Bergoust not yet ready to hang up his skis

The 36-year-old freestyle aerialist thinks he's got a couple jumps left in his body.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
He is four years older. The sponsors who used to beat down his door have moved on. The word "legend" is used more often than "contender" to describe him these days.
It's safe to say Eric Bergoust is heading back to the Olympics as an underdog this time, although to hear him tell it, that doesn't bother him much.
Once the world's pre-eminent freestyle aerialist, Bergoust believes he's got a jump or two left in his 36-year-old body, a jump or two that might earn him the medal that cruelly escaped him in 2002 and thus put a successful cap on a career he devoted to being a trendsetter in one of the toughest sports around.
"If I put both jumps on my feet and hit them with the right speed, it should be enough to get on the podium," Bergoust said Wednesday when he was officially picked to go to his fourth Olympics.
Other members
Also making it on the U.S. freestyle team were moguls skiers Jeremy Bloom, Travis Mayer, Toby Dawson and Travis Cabral. Nate Roberts, in the world's top 10 most of the year, was left off the team -- a sign of the depth the Americans have. In women's moguls, it was Shannon Bahrke, Hannah Kearney, Michelle Roark and Jillian Vogtli.
In aerials, Jana Lindsey and Emily Cook will go for the women. The men's group includes Joe Pack, Jeret "Speedy" Peterson, Ryan St. Onge. And Bergoust.
Four years ago, he was one of two, maybe three, American headliners on the list. He was supposed to win the gold without much trouble. But when Ales Valenta of the Czech Republic surprisingly tried and landed a revolutionary five-twist jump, it put pressure on Bergoust to ramp things up for his own jump.
He went too fast down the runway and fell on his landing, finishing 12th of 12 finalists that day. He said he wanted to finish first or last, nothing else, and didn't regret any move he made.
Different mission
That was four years ago. Now, his mission is quite different.
Any color medal would be a huge victory.
He's not willing to risk the five-twist jumps that have become common among the elite in the sport over the past four years. His body can't take the pounding required to practice that jump enough to make it effective.
So, the goal this time isn't for five twists and first place or nothing. It's simply to execute perfectly a version of the four-twist jump he's been performing since 1992. If he does it, he figures he'll win another medal to go with the gold he won in 1998, when he was reaching his peak. If he fails, he'll go home knowing he gave it his best shot.
"Every week I get a little better," Bergoust said. "I haven't had good results the last three years, but things are coming together at the right time and I think it'll be good come February."
Bergoust essentially qualified for the team with a second-place finish in Australia in September, the beginning of the selection period for this U.S. team. Ever since, he has struggled, finishing no higher than 12th in any international competition.
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