Anders Jacobsen:He first retired than come back with a boom!

Anders Jacobsen:He first retired than come back with a boom! Anders Jacobsen! This is an athlete that during mydays as a volunteer in Pragelato. I had the honor to meet and be able to take a picture with.He is one of those people who has a certain sense of positivity out of the ordinary.Maybe I might be biased or maybe not, but the fact is thatAnders Jacobsen is really how you see it, smiling, cheerful, polite.

Photo credits Kathrin Müller © Skijumpingitaly

When at the end of the season 2010/2011 Jacobsen announced his retirement I thought that not only the Norwegian fans were saddened by the news but all those like me who love this sport made of passion, madness and a lot of adrenaline, knowing that the always smiling guy has taken the decision to say goodbye to the competitions. The following season began with a new coach for Norway, it also arrived the first World Cup title that was missing for years, and along with that toward the end of the 2011/2012 season it came also the news that the 27-year-old from Hønefoss was returning to ski jumping.There and then maybe no one (and maybe even the same Jacobsen) would have imagined how his return into the World Cup would have been. The return has started with small steps, from the work in the gym, to the one at the hills, ending up to win again, beginning with the national championships.

From there, the choice of national head coach Alexander Stöckl did not include Jacobsen immediately in the Norwegian national team for the upcoming World Cup. But slowly Jacobsen made his way back to the WC, and he also shook up Gregor Schlierenzauer at this year's Four Hills Tournament (event won by Jacobsen in the 2006/2007 season), where after winning the first two races in Oberstdorf and Garmisch, Jacobsen was leading the 4HT table. Only his second jump in Innsbruck (117.5 meters) made it impossible for him to win again the Tourneè and gave a 10pts lead to Schlierenzauer over Jacobsen that he maintained until the end of the Tourneè in Bischofshofen. But we have found this new determination in Jacobsen, one of the most beloved ski jumpers in the circuit, really surprising. So we are here to interview the Norwegian champion for the very first time!

Skijumpingitaly: Hello Anders! First of all, welcome back to ski jumping. How was it to come back to competitions and especially into the World Cup after a year off?

Anders Jacobsen: It was a fantastic feeling to once again be back on the hill with the best ski jumpers of the world. Nerve wrecking the first World cup.

SJI: What made you decide to come back? Is there anything in particular that you have missed most of all? Why did you need a pause from ski-jumping?

AJ: I needed a break to get some perspective in my life, and find my old self. See how lucky you are as an athlete to travel the world with good friends playing around in a crazy World Cup sport.

Photo credits Kathrin Müller © Skijumpingitaly

SJI: Did your break from ski-jumping get you back the motivation and passion for this sport?

AJ: I needed the break to get the passion back and to get the head on the right thoughts to be able to get back on the top.

SJI: We know that during your time off from the races you have participated at the TV program Skal vi danse and also took the commentary job on Norwegian TV. How was it to just talk about what you used to do yourself? What is the experience that you liked most dancing or commentary?

AJ: It’s for sure more fun to jump than to be on the other side of the camera, but it was a good experience and something that I can use later in life. The dance program was great fun and made me a little more free in front of a crowd.

SJI: We know that you became a father of a beautiful baby boy. How has making this new experience changed you? What kind of impact has it on you?

AJ: You know that ski jumping is just for fun. And real life and what’s important is at home.

SJI: Before your come back you have certainly talked to resume your competitive activity with the current coach Alexander Stöckl, what was your impression after you met him?

AJ: Alex is a great coach with a lot of qualities. He let everybody to be who they are and use their qualities.

SJI: How did you find the team spirit compared to the one that you left when you retired? Different? Better?

AJ: Team Spirit has always been strong in Norway, but now it’s amazing and very natural.

SJI: On what have you and Mr.Stöckl decided to work more? Any technical improvements?

AJ: I have still a lot of tasks at the hill but we try to take step by step together.

SJI: You obviously had no problems to adapt to the new rules regarding the suits. What do you think about it personally? How did you managed to it? Was it difficult at first?

AJ: I think the new rules are good, and for me it was easy to adapt. Sets the athlete in a better shape to be on the top.

SJI: Your return has delighted not only the Norwegian fans but also all the fans in general which like me love this sport, what's your relationship with the fans? Do you want to tell them something about you personally?

AJ: I really love to jump in front of a great crowd and a lot of fans, they are thankful.

SJI: Shortly before the World Cup when your coach has released the names of the ski jumpers that would have taken part of the national team for the upcoming winter season, yours was not among them, however, you did not take too much time to "recover" your place inside the national team. What was the secret?

AJ: Hard work and big dreams.

SJI: During the 61st Four Hills Tournament you have shown very clearly to be in great shape, winning two races in a row Oberstdorf and Garmisch (Editor’s note : Jacobsen has won also the competition in Zakopane in January) .Would you ever have imagined such a fine and interesting return for your career in terms of results?

AJ: Yes.

SJI: You had the victory of the Four-Hills-Tournament ahead but had to hand it to Gregor Schlierenzauer in the end. What did the Tournament bring to you personally?

AJ: A lot of joy. Good teamwork and a lot of emotion.

Photo credits Kathrin Müller © Skijumpingitaly

SJI: What's your goals now, starting from here until the end of the season? What do you definitely want to achieve?

AJ: I have a dream about the longest jump I the world.

SJI: Which competitions do you like most? Where do you love to jump?

AJ: The four hills, ski flying and Willingen.

SJI: How do you prepare yourself for the jumping- especially, when you have the pressure to be handled as a favorite?

AJ: Nothing special. I try to be myself in all that mess and prepare like usual with warm up and some technical things.

SJI: Use three words to describe ski-jumping.

AJ: Free, fun, Joy.

SJI: Let's go back to the roots. Who is your idol and when did you start with ski-jumping?

AJ: My idol when I started was Espen Bredesen, I started ski jumping when I was 8.

SJI: Last question: Is a latest news that also Janne Ahonen is thinking to make his comeback for the second time. Is really that hard for an athlete to stop for good?

AJ: If you have the passion for something. It’s hard to let go. Interview by Consuelo Conte [@KokkaMufc] Peggy Kierstan [@pikayartist]