Back to the old Simon Dumont?

I'm apologizing in advance for this post. It is more of a rant than anything else but this is something that we all should be used to by now. And yes, this is a long read but just bear with me on this one.

So Simon Dumont? Let me begin by saying that Mr. Dumont has been a pioneer in the sport of freeskiing. He has earned his spot as a legend and quite possibly one of the best skiers we have seen to date. The first time many of us had ever heard of Simon was when he first competed in the Winter X Games at only 15 years old. He has been a force to reckon with since his first gold medal at the 2004 Winter X Games. His presence has graced many podiums and he has come out with some amazing segments in films such as the PBP film, Revolver. He also was one of the freeskiiers that helped get freestlye skiing into the Olympics. But I digress.

Watching Simon in 2009 when he won the gold medal in big air for his superman double front flip was amazing. Even though it is obviously not as technical as the pistol flip or the kangaroo flips that were being thrown, he oozed style. I just remember sitting in my hotel room up in Lake Placid during a school ski trip and we all were freaking out! The smile on his face and the way he celebrated after he landed it was something that we see less and less with Simon. I grew up watching him and looking up to him as one of my role models in freeskiing.

Simon, being the top level athlete that he is, seemed to become too absorbed in the idea of always wanting to win. Obviously no one likes to loose but if you do not win, it still should not take the fun out of what ever it may be that you are doing. Yes I know he has suffered lots of setbacks in recent years, such as back-to-back injuries, but that shouldn't take the fun out a sport that he would die for. He isn't like the washed up celebrities or movie stars we see who become too absorbed in the limelight. I think he just lost what was most important to him. His roots. I can honestly say I do not remember the last time I saw Simon come out with an edit that he made just for fun.

Now lets jump back to last weekend at the Dew Tour. When I saw Simon's name on the list of competitors I was shocked. I thought he was supposed to be retired like he had said earlier this year. He qualified for the finals on Saturday and we found out what was really going on. His agent said he recommended that Dumont compete in the super pipe competition. We will never be sure of the reason why his agent made him compete but it is irrelevant. What is relevant however, is what Simon said to DC after his first run. I was expecting a super difficult run from Simon but he did the exact opposite of that. He went out and threw down, in my opinion, one of the most stylish runs we have seen in a while. he then proceeded to tell DC that he was just out here to have a good time and enjoy himself and that in fact, he should be retired but here he is competing one last time. That was I liked to hear. Not going to lie, it kind of brought a smile to my face. I knew right away that something had changed in Simon. Had he found his roots once again?

In a 2013 interview with X Games reporter, Kade Krichko, he said that after the Olympics are over he is ready to get back to his first love, filming. Earlier today I saw an Instagram post from Simon with a few shots from his day at Keystone. This is the first Simon Dumont edit I have seen in years! The caption on the video was, "It was so nice to skip pipe practice and go shred park for fun. I'm starting to remember why I loved this sport so much." At the very moment I saw this, all of my hunches about Simon being back to his old self were confirmed.

This rant is not taking anything away from Simon Dumont, but it is more of an appreciative rant. He has given the sport so much and he has dedicated his life to skiing. It is nice to see that the old Simon Dumont that I grew up watching ski is back. I'm excited to see what he has in store for us in years to come! Big ups to you Simon!

Thanks for sticking with me on this rant guys! Hope it finds all of you well.

And here is a link to his edit from his day at Keystone:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj-6g8RUkX0