?
- I do not think I could succeed in another discipline. I am slim, thin and not so strong. Ski jumping is just perfect for me. I do not like to train too much and I can't be a cross country skier because it is too much training to do. Ski jumping is perfect for my personality too. Is it true that almost all of the ski jumpers, even really experienced ones, are really respectful when it comes to ski flying hills?
- Yes, because during ski flying sometimes we gain so much speed and we do it only two or three times per year.
Hill Size Magazine
Tom Hilde We have much less experience than at the normal hills on which we train four times a week and compete forty competitions per year. Because of the speed in ski flying also danger of crashing is much higher. That is why we respect ski flying hills more. Falls are more or less connected to ski jumpers everyday life. Is there any good way you to overcome the fear?
- I had one really bad crash in my life. It was in Oberstdorf. I was afraid after that but the problem was not jumping but something else. After a crash you never know how your body will react. I was forty days without jumping. Every day I thought that maybe I will not be afraid but you never can predict how you will act when you will sit at the bar again to make your first jump after the crash. I really missed ski jumping this time so I was trying not to be really focused on what can go wrong. It was in the middle of the winter so I wanted to get back but I was concentrating mostly on why
I like ski jumping so much and how can I enjoy my sport again without any fear. It worked out. I was not afraid. How was your first jump after recovery?
- The first jump was actually really great. Jumps after that were also really good. At least I won the qualification round in Klingenthal, my first official World Cup jumping after that unlucky day in Oberstdorf. Then unfortunately the competition was cancelled. Fifty days after my crash I was on top during ski flying in Oberstdorf. It was pretty fast. Do you still have some moments when it comes back to you?
- I do not think about that crash anymore. I am more afraid about getting injured when I do something in my free time like playing soccer or just doing something stupid ;) I am not afraid about any accident at the hill but just doing normal everyday stuff like walking up the stairs in a hotel.
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Nick Fairall said that ski jumping is still a really safe sport. Would you confirm that?
- That is totally true. I think when you are on the level that we are in ski jumping you come to a point when you can't actually be afraid. If you are afraid you will not be on that level. I think that Thomas Morgenstern said something really clever. He felt 95% ready for ski jumping so he refused ski jumping. He could not compete because it was too risky. It was not 100%. That is the perfect way to say it. When you do not feel it for 100 percent you have no chance to make it. Do you think that this is an individual thing how sportsmen reacts to such a things?
- If it happens once it is not a problem. You still have done enough jumps and that was only one bad crash. It is a coincidence then. But if it happens several times because of your own fault and you do not know why, like Morgenstern, then I would start to doubt myself. It should be considered as a problem then. That is something what can not happen again in a short period of time. I think it is possible for everyone to get over one bad unlucky crash. Can it be also kind of a lesson for a ski jumper?
- When you are injured you get a little bit away from your sport. You watch it from the outside and get a very clean mental picture of how to do it. Every day for many hours you realize it and think about how it will be when you will be back. You also get more time to train what you are weak at. We do not have much time for such details during the season because we train technique. We have power training, lifting etc. Then you never have enough time to focus only on stability and these boring things. You get a step back and you can improve everything
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I do not think I could succeed in an other discipline. I am slim, thin and not so strong. Ski jumping is just perfect for me. I do not like to train too much and I can't be a cross country skier because it is too much training to do.
issue no 04 | march 2017
Tom Hilde that is important for daily training - walking and speed. Are you more motivated then?
- I was more motivated during my recovery. I think the biggest problem is when it happens more often. Some athletes have only light injuries and the recovery time is not so demanding. Then it comes to a sportsmen who are injured several times, same as a Kenneth Gangnes in our team. I feel really sorry for him right now. Having ACL torn again means going to the same long-term procedure again, so many months and hours of training that have been already done before. If he gets back now I will be extremely impressed but I think he will do it. He is a tough guy. I hope he will get back. If there is one guy who can do it is him. You like adrenaline not only at ski jumping hill. One of your passions is skydiving...When and how did you start?
- I wanted to get a skydiving license few years ago but I did not have enough time. It normally takes a lot of time so I was not able to do it. In 2012 or 2013 our coach Alexander Stoeckl suggested that we can organize our summer schedule to make it possible. Our federation paid for our license. It took one week only with sky diving. That was to get better impression how you handle air when you fly. But it is really difficult to make comparisons we wanted to do. You start from scratch when you take a skydiving license and you need many jumps before you can actually relate it to ski jumping. Can you use some of the ski jumping knowledge when skydiving?
- Yes it is really useful for me. I have around fifty jumps right now. I have learnt a lot and for example skydiving helps me to get better as a ski flyer. I think after that I am a little bit better
Hill Size Magazine
at sky flying. You can of course relate a lot of things and sometimes it works both ways.
a kind of freestyle jumping competition?
- Yes, but I did not enjoy that really. It is really fun but it is not dangerous. You are secured everywhere. I like sports and things when you actually have to depend on yourself more. It is like a rollercoaster. It is okay but you know there is no real danger.
- I have never jumped there but it is something like a season ending party mixed with a competition. We do not focus on who wins but more about fun and gathering. During the season every athlete goes from place to place, from competition to competition, being really serious. It is nice to have everybody together after the long winter season.
Is there anything are you afraid of?
QQ:
- I am afraid of a lot of things. For example when we have gymnastic trainings or regular summer exercises. I am scared more during that because of the highinjury risk. Getting injured is our biggest enemy so when I do things which are a little bit outside of my comfort zone I am really scared.
1) The best recent ski jumper: Anders Fannemel 2) World Championships or Winter Olympic Games: both 3) Favorite ski jumping hill: Bischofshofen 4) Childhood idol: Janne Ahonen&Roar Ljoekelsoey 5) Best team-mate: Anders Fannemel 6) If not ski jumping, then...sitting in the office doing boring things
You have also tried bungee jumping...
What is that event which takes place every year in Lillehammer (Sørperennet)? I mean that tournament with
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