Valenta's Olympic dreams turn on repeating miracle jump's twists and spins

For freestyle skier Aleš Valenta, the Winter Olympics in Turin are about one thing: the miraculous triple-somersault, five-twist jump for which he won Olympic gold four years ago. It has eluded him ever since.

"All that will count is the triple somersault with five twists," Valenta told The Prague Post just days before leaving for Turin, where he will try to defend his gold medal from the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in 2002. "This jump will win medals once again," he said.

The five-twister made then little-known Valenta into an overnight celebrity. He was the only Czech athlete to win gold in Salt Lake City.

"That jump has changed my life," he said.

Until the 2002 games, Valenta stayed in cheap hotels and ate canned food to save money when traveling to World Cup competitions. But the five-twister turned Valenta, the first man to land the jump, into a millionaire. Valenta is now the wealthiest Czech athlete competing in individual winter sports, making 10 million Kč ($420,000) a year in sponsorship deals alone.

"I know that some of the advantages that I've got are unbelievable," Valenta said.

Valenta, however, has failed to land the five-twister since Salt Lake City. But the skiing world is watching now to see if Valenta can pull it off in Turin and bring home the gold once again.

Falling flat

To prepare for the men's freestyle competition Feb. 23, Valenta recently tried the jump in a Feb. 5 World Cup competition in Špindlerův Mlýn.

Valenta landed on his back, which certainly did nothing to boost his confidence before the games. Even worse, he injured his left knee in the fall.

"In the air, he looked great," said Valenta's coach, Pavel Landa. "But the landing was not as good, unfortunately."

Valenta said the injury shouldn't slow him down in Turin. In fact, he said, the pain could help him concentrate.

"I always tend to be more precise in the air when I have an injury, in order to avoid even more pain on the landing," he said.

The right place, the right time

Valenta isn't bothered much by the fact that he hasn't stuck the five-twister since the last Winter Olympics. He said he is capable of landing the jump in Turin.

Valenta also doesn't seem too concerned that four of his opponents have learned the trick as well and insists that he has the same chance to succeed in Turin as he had before the Salt Lake City games.

"In fact, there won't only be five of us who can do the five-twister," he said. "Fifteen other jumpers will be ready to take the risk to succeed."

And Valenta said he isn't discouraged by the flop in Špindlerův Mlýn.

"If I start being cautious, it would be my end," he said. "There would be no point in going to Turin."

Landa is just as confident.

"We'll tune it up and show it at the right time, at the right spot — Turin," he said.

Czech athletes still hold out hope after their slow start yields only one silver medal

The Czech Olympic team got off to a bittersweet start at the Turin games.

Cross-country skier Kateřina Neumannová, one of the hottest medal contenders, lived up to expectations, while others, including ski jumper Jakub Janda, foundered.

Neumannová won a silver medal Feb. 12 in the women's 15-kilometer (9-mile) skiathlon, the first of three races she'll compete in. Neumannová battled for the gold with Estonia's Kristina Smigun until the end of the race, when she lost in the final sprint by 1.9 seconds.

Neumannová won two medals in each of the previous two Winter Olympics but has never stood atop the podium. She is hoping to bring home gold this year, and she's still got two chances.

Neumannová will compete in the 10-kilometer race Feb. 16 and the 30-kilometer race Feb. 24.

"I'll do my very best to do one better in the other races here," Neumannová said.

Ski jumper Jakub Janda failed to live up to his high ambitions in his first competition in Turin. Janda, who has dominated the ski jumping World Cup series this season, finished 19th in the Mid Hill competition Feb. 12.

Janda has only one more chance to bring home a medal, the Big Hill competition Feb. 18.

Another medal hopeful, mogul skier Nikola Sudová, finished sixth on Feb. 11, failing to match the performance that won her a silver medal at last year's World Championship.

In the men's skiathlon Feb. 12, cross-country skier Lukáš Bauer came close to winning a medal. He was in the lead for most of the race, but ended up finishing 10th. Bauer will also compete in the men's 15-kilometer race Feb. 17.

Speed skater Martina Sáblíková, who carried the Czech flag during the opening ceremony of the games, has so far given the team's most surprising performance. Speed skating does not have much of a tradition in this country — there aren't even any speed skating rinks here — but Sáblíková finished seventh in the women's 3-kilometer race Feb. 12, her first Olympic appearance.

Sáblíková said she wants to have a spot on the podium after the 5-kilometer race Feb. 25.

Dreams of victory precede hockey team's first faceoff

The national hockey team may not be allowed to arrive in Turin in the luxury bus that drove it to gold medals at the World Championship in Vienna last year, but the team's management insists that won't stop the players' drive to an Olympic medal.

"The Italians didn't want us to bring the 'golden' coach that we took to Vienna, apparently for sponsorship reasons," said Martin Urban, general secretary of the Czech Ice Hockey Association. "But it won't be a major obstacle for our team. ... Our only goal is a medal, and we'll be ready to overcome any obstacles on the way."

The team faced a few speed bumps before its opening game against Germany Feb. 15.

The biggest was the knee injury that sidelined New York Rangers forward Petr Průcha. The 21-year-old is one of the best rookies in the National Hockey League this season.

His spot has been filled by New Jersey Devils forward Patrik Eliáš, who wasn't in the original Olympic lineup because he missed most of last season due to illness.

The team — and the country — has the highest expectations for New York Rangers winger Jaromír Jágr. Jágr had 40 goals and 48 assists in the NHL this year and was voted the league's most productive player.

"Jágr should be the leader, but all of our other players will be good, too," said Alois Hadamczik, the team's head coach. "Even the Canadians think we're hot contenders in the Olympic tournament, and we want to live up to the high expectations."