Monthly Archives: February 2014

Alpine Skiing, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup

Travis Ganong Comes in Third in Downhill at Kvitfjell in Alpine Skiing World Cup

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Previous Kvitfjell – Alpine Skiing World Cup Coverage

Travis Ganong continued a strong run of results (fifth place at the Olympics) with a third place finish in Kvitfjell on Friday. Ganong was the only American in the top 15 but Bode Miller, Steven Nyman, and Marco Sullivan were also in the top 21. The same seven Americans will compete in another downhill race on the same course tomorrow.

There was actually a tie at the front between Kjetil Jansrud of Norway and Georg Streitberger of Austria. The two finished in a tie just 0.12 seconds ahead of Ganong.

Kvitfjell - Downhill

I’ll be back with coverage of the results from Saturday’s race on Saturday afternoon.

Schedule:

  • 5:45 AM – Downhill
    • Marco Sullivan
    • Steven Nyman
    • Travis Ganong
    • Bode Miller
    • Erik Fisher
    • Jared Goldberg
    • Andrew Weibrecht
FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, Ski Jumping

Fresh Off Top 15 Finishes in Sochi Jessica Jerome and Lindsey Van Compete in Ski Jumping World Cup in Rasnov

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Previous FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Coverage

The women’s Ski Jumping World Cup circuit is back underway with two jumps in Rasnov, Romania this weekend. Just two Americans are in the field, Jessica Jerome (tenth in Sochi) and Lindsey Van (15th in Sochi). Jerome also enters the week tied for 17th in the season standings after 13 events.

The field of 44 will get competition underway at 8 AM ET with the first round narrowing the field for a final round of jumping to immediately follow. I’ll be back with an update on the first day of competition tomorrow.

Schedule:

  • March 1st
    • 8 AM ET – First/Final Round
      • Lindsey Van
      • Jessica Jerome
Cross-Country Skiing, FIS Cross-Country World Cup

13 Americans Ready for FIS Cross-Country World Cup Event in Lahti

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Finland is the setting for the Lahti Ski Games and a large group of 13 Americans are set to take part in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup event. Both men’s and women’s sprint events will be held on Saturday with longer races held on Sunday.

On the women’s side Jessica Diggins, Ida Sargent, and Kikkan Randall (all quarter-finalists in the Olympics) are in the field as well as Sophie Caldwell, the sixth place finisher in Sochi. Also in the field are Sadie Bjornsen, Holly Brooks, Jennie Bender, and Caitlin Gregg.

In men’s action the field includes Andrew Newell and Simi Hamilton (quarter-finalists in Sochi), Erik Bjornsen (also competed in the Olympics… 39th in the qualifying round), and finally Sylvan Ellefson and Resse Hanneman.

Action will begin with qualifying rounds to narrow the field for the finals later in the day.

Schedule:

  • March 1st
    • 4:30 AM ET – Freestyle Sprint Qualification – Women’s
      • Jessica Diggins
      • Sophie Caldwell
      • Ida Sargent
      • Kikkan Randall
      • Sadie Bjornsen
      • Holly Brooks
      • Jennie Bender
      • Caitlin Gregg
    • 4:30 AM ET – Freestyle Sprint Qualification – Men’s
      • Andrew Newell
      • Simi Hamilton
      • Erik Bjornsen
      • Sylvan Ellefson
      • Resse Hanneman
    • 7 AM ET – Freestyle Sprint Finals – Women’s
    • 7 AM ET – Freestyle Sprint Finals – Men’s
Alpine Skiing, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup

Julia Mancuso Leads Group of Six Americans Into FIS Apline Skiing World Cup Downhill Event in Crans-Montana

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Previous FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup Coverage

Freshly removed from the Sochi Olympics the US is sending six athletes to Crans-Montana, Switzerland to compete in the downhill at the next FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup stop. The headliner is Julia Mancuso, eighth at the Olympics, but Laurenne Ross (11th), Stacey Cook (17th), and Jacqueline Wiles (26th) are also in the field. There’s just one final downhill race left in this World Cup season so the athletes are jostling for final position.

  • Leanne Smith
  • Laurenne Ross
  • Julia Mancuso
  • Stacey Cook
  • Jacqueline Wiles
  • Julia Ford

There will be a super combined event at Crans-Montana on Sunday. I’ll be back with a preview of that one and a recap of the downhill event tomorrow.

