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25 years ago, Gian Simmen came up trumps at the Nagano Olympic Games.
Daniel LeuLeaf Maker Sports
Mr. Simmen, what are you doing on February 12?
Gian Simmen: I do not know that yet. But in the days before that, I will definitely conjure up my Olympic run from 1998 in the pipe and put it on Instagram on February 12, because that has been a tradition for years.
February 12 marks the 25th anniversary of her Olympic gold in the halfpipe. Do you still have the whole run?
I managed to do it last year.
Why are you doing that?
I want to honor this special day and, of course, also prove to myself that I still have what it takes.
Be honest: What would still be possible today with your performance in 1998?
(laughs) Nothing, you wouldn’t even have the slightest chance of qualifying for the Olympics.
When you were a child, you first went skiing. Could you have done it in this sport too?
No, I rode like a badly formed horn sled because I just couldn’t warm up to those two long slats. When I broke my thumb skiing at the age of ten, I knew: This is not for me.
So how did you get into snowboarding?
In the summer of 1988 I stood on a skateboard for the first time in my life. It was love at first sight. You could jump and corner with it. That was my nature. For my twelfth birthday in 1989 I asked for money to rent a snowboard. When the money was given to me, I went into the shop and came out with a Crazy Banana snowboard, bright yellow with black writing. After that I went to snowboard school for a week and it was all over me since then.
This is Gian Simmen
The Grisons snowboarder won gold in the halfpipe at the 1998 Olympics premiere in Nagano. In 2001 and 2002 he became world champion. In 2013 he ended his career.
Today he works in marketing at Jungfrau Railways, is responsible for the snow park in winter and organizes events. He also works as an expert for SRF at snowboard competitions.
The 45-year-old lives with his family in Krattigen BE. His four sons both ski and snowboard.
The Grisons snowboarder won gold in the halfpipe at the 1998 Olympics premiere in Nagano. In 2001 and 2002 he became world champion. In 2013 he ended his career.
Today he works in marketing at Jungfrau Railways, is responsible for the snow park in winter and organizes events. He also works as an expert for SRF at snowboard competitions.
The 45-year-old lives with his family in Krattigen BE. His four sons both ski and snowboard.
Were you already dreaming of a career as a professional athlete?
No, it was about a way of life. It was boards that meant the world. When one of our clique went to Zurich, he would buy all the snowboard magazines there. In it we discovered tricks that we then tried to imitate. At that time, my parents ran a hotel in Arosa. In winter we built kickers all over the garden and jumped over them. We also always knew where in Arosa there were big snow mounds after the snow had been cleared and where it hadn’t been graveled yet. We used all of this to let off steam with the board.
Legend has it that they also trained at night.
Later, when I went to school in Chur, I always came back in the evening when it was dark. So I set up some construction headlights so I could drive late at night. But then I got into trouble with my father.
Why?
My school grades were not very good. Then he said to me: “If your grades don’t improve, the snowboard is gone.” It was clear to me: get good grades home and then you can leave the spotlights on until 10 p.m.
So how did Gian Simmen become an athlete?
For years I’d shoveled every kicker and half pipe I used. At some point I said to myself: If I go to competitions, someone else will do it for me. That’s super practical. In November 1996 I finally decided to turn pro.
What is striking: Until Nagano 1998 you had hardly any success.
My first year was a huge disaster, but I enjoyed traveling and competing across Europe for a winter. Things went much better at the beginning of the Olympic winter, and all of a sudden it was said: Little Gian can go to Nagano.
What was your destination when you traveled to Japan?
I had never won an international competition before. That’s why I just didn’t want to finish last. Being second to last would have been okay.
It turned out differently. After run 1 you were already in the lead.
Back then you had to do two runs and the results were added up. Even after run 1 I still thought: If I can do well in the second run, I’ll end up somewhere in the middle. During the second run, the legendary picture was taken of my hat and ski goggles flying off. Incidentally, this has only happened to me once in my entire career. When I got to the bottom, I had to wait a long time for the rating. It wasn’t all digital back then, the display was like it used to be at the train stations. At some point it rattled, all names slipped down one, and my name suddenly appeared at the top.
What were you thinking at that moment?
I finally won a competition. I didn’t realize for a long time that I was now an Olympic champion.
But then all the hype started.
From one second to the next you’re in the middle of the mill. You are handed a cell phone with your parents on the phone. They just cried, which I didn’t understand at all. Then it was off to the Olympic Village for the awards ceremony. But that had to be postponed because the German winner, Nicola Thost, was unable to sizzle during the doping test. So we went on to the House of Switzerland. I was so hungry there that I marched into the kitchen myself and ate a sausage with Röschti right there. I thought the whole time: Let me finally enjoy that I won a competition for the first time ever. That’s why I would have preferred to go into the forest alone, but that wasn’t possible.
