Second wind not quite enough

SAUZE D'OULX, Italy -- Emily Cook would not call them lost years. And though she failed to qualify last night for tonight's aerials finals, there was some relief on her face.

It was not that she was through with the competition. It was that, after a shaky first jump with a bobbled landing, the 26-year-old from Belmont, Mass., got back onto the start hill, flew 45 feet above the snow into the spotlights, and landed cleanly, to the delight of a large contingent of US fans at the Jouvenceaux Freestyle venue.

For Cook, the 2001 US aerials champion, it has been four long years spent visualizing what it would be like in the Olympics, despite a three-year interruption in her career.

Prepared to represent her country at the '02 Salt Lake City Games, she landed badly while training a month before the competition. The searing pain she felt told her that her dream of Olympic competition was over. For a while, anyway.

She had fractured and dislocated bones in her left foot and tore ligaments in both feet, forcing her to give up her spot on the Olympic team. But the surgeries and the rehabilitation passed, and though last night's 19th-place finish put her well outside the top 12 who move on to the finals, Cook had a sense of accomplishment.

''After that tumble on the first jump, I just knew I needed to come out and put down a good jump," said Cook, whose father, Don, was on hand to watch her complete a long-delayed dream. ''No matter what my scores were, no matter whether I finished in the final or not, it's just such a huge honor to be here at the Olympics. There's absolutely no way that little tumble is going to ruin this experience."

Cook's second jump, a back layout full -- one without twists so the backflips appear to develop in slow motion -- satisfied her because she completed an athletic and aesthetic jump the way she knew she could.

''I just felt the need to come out here and complete one big beautiful jump," she said. ''I believe I did that, and I'm very happy with it."

Since she never got to compete at Salt Lake, she hasn't let a moment of the Turin experience go unappreciated.

''I lost about three years of training, but I came back where I left off," she said. ''It's been amazing here. Just being here in the Olympics. Most of the time when I think about it I've been choked up.

''I mean there are just so many people who have supported me just getting here. So many of my friends and family, so many at the US Ski Team and my sponsors. Just all the people who believed in me when I was down and out make me feel that just to be here . . . I'm going to enjoy every minute of the experience."

In a sport such as freestyle -- still relatively new and fast-developing -- her hiatus was a time of change, so she had to catch up.

''The sport changed quite a bit in that time," she said. ''I watched it evolve. A lot changes with a lot more girls doing triples and triple-twisting doubles, but it's really the same sport. All the girls are up there supporting each other and having fun. The girls are going huge now. It's going to be fun to come out and watch the finals."

For Cook, it's soon off to Davos, Switzerland for more World Cup competition and then, she said, some soul-searching about long-range plans. She could always return to life as an athletic instructor, for which she's been trained. But she may not quite be ready to hang up the helmet at the end of this season.

''I haven't officially decided yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll be skiing next year," she said. ''And, you know, Vancouver [2010 Olympics] is looking exciting right now. I'll definitely be there. Whether spectating or jumping . . . that decision has not been made yet."

The top point-getter was Jacqui Cooper from Austria (213.36), followed by a pair of Chinese skiers, Xinxin Guo and World Cup leader and world champion Nina Li.

The other US skier in the competition, Jana Lindsey, finished 16th.