August 23, 2009 (Lillehammer, Norway) – Sarah Hendrickson of the Visa U.S. women’s ski jumping team went 2-for-2 in podium finishes over the weekend in Continental Cup events in Lillehammer, Norway. On Friday, the 15-year-old took third place; Saturday, she improved to second on the strength of a 97-meter effort that easily topped the rest of the field on the second jump of the competition.

“After the takeoff I knew right away that it was a good jump and it was going to go far,” Hendrickson said. “Lindsey (Van) was right after me in the last round and told me after she jumped that, ‘I was so excited for you going 97 meters, I couldn’t concentrate on my jump.’”

Hendrickson’s score of 241 points wasn’t quite enough to catch Norway’s Line Jahr, who totaled 260 points for the victory. Japan’s Yuuki Itoh finished third. Van, the reigning World Champion, finished fifth. American Alissa Johnson finished 15th. Lillehammer was the first competition for these two veteran jumpers in nearly six months.
Hendrickson has posted the most consistent results of her Continental Cup career this month in Europe. She has six straight top-12 finishes since Aug. 9, with four of those in the top 6.

“I think just competing for the last two weeks has really put me in the mode to jump well in the competitions,” Hendrickson said. “I have been training hard for a while and I have been concentrating on having good jumps one after another, and it has paid off.”

The women’s Continental Cup now breaks for competition until Dec. 5 when athletes take to the jumps of Vikersund, Norway. Regardless of the break, though, Hendrickson has the winning formula to staying consistent: “Just training hard and when I do get to the next competition remembering the jumps that I had and try to do the same,” she said.