Local teen reaches final four for Sports Kid of the Year

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October 2, 2008

By KIM SMITH DEDAM The Press Republican Thu Oct 02, 2008, 12:00 AM EDT

LAKE PLACID -- Local ski jumper Nina Lussi is in the final four for a Sports Illustrated Magazine Sports Kid of the Year.

Voting began with 6,000 kids entering the competition at the end of July. Ten finalists, picked by the magazine's editors, have been reduced to four, including 14-year-old Nina.

The top two vote getters move into a final heat on Monday.

LOCAL SUPPORT

A freshman at Lake Placid High School, Nina is pretty excited about being so close, let alone the prospects of a win.

"It's really amazing I've made it this far; it's exciting to be in the top four. It's a really cool feeling to know so many people support you."

The competition focuses on finding a young athlete age 7 to 15 who exhibits "superior performance on the field, in the classroom and service to his/her community."

Nina, who also plays soccer, is finding hometown support from kids she's never even met.

A win, she said, "would be, like, the coolest thing."

The winner will be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated Kid's in December and honored at the magazine's Sportsman of the Year celebration in New York City.

"Being honored as Sports Kid of the Year is a unique and significant honor for a young athlete," Managing Editor Bob Der said in announcing the competition. "We see youth athletes from all walks of life dedicating themselves to sport, school and their community, and the Sports Kid Award gives us a platform to not only showcase these athletes but allow readers to decide who truly deserves the honor."

FLYING HIGH

Nina is training now on the 90-meter Olympic ski jump in Lake Placid.

"She started in an afterschool program," said her father, Art Lussi.

He said Nina's mom, Martina, usually accompanies her to events.

Larry Stone, jumping coach for the New York Ski Education Foundation was Nina's first coach, when she began on the 18-meter jump.

Nina graduated to the 48-meter jump and is now flying off the 90-meter tower.

"She loves it," her father said. "She's very comfortable in the air."

"The first few times it's scary," Nina said of the sport she loves. "But once you have a good jump, it makes all the training worth it, and it's a really great feeling."

Nina achieved a flight more than 100 meters long, an exciting jump for a 14-year-old athlete.

PRAISED BY COACH

Her coach, Casey Colby, says Nina is one of the most promising young ski jumpers in the world.

"She is only 14 years old but has been on a full-time training program designed for older athletes for two years already," he told Sports Illustrated for Kids.

"She attends approximately eight to 10 training sessions every week for 11 months out of the year, all focused on improving her ski-jumping skills."

Winning Sports Kid of the Year would give Nina an opportunity to highlight the little-known sport of ski jumping.

It would also give her a chance to meet the Sportsman of the Year, an athlete Nina hopes might be U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps.

"Michael Phelps has a good chance of winning," Nina said. "He did win eight gold medals this year."

Colby said excellent sportsmanship is a key part of Nina's performance on and off the jumps.

"She can improve the mood of the group by simply laughing at something silly or making an observation from her own point of view. After each event, she will congratulate her competitors and teammates.

"Nina has the ability to be positive in her outlook and attitude even when things are not going as well as she would expect. She is also exceptionally gifted physically. She is strong, fast and explosive."

Her father said support for a young athlete speaks volumes of the nature of community.

"It's phenomenal that this small town can rally enough support to get through two rounds of voting. It's pretty neat; it shows the true competitive nature of our region."

kdedam@pressrepublican.com