August 05, 2012 (Park City, UT) – Olympian Anders Johnson (Park City, UT) successfully defended his normal hill U.S. Championship title, and took his second win of the weekend at the 2013 U.S. Ski Jumping Championships at the Utah Olympic Park. Jessica Jerome (Park City, UT) won the women’s normal hill title, finishing the weekend two-for-two after clinching the large hill crown yesterday. The win boosts Jerome’s U.S. Championship title tally to 10, while Johnson reaches his career fifth.

“It feels good to be the national champion. I’ve been working hard this last summer and changed my training style a little bit. I’ve been working with some past injuries that have really been lingering but I feel healthy again and I feel strong and for the first time in a while I feel like my jumping is actually starting to progress. I’ve had some good results this summer and a good weekend here and I think it’s a good starting point for the next two years,” said Johnson.

Canada’s Alexandra Pretorius and Makenzie Boyd-Clowes won the competitions for the second day in a row but the U.S. Champions are determined based on the top American finish.

“To sweep the whole weekend gives me a little bit of confidence. I know my jumping isn’t amazing right now but today I actually felt better, so I was happy with that. And I’m excited for my 10th national title – double digits,” commented Jerome.

“This is always a tricky time of year because we never know how anyone else in the world is jumping. I think we have an idea but we never actually know until we get to competition. A lot of times I try not to expect too much but I know where my jumping is and where I can be, so I’m just going to try to keep building off of that.”

U.S. Ski Jumping Championships took place in the summer for the fifth straight year while the ski jumping World Cup season begins Nov. 23 in Lillehammer, Norway.

Results (brief)

Men
1. Makenzie Boyd-Clowes, Canada (98.5m, 95m) 254.5
2. Mathew Rowley, Canada (98m, 91m) 241.5
3. Anders Johnson, Park City, UT (93.5m, 92.5m) 239.5

Women
1. Alexandra Pretorius, Canada (91m, 94.5m) 230.5
2. Jessica Jerome, Park City, UT (88m, 92.5m) 222
3. Taylor Henrich, Canada (86.5m, 89m) 212

Full results HERE.