Schedule:

  • March 1st
    • 4:15 AM ET – Downhill
      • Leanne Smith
      • Laurenne Ross
      • Julia Mancuso
      • Stacey Cook
      • Jacqueline Wiles
      • Julia Ford
FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup, Freestyle Skiing

13 Americans, Including Sochi Bronze Medalist Hannah Kearney, Competing in Moguls in Inawashiro

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The next step on the FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup’s Moguls tour is in Inawashiro, Japan this weekend. Six women (Hannah Kearney, Ali Kariotis, Heather McPhie, Sophia Schwartz, Eliza Outtrim, and Keaton McCargo) are competing for the US. Kearney was the bronze medalist in Sochi while Outtrim finished sixth. McPhie also competed in Sochi but was bounced in the first round of the final, finishing 13th.

On the men’s side there are seven competing, Dylan Walczyk, Joseph Discoe, Troy Murphy, Bradley Wilson, Jeremy Cota, Bryon Wilson, and Patrick Deneen. Dennen was in the final round in Sochi, finishing sixth, while Bradley Wilson also made the team and finished 20th.

After a moguls event on Saturday (Japan time) there will be a dual moguls event on Sunday. In dual moguls events there is head-to-head competition in a number of rounds to reduce the field instead of cutting the lowest scores overall after rounds. The moguls event is well underway and I’ll have coverage of the results on Saturday.

Schedule:

  • February 28th
    • 7:05 PM – Women’s Moguls – Qualification
      • Hannah Kearney
      • Ali Kariotis
      • Heather McPhie
      • Sophia Schwartz
      • Eliza Outtrim
      • Keaton McCargo
    • 9 PM – Men’s Moguls – Qualification
      • Dylan Walczyk
      • Joseph Discoe
      • Troy Murphy
      • Bradley Wilson
      • Jeremy Cota
      • Bryon Wilson
      • Patrick Deneen
    • 11:30 PM – Women’s Moguls – Finals Round 1 (Top 16)
    • 11:55 PM – Men’s Moguls – Finals Round 1 (Top 16)
  • March 1st
    • 12:25 AM – Women’s Moguls – Finals Round 2 (Top 6)
    • 12:35 AM – Men’s Moguls – Finals Round 2 (Top 6)
Archery, World Championships

America Represented in World Championship Matches in Both Individual and Team Compound Men’s and Women’s Events

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Previous World Archery Indoor Championship Coverage

Four Americans were in the individual semifinals on Friday and half of them advanced to shoot for World Championships on Sunday. Both of them will also be going for World Championships in their team events on Saturday bringing up the possibility of double World Championships.

Men’s Compound

Jesse Broadwater became the second of the two Americans who led the way in the ranking round to fall in the elimination rounds. He lost 6-5 to Sergio Pagni in the semifinals on a match that went to a single arrow shootoff. America still is represented in the final though as Reo Wilde came from behind to win 6-4 against Stephan Hansen. The two will now trade opponents on Sunday with Wilde shooting for gold and Broadwater for bronze.

Compound Men Individual - Elimination Rounds - 2-29-14

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In the team event the US used some strong shooting to top Sweden 240-233 smoothly in the semifinals. They’ll now take on Denmark in the final on Saturday. 

Compound Men Team - Elimination Rounds - 2-29-14

Continue reading America Represented in World Championship Matches in Both Individual and Team Compound Men’s and Women’s Events →

Nordic Combined, Olympics, Recaps, Sochi 2014

Sochi Nordic Combined Recap – US Regresses From Vancouver Results

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The US won two medals in Sochi but it was certainly a disappointing Olympics still as the men weren’t in contention for a medal and the team wasn’t close enough to silver to make the end of the team event interesting. There were disappointing performances in a few events but also some bright moments as well with the first gold in ice dancing and a strong showing by some young women in the ladies’ singles.

Normal Hill – 10km

Normal Hill-10km

In the normal hill event the top finisher for the US in Sochi was Bill Demong who was propelled by a 21st fastest cross-country portion to a 24th overall finish. No American was in the top 30 in the ski jumping but the cross-country was a strong part for the US. This was the first time since 1992 that the US didn’t have a top 20 finisher in the event and ended a run of three straight Olympics with top eight finishes, the first three times they’d ever been in the top 30.

Normal Hill-10km Yearly Best

Large Hill – 10km

Large Hill-10km

In the newer large hill event the US was slightly better with Taylor Fletcher leading the way in 20th place including a big sixth place finish in the cross-country portion that allowed him to make up almost a minute of time. Bryan Fletcher’s 27th in the ski jumping was the best result for the US in the individual ski jumping portions in Sochi. In the short history of the event the US had always had a top nine finisher in the event until Sochi.