They then wanted to fly directly to Hawaii.
As a medalist, you are obliged to fly home and present yourself to the fans there. I resisted it, but had no choice. So I decided to fly to Zurich and one day later from there to Hawaii.
How was the reception in Zurich?
Before I was led into the arrivals hall, Beni Thurnheer came up to me and said: «We’ll be live in a moment. Don’t be shy and take the gum out of your mouth during the show.”
Did you follow this?
Naturally. Beni was the greatest. If he says so, you do it.
At the time, you also attracted attention with your sayings: “64 kilograms of Bündnerfleisch” or “1.74 meters tall, crooked nose, protruding ears and a stupid flap.”
I’ve never had media training, so I’m just that. The media, of course, took it up gratefully. I could just say sentences and was also a bit funny, cheeky and different. I was then fully involved in the Rössli game and did a lot. As a result, what I loved most was neglected: snowboarding. Before Nagano my agenda was empty and after that it was full, but unfortunately not with snowboarding. During that time I realized how much I missed boarding.
You made good money for that.
But I always stayed true to myself. Once Ovaltine wanted to sponsor me. I then discussed it with my brothers and colleagues for a long time. They wanted to pay me as much as my colleagues would earn in two years. But I just didn’t like Ovaltine. So I rejected what the others didn’t understand.
They continued until 2013. What actually happened between 1998 and your resignation?
some. Two world titles, a big disappointment at the 2002 Olympics, various World Cup victories all over the world, a few injuries, numerous video and photo recordings, a life as a Cervelat celebrity (laughs) and the most important thing: I got to know my current wife, Petra.
They have four sons who are now between 7 and 14 years old. But you as a couple also had to digest a few private strokes of fate.
Petra had several miscarriages. It was particularly bad in 2010.
What happened there?
My wife was nine months pregnant. We were at a friends wedding in Samedan. Suddenly she said, ‘Something’s wrong. I can’t feel my baby anymore.” We then drove straight to the hospital. There we were informed that the baby was dead. Doctors then recommended that if you wanted more children, it would still make sense to give birth to the dead baby naturally. Therefore, the doctors induced labor, and Petra gave birth to Jonina Natalina. 2500 grams heavy and 45 centimeters tall. It was like a normal birth. A perfect little girl, only it was dead quiet. I was then allowed to hold my dead daughter in my arms.
May I ask how that felt?
You can ask because it’s important to talk about it. Fate like this happens more often than you think. So it shouldn’t be a taboo subject. My daughter was very cold. Of course, at such a moment, a world collapses. The hole you fall into is huge.
How often do you ask yourself the question why?
Very often. From a medical point of view, the answer is simple: Jonina died due to an acute placenta detachment and therefore suddenly had no oxygen supply. It was just bad luck that it hit us. But the question of why doesn’t get you any further, it destroys you. Depending on your point of view, there is no answer or 1000 of them.
At that time they already had a two-year-old son, Niculin. How did he deal with it?
At the time, my wife and I flew to the hospital in Interlaken with the lifeless baby. There Niculin was allowed to hug his sister, pet her and say goodbye. How children are at that age: For Niculin it was always clear that his sister is now back in heaven, but from now on will always accompany us as a guardian angel. He keeps this idea to this day. Then there was also an abdication, and Jonina got a grave. That is still very important to us today.
They then had three more children. I assume that after such an experience one is afraid.
Our second son Florin was born in 2011. I was at the Laax Open as a co-commentator when Petra called me in the 31st week of pregnancy and said: «I have spotting. I think the birth is about to begin.” I then drove to the hospital in Bern. When we were in the delivery room and I looked at the surveillance monitor, suddenly there was a straight line. I totally panicked until the nurse told me this was normal. When the baby slides into the birth canal, the signal just disappears for a moment. When Florin was born a good two months premature but healthy and immediately started screaming, it was a liberating moment.
Many couples are broken by a stroke of fate like the one you experienced. How did you manage to stay together?
We gave each other the space it took to process that. We were very considerate of each other and went through it together. But we too had our crises. In such a situation, it doesn’t take much for an argument to arise. A “Hey, how’s it?” can cause a ruckus at the wrong moment. Because then the other says: «How can you ask such a question? You can see I’m not feeling well.” My experience as an athlete also helped me.
What do you mean?
As an athlete, you learn about victories and defeats. These experiences will help you, even if they are of course not 100 percent comparable. And do you know what was the biggest reason we stayed together?
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Because we love each other. It’s that simple sometimes.