Source: http://espn.go.com/espnw/athletes-life/a...

Their bond is largely unspoken and practically as old as they are, and the best female ski jumpers in this country are still too immersed in competition to be sentimental about it. What they share germinated organically in the '90s in this winter sports oasis in the mountains above Salt Lake City. It probably couldn't have happened anywhere else.

They grew up in a place where the grade schools let out at 12:30 every Friday and kids piled into buses to ski or snowboard or jump. They had parents who were coaches or instructors or, at the very least, avid skiers themselves. Their older brothers led them up the hill and their younger brothers followed them. There was no distinction between what the boys and girls were told they could do.

Lindsey Vonn and Jessica Jerome were forejumpers when the Winter Olympic Games came to their hometown in 2002. They were thrilled to be part of it, and at ages 17 and 15, respectively, they didn't dwell very long on why they were good enough to test the hill for the men but not good enough to compete.