Park City, UT (Wednesday, January 28, 2004) - Former Olympic, world and two-time World Cup aerials champion Eric Bergoust (Missoula, MT) is stepping back from more World Cup competition this season to rest an ailing heel and fine-tune his training for the two-year lead-up to the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy.

Bergoust will be on the sidelines this weekend as the Sprint U.S. Freestyle Grand National is staged at Deer Valley Resort, the 2002 Olympic freestyle venue and host to the 2003 World Championships.

"It was nice being up there today and watching everybody jump," he said Wednesday. "But I've got to listen to my body...and my body's talking loud."

Bergoust injured his right heel, he said, during a selection event in mid-December and has been forced to take things easy since then. He decided to pull back from the World Cup tour, give his body a chance to heal and tighten his focus on preparation for his fourth Olympics.

Heel too troublesome for quick return
He had hoped to return to the World Cup when the tour came to North America earlier this month, but when his heel balked at a speedy recovery – "It doesn't get a lot of blood flow," he explained – he decided a year away from competition would be the best thing.

"I've been good," he said, "but it's kinda [frustrating] to not be able to jump." At the same time, he said, after an intensive preseason training regimen at Utah Olympic Park, the break has been enjoyable.

"The more I thought about it, I felt this is the best time for a break," he added. There is no major championship this winter – no Olympics, no Worlds, so it's a good time to withdraw a bit, Bergoust said. "It's good to take breaks once in a while."

After capturing the 1997 World Championships silver medal in aerials, Bergoust won the 1998 Olympic gold medal and added the gold medal from the 1999 World Championships. He also won the 2001 and '02 World Cup aerials titles. Bergoust has won 15 World Cup contests.

Down-time offers luxury: more training
One of the appealing elements to training this winter, he said, is that the World Cup doesn't normally allow for the training some athletes need. Between travel and competition, there isn't much time for working on jumps.

"I've definitely always been a better water jumper [into the splash pool at Bear Hollow or Lake Placid]. I'm always trying to get more time on snow to jump, but I haven't always been able to do that," Bergoust said.

He made the decision, he said, after talking with a variety of coaches and athletes – current and former – and decided it made sense. "Most people said right off the bat that they thought it was a smart thing to do."

Matt Christensen, U.S. aerials head coach, agreed with his veteran's plan. "Everybody knows how intense a competitor Eric is and nobody knows Bergy's body better than he does, and if he thinks it's going to help him in the long run, that's great. After what he's done for the U.S. Ski Team and for aerials, if he thinks he needs time off, I fully support that and look for him to come back healthy as soon as he can.

"If he's hurting – and he clearly is, he can't perform at his best...and I don't want him taking a chance on injuring himself any further. End of discussion. He wants time, he's got it."

Bergoust said he has been diving in a local middle school swimming pool with low and high boards, and doing some trampoline workouts to maintain his conditioning. He's also studying videos of aerialists, looking to better understand the mechanics of jumping.

"It hasn't been hard to watch jumping at all. It's been kind of a relief to enjoy it more, enjoy the beauty of our sport and the talent of the jumpers," Bergoust said. "And I've learned to keep my mind open to new stuff...

"I'm always thinking about how I can do better or what tricks I should do to maximize my score in '06."