|
 |
Jonny's trick wins fans, no medal
By Amy Donaldson Deseret News Olympic specialist
PARK CITY — To some, the men's mogul competition looked a bit like a burger with way too much bun.
Just as Harrison Ford did when he played Han Solo in "Star Wars," Jonny Moseley and his signature trick, the dinner roll, stole the show from the skiers who won Olympic medals Tuesday at Deer Valley.
As the medalists participated in a flower presentation that was supposed to be center stage, much of the attention was on Moseley as he made his way through hundreds of well-wishers and reporters for more than an hour after the competition ended.
"I feel like the people who know skiing very well will consider me very bold and legendary," Moseley said when asked how he'd be remembered for his fourth-place finish. "Some, who don't know skiing, will look at fourth place and say, 'Oh, Moseley screwed up.' "
Saying the tricks in moguls skiing have become stagnant, the defending gold medalist said he couldn't bear to do the same tricks he did when he won in Nagano in 1998.
"I did that to qualify," he said with a shrug. "I backed off. But it's just not my style."
Once his spot on the Olympic team was assured with his World Cup win earlier this month, he began practicing the dinner roll with fervent intensity. He vowed to do the trick, which has him horizontal to the ground and rotating 720 degrees, to push the envelope in moguls.
"I do feel like I put together a successful campaign," he laughed. "It was very satisfying."
He said while times have gotten faster and skiers have gotten better at turning through bumps, the jumps have remained essentially the same for the past several years. It is the tricks, he points out, that entertain the crowd, that entice young skiers and keep veterans excited about the sport.
"It's progressed to a legitimate, more alpine-oriented sport," Moseley said. "But it's the creativity I consider stagnant." He didn't blame stagnation, but said he would not compete in any more World Cups.
Other skiers point out that Moseley may have put too much time and attention on learning the trick when it's only worth 12.5 percent of his total score.
"I think they're right in some ways," he said. "Moguls is (judged by) the whole run . . . I felt it was what I had to do to win, to set myself apart."
Even he laughs when asked about how much attention the move is getting from everyone else. It was the buzz among the spectators, the press and the other skiers.
"The trick itself has been it's own whole drama," he said.
And even though he didn't get on the podium he said he doesn't regret "throwing the roll."
"I think I'd definitely have had a more difficult time without a gold medal in my pocket," he said. "I really don't think I would have traded (the dinner roll) for a medal today."
E-MAIL: adonaldson@desnews.com
|
|
February 13, 2002
|
