Simon Ammann strikes first gold of Vancouver 2010

From Sportsbeat Staff, in Whistler

 SIMON Ammann set a hill record with his second jump to strike the first gold medal of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

GOLDEN START: Switzerland's Simon Ammann sets a hill record of 108m to score the first gold of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver (Getty Images)

The 28-year old World Cup leader gave himself a 2.5 point cushion after the first round of the normal hill competition at the Whistler Olympic Park before extending it to 7 with his second jump.

The Swiss jumper scooped normal and large hill gold in Salt Lake City eight years ago and was joint favourite with Austrian youngster Gregor Schlierenzauer coming into his fourth Games.

"I have no words to describe the situation," said Ammann. 

"It's crazy, I tried so hard and I focused so much on my competitors here. But everyone here is at their best.

"It's my third Gold medal. This is insane.

"It is difficult to tell in words how I feel. It was almost too intense, the moment of victory.

I knew how to do it and I could stay just a little bit more focused than the others."
 
"It is unbelievable. It is difficult to calm down and keep focused on jumping. I've been in the situation before, but I can't believe it."

The 20-year old Schlierenzauer, who scored normal hill silver at the World Championships in Liberec last year, failed to live up to the hype in his first Olympic appearance, finishing third overall on 268.

The World Cup champion's second jump of 106.5m was the second longest of the competition but his first round score of 128 left him with too much ground to recover.

Instead, four time world champion Adam Malysz was Ammann's closest rival in Vancouver, jumping 105m with his second jump to score 269.5 overall.

But there was no catching Ammann as the Swiss set a hill record of 108m with his second jump to score an overall total of 276.5m and claim his third Olympic gold.

While Schlierenzauer recovered to capture his first career Olympic medal, the remaining members of the Austrian team, placed third, fourth and fifth in the world rankings, disappointed in Vancouver.

Large hill Olympic champion Thomas Morgenstern lay fourth after the first round but slipped to eighth after a second round score of 128.5.

Meanwhile, normal hill world champion Wolfgang Loitzl finished 11th while Four Hills champion Andreas Kofler could only manage 19th place.

IN PICTURES: Austria's Simon Ammann captures the first gold of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver

AS IT HAPPENS: Day two from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver