Polish ski jumper Adam Malysz suffered a bad crash recently in Zakopane, but he’s already back on the hill. We caught up with the former champion to find out how he’s doing and what else he has planned…
First of all, how are you feeling? Can you let your fans know how your recovery is going?
I'm almost back in shape. Fortunately, I didn't break or strain anything... just a few bruises. [In fact, Adam was back at the last FIS event in Klingenthal, Germany, and he finished seventh!]
Did you realise during the jump in Zakopane that it was going to end badly?
It's an extreme sport and you have to take into account that sometimes there may be some complications. You just hope that they're as few as possible.
Congratulations on your win last Friday, though. It must have been good to get the victory after nearly four years…
It's just indescribable! An amazing feeling… I hope I'll experience more such emotions this season.
Apparently the atmosphere in Zakopane was very good and many Poles turned up to support all of the athletes…
It was priceless. This is the best crowd in the world – you just have to experience it on the spot, in Zakopane. I can only be thankful that I have such fans!
'Kamil Stoch is an athlete who can achieve a lot'
Kamil Stoch also achieved a famous victory over the weekend. Do you see him emulating your successive World Cup wins or multiple World Championship titles?
Definitely, yes. He has very good technical, physical and now probably also psychological parameters to practise this sport. Kamil is an athlete who can achieve a lot! [And he is doing so – Stoch won again in Klingenthal.]
Samo Vidic/Red Bull Photofiles
Who else is coming through the ranks in Polish ski jumping that might one day win big events?
We have many such athletes! However, our training system is unreliable. If we don't change it, there may be problems with noticing talented athletes. If we manage to open a real ski jumping school in Poland, then maybe it's going to be like in Austria. There, if one jumper is not in shape, 10 others can replace him right away. I hope we can achieve something like that in our country.
Who do you think will win this season’s World Cup? Can Simon Ammann close on Thomas Morgenstern or is Thomas too far ahead?
Who? [Laughs.] Thomas Morgenstern has rocketed to the top this year. There is no better jumper, so I wish him every success in doing so!
Do you still hope to compete at the next Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014?
That's a difficult question. Sochi is too far away for me...
How do you usually relax away from the hill?
Music, off-road driving, walks, my garden and working in it are my ways to relax.
'I hope in 10 years’ time I won't have changed and I'll still be myself'
If you hadn’t become a top ski jumper, what do you think you would have done as a career?
I don't know... I'd be a football player or maybe some other kind of worker. I never had problems with deciding what I wanted to do, because I've been jumping since I was six.
What do you consider as your ‘favourite’ achievement?
They're all equal for me. Each of them brought me a lot of fun, satisfaction and incredible joy. For me, the most important thing is the entire picture rather than single contests.
When you were awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta last year, was there a big ceremony with the President of Poland where you received your medal?
It was a very modest but a very pleasant ceremony.
What do you see yourself doing in 10 years’ time?
I hope in 10 years’ time I'll still be engaged in sports. Maybe not ski jumping any more but something that will give me a lot of pleasure and health. I hope I won't have changed and I'll still be myself – cheerful, truly optimistic and a happy person. I'll be 10 years older – but also more experienced.
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