Large Hill-10km Yearly Best

Team – Large Hill – 4x5km Relay

Large Hill Team-4x5km

In the team event had some of their best jumps in Sochi including a 108.0 from Bill Demong that was the best of all. Still the US was just eighth in the ski jumping and left themselves almost 90 seconds behind the top three heading into the cross-country portion. The US was fairly strong in the cross-country but had too much ground to make up and finished in sixth. It was the first time since 1998 that the US didn’t finish in the top seven in the event.

Large Hill Team-4x5km Yearly Best

Previous Olympic Recaps

Figure Skating
Ski Jumping
Skeleton
Luge

Cycling, World Championships

Two Events, Two Top Five Finishes for US at UCI Track Cycling World Championships

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Previous Track Cycling World Championships Coverage

After the first two events that the US has competed in at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships they have yet to medal but they do have two top five finishes. Starting things off on Wednesday was Jennifer Valente. The 19-year old competed in the women’s scratch race (just a simple 10km race) and placed 4th in the field of 20.

2014 Track - Womens Scratch Race

On Thursday the women’s team pursuit event was held with the American team of Cari Higgins, Lauren Tamayo, Ruth Winder, and Jennifer Valente taking part. The top two teams from the qualifying round would be in the gold medal race with the third and fourth teams racing for bronze. Unfortunately the US team placed fifth, over ten seconds behind the top team and a little over a second behind the fourth place team.

2014 Track - Womens Team Pursuit

Friday sees the start of the 18-man men’s omnium and the first three parts of the event. Jake Duehring will represent the US in the event. Friday is also when the women’s individual pursuit is contested. Sarah Hammer and Ruth Winder will both be in the 15-woman field for the qualifying portion of the individual pursuit and hoping to make the gold or bronze medal races. The events will be going on all afternoon so I’ll have coverage of the results on Saturday morning.

Schedule:

  • 12:35-1:05 PM – Men’s Omnium I – Flying Lap
    • Jake Duehring
  • 1:35-2:35 PM – Women’s Individual Pursuit – Qualifying
    • Sarah Hammer
    • Ruth Winder
  • 3:05-3:45 PM – Men’s Omnium II – Points Race 30km
    • Jake Duehring
  • 8:35-8:50 PM – Women’s Individual Pursuit – Finals
    • Sarah Hammer
    • Ruth Winder
  • 9:45-10 PM – Men’s Omnium III – Elimination
    • Jake Duehring
ATP Tour, Tennis

After Two Doubles Losses, All Americans Out at the Mexican Open

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Mexican Open (ATP)

Previous Mexican Open Coverage

By Thursday only doubles action in Acapulco contained Americans. By the end of Thursday they were all done. Eric Butorac and South African Raven Klaasen played their first match of the tournament (they had a walkover in round one) and lost a tough one to Kevin Anderson/Matthew Ebden. Butorac/Klaasen forced a tiebreaker in set one but lost the tiebreaker 7-5. They took set two 6-3 to force the super tiebreak to decide things. That one took a while to decide before they lost it 13-11.

In the other match American, Scott Lipsky and Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico lost to the all Mexican-team of Cesar Ramirez/Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela. Lipsky/Gonzalez started great taking set one 6-1 but couldn’t win it in two losing 6-3. That forced a super tiebreak and that one went to Ramirez/Reyes-Varela 10-8.

Mexican Open - Doubles - 2-28-14

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With the Americans all out my coverage of the Mexican Open has come to a close. The next event on the schedule is the BNP Paribas Open from Indian Wells, California. Qualifying begins in that event on Monday and the entire event will run for a full two weeks.

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, Ski Jumping

Nick Alexander and Anders Johnson Set for Ski Jumping World Cup Event in Lahti

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Previous FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Coverage

Nick Alexander finished 45th and Anders Johnson finished 61st earlier this week in a Ski Jumping World Cup event in Falun and now they have a chance to improve on that in Lahti, Finland on Friday. The event will begin with a qualification round with 65 men competing for 40 spots in the first round later in the day. Alexander reached the first round in the Falun event. The final round, featuring the top 30 from the first first round, will wrap up things on Friday.

Saturday will bring a team event in Lahti while another individual event will be held on the same hill on Sunday.

Schedule:

  • 9:30 AM – Qualification Round
    • Anders Johnson
    • Nick Alexander
  • 11 AM – First/Final Round