Lowell Whiteman School

Your average Whiteman student doesn’t make a big deal about it – but for the last few years, they had a world class athlete in their classes. If only they knew what a big deal he is in Europe!

Clint got started in ski jumping when he was five. “I used to be an alpine skier (I started racing when I was 3 or 4), my brother Rob was also a racer. He started ski jumping when I was 5 years old and he kind of got me into it.”

When Clint first strapped those huge skis on, he said, “I couldn’t do anything with them. But I kept jumping and ski racing for a while and at the ‘ripe old age of 8′ I really focused on jumping. My first Junior Olympics was when I was eleven and I was 2nd in the team event with Johnny Spillane. Two years later, when I was thirteen, I won every event in the Junior Olympics. Then, RMD (Rocky Mountain Division) or Steamboat jumpers brought back gold in every division of which there are 23. That was a great year!”

At age 15 , Clint went on to win the National Championships in Steamboat. Then he was just involved in World Cup and Continental Cup competitions. In 2001-02, he made the Olympic Team and got his first Top 10 Result in the World Cup. At the time, that was the first top 10 for Americans since 1996. Clint is proudest of that.

As a Whiteman student, Clint had an unbelievable opportunity, he was out there there competing with professionals at age 19 and had been doing it since he was 15. On any given day in the winter, Clint could be in Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Poland, Czech Republic, and Japan. This was a heck of a way to spend his Senior year and yes, when he got back from all this competition, he had to make up what he missed in school.

Looking forward to the next Olympic games, Clint still has fond memories of the last ones. Olympic training in 2002 was constant, especially over the summer. Clint was non-chalant about going to the Olympics, “there are a few other kids my age in Europe that are skiing,” and so it was no big deal, he says.

When asked how does school fit into all this, Clint answered “that’s the hard part.” He says some days he felt overwhelmed with school work because “every single night you have to worry about waxing skis, getting prepared for the next day as well as homework. While he was going through this hectic schedule, he said, “Lowell Whiteman School is definitely helping because the teachers work with you on the schedules and when things need to be turned in and it helps to have smaller classes so you can work directly with teachers.”

Even at the start of his career, Clint wasn’t put off by all the press he gets. In America, he points out, few people even know what ski jumping is all about. “We have been having to do a lot of interviews and you get good at it – especially when you’re talking to the European reporters. They don’t speak English so you have to explain things a lot more. Ski jumping hasn’t been a big thing in the press but now with Clint Jones and Alan Alborn (age 21) who are consistently in the top 10, even Americans are paying attention to the sport.

“It’s hard,” Clint says, “because it’s the oldest sport in Steamboat, you’d think there would be more people paying attention to it here and in America. In Europe, people go to the bars to watch ski jumping instead of football. But it just isn’t well known here and I would like to help change that.”

He laughs, “When we go out walking on the streets in Europe, people come and talk to us, and we come back here and no one knows us. They ask us, ski jumping? Is that where you do back flips?”

Press Release – PLANICA, Slovenia (Feb. 20) – Ski jumper Clint Jones (Steamboat Springs, CO) jumped 171 and 169.5 meters (306.1 points) despite steady snow and intermittent winds Friday to finish 23rd in the first of two days of individual competition at the Ski-flying World Championship, a non-World Cup. The championship is a four-jumps contest spread over two days; Germany’s George Spaeth led the opening day with jumps of 203.5 and 225 meters for 423.2 points.

Season 2005/06 – Clint was 32nd in normal hill at Oberstdorf, Germany. In 2005 Clint finished 67th in World Cup circuit. At the US Championships, he won silver in large hill and normal hill

Season 2004/05 – Clint set a record at Lake Placid’s K90 ski jum of 104 meters 7/04 and won the Chevy Trucks 90-meter Summer Ski jump with 236 point. He was joined on the podium by past Whiteman student Tommy Schwall. Summer, 2004, Clint is named to the U.S. national Team for the 5th year in a row. 19th in Courchevel/FRA, FIS Summer Grand Prix – 26th and 27th in Harracov/CZE, Nationals 2005, 2nd on both hills behind Lodwick.

News Update 2003/04 – “Jones continues to battle the inconsistencies most young ski jumpers face, but he also continues to flash moments of outstanding jumping which keep Coach Kari Ylianttila optimistic about the Coloradoan, a 2002 Olympian at just 17. He was on the podium three times in the 2002 Summer Grand Prix but had problems finding the handle on his jumping technique once last season got underway. Still, he finished with five more top-30s, including another top-15 and another top-20 result.”

Season 2002-03 – Clint was injured while coming into a landing in 2002/03. “It was in training before the first world cup and I jumped with just a little too much speed and out-jumped the hill and landed on my stomach where it was too flat. For awhile, it was hard doing physical training and I got sick that same week which lasted the whole season.” But he admits, overcoming hardships and dealing with the physical part of it is part of being an athlete – he doesn’t seem to mind.

2003 Worlds– 32nd in K95, 40th in K120. 2002 Olympics – 42nd in K12. 2001 Worlds – 37th in K90, 38th in K120.

5th and 2nd in Summer World Cup, Hinterzarten, Germany

2nd, Summer World Cup, Innsbruck, Austria

2nd, Summer World Cup, Courchevel, France

6th & 9th, Summer World Cup, Lahti, Finland

2nd in Overall, Summer Grand Prix

Season 2003-04

13th in Kuusamo, World Cup Ski Jumping

25th in Hakuba, World Cup, Japan

23rd World Championships

Lots of finishes in the 30’s – “It was a disappointing year; we have a lot of changes in the team, new coaching…Alan Alborn came out of retirement to compete in 2003/04. Motivation started to improve results next year should be better.”

Season 2001-02

01/02 1st Innsbruck AUT K120 COC

01/02 2nd Steamboat Springs, USA K114 Gold Cup

01/02 9th Kuusamo, FIN, K120 COC

01/02 9th Kuopio, FIN K120 World Cup

01/02 12th Kuopio, FIN K120 World Cup

01/02 13th Kuusamo, FIN K1wo COC

01/02 31st Neustadt, GER, K120 World Cup

01/02 32nd Engleberg, K120 World Cup

01/02 32nd Iron Mountain, USA K120 World Cup

01/02 37th Lahti, FIN, K90 World Championships

01/02 38th Lahti, FIN, K115 World Championships

01/02 46th, Salt Lake City, USA K120 World Cup

01/02 50th, Iron Mountain, USA K120 World Cup

01/02 1st, Steamboat Springs USA K120 Nationals