At 16, Ashley Caldwell might be too young to know any better.
At 37, Jacqui Cooper might be too old to worry anymore.
The American kid who’s barely starting and the Aussie veteran who wrote the book each advanced to the finals of Olympic women’s aerials Saturday, a head-over-heels adventure where the next concussion, shattered foot or torn-up knee is always lurking around some corner.
Cooper finished 11th, and Caldwell got the 12th and final spot on a day when Americans Emily Cook and Lacy Schnoor also advanced — marking the first time the United States has put a woman in the Olympic finals since 1998.
Defending Olympic champion Evelyn Leu of Switzerland, who hit her head hard on the ground in training, fell on her second jump and failed to move on. Alla Tsuper of Belarus finished first and Li Nina of China, the 2006 silver medalist, finished second. None, of course, has the resume of Cooper, who in 2007 won her fourth World Cup title. “I am so passionate and so in love with what I do,” she said. “It’s being able to be the best at something.” But she has yet to win a medal in her five Olympic Games.
The Associated Press
