The 40-year-old from Saint Gall has completed his individual program for his 7th Games in Beijing. But the passing years do not change him and his interviews are still as interesting as ever.
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The Swiss in the air from a springboard he adores.
It’s almost -15°, but the Toggenburg jumper is still available. He took care to dissect his two jumps which allowed him to complete his individual program in 25th place, certainly far from his secret hopes, but in accordance with his physical abilities of forty.
While Marius Lindvik becomes Olympic champion, “Simi” explains his happiness to be there in Swiss-German, in French and finally in English, for almost half an hour. It’s not always easy to follow, but here’s pretty much all he had to say, after being careful to explain everything he wanted to explain, in detail.
What are your emotions after this last individual competition at the Games?
It was a day at the end of which I didn’t get the result I wanted, but with the right determination and very stable jumps. If I wanted to be able to attack even more, I should have been in top form. The jumps I made are just one piece of what I would like to do. But it was too late… I realized that before I took off. I was very calm, focused on jumping like that. I was 100% in control. It was important for me to feel myself, to put myself completely in the game, in my jump.
Afterwards, it’s clear that it’s hard when you realize that you missed a little something. I also realized that my accident last summer in training had upset my plans and all my planning for this season. I never thought I could jump like I did today (editor’s note: Saturday). It’s also a different thing to come here, with all this stress and all this emotion. At the Olympic Games, we have highs that are higher and lows that are lower. I’m happy, because I achieved everything I wanted in terms of my jumps.
To still be here at the bottom of this springboard today is incredible…
Yes, but it’s hard to take a step back and answer you on that right now. Maybe I’ll manage to do that later. What I can say is that I am here, at the bottom of a super springboard. I love it! It’s great… We always have the feeling that we don’t have enough energy. At World Cup venues, sometimes you go slow, sometimes you don’t have enough strength. Other times I hadn’t recovered enough before jumping. It’s always a fight.
For a long time in my career, take-offs were made with energy, not with pure force. Young people today, they jump in force. That’s why it’s difficult for me to get to the top. I am proud, because I will be able to tell my children about this gigantic springboard. I am a happy man. We still have a team competition and it’s something that has always given me trouble. If I miss, it could handicap my teammates. But those jumps gave me confidence, because it works well.