IRON MOUNTAIN, MI — Ski jumping is not for those with the faint of heart. Flying off a jump, catching a ton of air, and then landing at full speed.
Athletes are gathering in Iron Mountain at the Kiwanis Ski Club ahead of this weekend's Continental Cup.
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"There's no other feeling in the world," said Tony Benzie.
It doesn't matter if you're in your 50s like Benzie, who made it to the Olympic trials in the late 80s and early 90s.
"I started jumping in Iron Mountain when I was 2 ½ (in) 1973," he said.
Or Jacob Larson, who is now in high school and was looking for something to do during the COVID-19 pandemic, when basketball was shut down.
"A couple of my friends did it, and I kind of got into it with them," Larson said.
It takes a certain mindset to ski jump.
"Not everybody has the confidence to do it."
But how does one even find out if they have the confidence to ski jump? The competitors say it's like any sport – you build up to it.
"I started on the small hills, and I didn't really – I wasn't scared of them, and I gradually moved up to bigger and bigger hills and just began loving it," said Larson, who will not be competing at the event but will be a forerunner, someone who jumps in between competitors to make sure the course is maintained.
When it comes to success in the sport, Benzie says it all starts with your takeoff from the jump, creating as much power as you can.
"Push down as hard as you possibly can, get your skis out into that and just stick your nose out there and freaking let it eat," said Benzie.
And when you're airborne:
"Imagine you're a bird," Benzie said. "You feel like you are weightless and you are flying."
Olympic ski jumping may be over, but the next best competitors and possible future Olympians are in Iron Mountain competing over the next few days.
"The guys that just missed your Olympic Games are the ones that will be here this weekend," Benzie said.
If you'd like to watch the event, it will be taking place through Sunday.
