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Wednesday, February 18, 1998 One mistake costs Bean
The 21-year-old, who fast-tracked himself into a world-class aerialist, finished 11th in the 12-man final last night. He did a good job in his first jump, earning 118.66 points to rest in sixth spot after round one, but he had a slapback on his landing on the second and was awarded just 92.11. The swirling wind made the conditions difficult, but Bean opted not to try an easier jump, sticking with his full-double-full-full, which he'd landed for the first time in competition in the preliminary round. "Since the first day of training I've been landing my jumps. In the semi-finals they were great. If I had not gone for it, I would have regretted my choice. It's just a little hard to swallow right now." Bean had an emotional week. His mom, Nancy, passed away after a three-year battle with breast cancer in August and she was on his mind here. He said he'll be stronger now for the experience here. "Knowing what the Olympics is all about will help in the future," he said. "There were so many new situations. The security, the hype. Hopefully I can use all the experience in another four years." The problem on his second jump last night was too much power on his takeoff. "I did everything I could to slow it down, but I couldn't slow it down enough. I wanted to score 230 points landing both jumps. I guess that's the Olympics. It's a one-day wonder. One shot." |