Winter Olympics: Pedersen a serious flyer for Britain

Forget Eddie the Eagle, Glynn the leap aims to be a genuine contender for the land of his blood

Winter Olympics:

Games of celebration and remembrance

Pedersen a serious flyer for Britain

Anni raises the glamour stakes

Notebook

Guide to the 12 sports

The Great Britain squad

Schedule and TV guide

External link

Salt Lake 2002 - official site

Glynn Pedersen did not have to compete for Britain. By the age of 16, the ski jumper from Thunder Bay was already embarrassing the best competitors Canada could offer by beating them in training, as his coach, Jeremy Baig, can testify. Baig, five times national champion, was one of those senior men made to feel awkward by the youngster. "I saw his potential right away,'' Baig recalled.

So why is it then, that when the 20-year-old Pedersen stands atop the 90 metres hill in Utah Olympic Park today for a qualifying competition postponed from Friday because of high winds, he will carry the Union Jack rather than the Maple Leaf?

His decision certainly had nothing to do with the relative traditions of both countries in this event. In the early 1980s, Canada had two of the best jumpers in the world in Horst Bulau, who won 13 World Cup events, and Steve Collins, who was junior world champion.

Britain's ski jump tradition, by contrast, resided in the loveable loser that was Eddie Edwards, the plasterer whose comic manner and pebbled specs (he always claimed he would have jumped further if they hadn't misted up) brought him lasting fame despite his placing 58th and last at the 1988 Calgary Olympics.

Pedersen's motivation was deep, as Baig recalls. "Even when he was 15 his dream was to compete at the Olympic Games for Britain,'' he said. "He wanted to show that people with British blood in their veins can fly off those hills.''

Pedersen's veins are filled exclusively with British blood given that his mother, Mary, was born in Stirling and his father, Glynn Senior, comes from Hebden Bridge.

But in order to qualify to compete as a Brit, Pedersen had to put his burgeoning career on hold for a full year. He looked upon the hiatus positively, something he seems to do habitually, regarding it as an opportunity to concentrate on his high school studies.

Now, however, Pedersen's high school days are behind him and, he hopes, a rewarding career as a British Olympian lies ahead of him.

Britain can be very pleased that gaining a competitor who, in contrast to Edwards, had the opportunity to grow up with his event – Pedersen lives within walking distance of the huge practice hills of Thunder Bay which were built in the run up to the 1988 Games.

He vividly recalls his first sight of the ski jumpers operating there. "I took one look at all these guys floating down the hill and I thought 'that's amazing. I want to try that out'.''

Putting aside some early anxieties, Pedersen – raised with three sisters – progressed rapidly to the point where he was making life uncomfortable for his seniors.

Baig believes his charge has all the mental resources he needs to make the grade. "I believe he can go on to become one of the best in the world,'' he said. "Right now it's just a matter of him getting experience. He's got to learn to cope with the anxieties and difficulties of competition on the main circuit.''

Pedersen's learning curve in the last three months has been steep as he has travelled the world with Baig on a shoestring budget in order to meet the British Olympic Association's qualification criterion of being capable of finishing in the top half of the Games field.

He achieved his aim by finishing above the fold in the Continental Cup event, setting a 120 metres hill personal best of 113.5 metres in the process. He also holds the British record on the 90 metres hill having achieved 85 metres, five metres further than the record James Lambert set in 1994.

Pedersen comes into today's qualifier – from which the top 50 go through to a final immediately after – in 50th place, having managed a best of 81.5 metres in the two days of training jumps earlier this week. Although he is reasonably placed at this stage, he professed dissatisfaction on the second of day, when he only managed 79. "There were a few little nerves before I was about to jump so maybe that was what was wrong,'' he said, adding that he thought his performance could be improved by marginally delaying his take-off.

For today's competition he is hoping a new jumping suit – supposedly more likely to help him hang in the air – will give him the necessary lift.

"I'm still young and learning," said Pedersen, "and I know I can jump a lot further. At this stage of my career a top half finish in Salt Lake would be a good result. By the next Olympics in Turin I hope to be looking for a medal.''

One thing he won't be looking for, despite the helpful prompting of at least one British newspaper, is a nickname to place him in the tradition of Eddie the Eagle. "Glynn the Gull'' and Glynn The Glider'' have been suggested for him – and very sensibly he has rejected both. "I think just Glynn is pretty good for me,'' he said. It could end up being pretty good for Britain too.