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Switzerland leaves 44-year-old ski-jump great Simon Ammann off Winter Olympics team

Switzerland leaves 44-year-old ski-jump great Simon Ammann off Winter Olympics team | iNFOnews.ca
FILE - Simon Ammann of Switzerland shows off his two Olympic gold medals after receiving his second gold medal for his performance in the K120 ski jump in Salt Lake City, on Feb. 13, 2002. (AP Photo/Tom Hanson, CP, FILE)

BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Switzerland left 44-year-old ski-jumping great Simon Ammann out of a team of 175 athletes picked Monday for the Milan Cortina Olympics that includes three defending champions.

At the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, he was a double gold medalist whose Harry Potter-like spectacles and boyish charm led to him being a studio guest on David Letterman’s late-night show.

Ammann competed at all seven Winter Games since 1998 in Nagano, Japan and also won two gold medals at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

An eighth selection would have tied him with the Winter Games record held jointly by Japanese ski jumper Noriaki Kasai and German speed skater Claudia Pechstein, according to the history site Olympedia.

Kasai took silver at age 41 in the large hill event at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, where Ammann placed 23rd.

The Swiss selectors, instead, will take to Italy the 19-year-old Felix Trunz, who was not born when Ammann won at Salt Lake.

Ammann has a best result of 20th in a World Cup event this season and last finished on a podium in January 2018.

Alpine ski superstar Marco Odermatt is a standout selection and shapes as a strong medal contender in downhill and super-G. He will also defend the giant slalom title he won in China four years ago.

The other defending champion skiers are Corinne Suter in women’s downhill and Ryan Regez in men’s skicross.

The Milan Cortina Olympics open Feb. 6.

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AP Winter Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Switzerland leaves 44-year-old ski-jump great Simon Ammann off Winter Olympics team | iNFOnews.ca
Simon Ammann of Switzerland in action during the men’s team flying trial round at the Nordic skiing/ski jumping World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany, Sunday Jan. 25, 2026. (Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa via AP)
Switzerland leaves 44-year-old ski-jump great Simon Ammann off Winter Olympics team | iNFOnews.ca
Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt listens to the national anthem on the podium after winning an alpine ski, men’s World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)
Switzerland leaves 44-year-old ski-jump great Simon Ammann off Winter Olympics team | iNFOnews.ca
Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men’s World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

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