Category Archives: Alpine Skiing

Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup, FIS Cross-Country World Cup, FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup, Freestyle Skiing, ISU World Cup, Paralympics, Sochi 2014, Speed Skating, The Melting Pot

The Melting Pot: Gold for the US in Ice Sledge Hockey at the Paralympics, Strong Results at Speed Skating World Cup Finals

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2014 Winter Paralympics – Sochi, Russia

In the men’s giant slalom on Saturday Mark Bathum took a DNF on the first run of the visually impaired division while Jonathan Lujan was a DNF in the standing division as was Scott Meyer in the sitting division while Stephen Lawler did not start the event. James Stanton was a did not start on the second run in the standing division. Christopher Devlin-Young did not finish the second sitting run.

As for those who completed two runs, Ralph Green was 16th, Joel Hunt 24th, and Tyler Carter 27th in the standing division. In the sitting division Heath Calhoun notched a top-ten finish for the US as he was sixth. Jasmin Bambur was 17th as well for the US in the sitting division.

In cross-country’s 4×2.5km mixed relay the US team of Tatyana McFadden and Jacob Adicoff (they both went twice) finished sixth, 1:31.1 off the lead. The US also had a team in the 4×2.5km open relay. Augusto Jose Perez, Omar Bermejo, Bryan Price, and Kevin Burton finished ninth, 5:35.5 behind the winners.

Finally, and most excitedly, the US ice sledge hockey team won the gold medal with a 1-0 win over Russia. The US avenged an earlier 2-0 loss to Russia in the group stage as Joshua Sweeney had the only goal and Steve Cash made six saves for the US.

The Paralympics will wrap up tomorrow. The US has seven athletes in the women’s giant slalom event as well as ten men in the men’s 10km free cross-country skiing and four athletes in the women’s 5km free cross-country skiing event.

NBCSN will have live coverage of the women’s giant slalom from 4:30-6:30 AM ET.

Schedule:

  • March 16th
    • 1:30 AM ET – Women’s Alpine Skiing – Giant Slalom – Run 1 – Visually Impaired
      • Lindsay Ball
      • Staci Mannella
    • 1:55 AM ET – Women’s Alpine Skiing – Giant Slalom – Run 1 – Standing
      • Stephanie Jallen
      • Melanie Schwartz
      • Allison Jones
    • 2 AM ET – Men’s Cross-Country Skiing – 10km Free – Standing
      • John Oman
      • Omar Bermejo
    • 2:20 AM ET – Men’s Cross-Country Skiing – 10km Free – Visually Impaired
      • Kevin Burton
      • Jacob Adicoff
    • 2:35 AM ET – Women’s Alpine Skiing – Giant Slalom – Run 1 – Sitting
      • Alana Nichols
      • Laurie Stephens
    • 4:30 AM ET – Women’s Cross-Country Skiing – 5km Free – Sitting
      • Beth Requist
      • Monica Bascio
      • Tatyana McFadden
      • Oksana Masters
    • 4:45 AM ET – Men’s Cross-Country Skiing – 10km Free – Sitting
      • Travis Dodson
      • Aaron Pike
      • Jeremy Wagner
      • Andrew Soule
      • Sean Halsted
      • Daniel Cnossen
    • 5 AM ET – Women’s Alpine Skiing – Giant Slalom – Run 2 – Visually Impaired
    • 5:15 AM ET – Women’s Alpine Skiing – Giant Slalom – Run 2 – Standing
    • 5:45 AM ET – Women’s Alpine Skiing – Giant Slalom – Run 2 – Sitting

Speed Skating World Cup Final – Heerenveen, Netherlands

The US continued to have success at the Speed Skating World Cup Final on Saturday. Starting things off Shani Davis finished fifth in the men’s 1500m with Brian Hansen in seventh. Both were within 0.6 seconds of the winner and 0.3 seconds of the bronze. It was a disappointing fifth though for Davis who would have won the season title with a second place finish but instead ends up third in the season standings. Hansen placed fifth for the season.

Heather Richardson placed second in the women’s 500m, 0.12 seconds back, with Brittany Bowe back in 10th. There is one last women’s 500m race tomorrow and Richardson has the co-most points on the season standings. If she can better Olga Fatkulina of Russia’s result tomorrow she’ll win the season title. Fatkulina won today’s event.

In the men’s 500m Mitchell Whitmore was 11th and Tucker Fredricks was 13th. Fredricks is still sixth in the season standings but needs a good finish tomorrow in the final men’s 500m of the season to lock down a top finish.

Finally in the men’s team pursuit the US team of Brian Hansen, Patrick Meek, Mitchell Whitmore finished fourth and were 11.54 seconds behind the winners (Netherlands) and 6.46 seconds behind Norway. The US finished second in the season long standings behind the Netherlands.

Things wrap up on Sunday with the second race in both the men’s and women’s 500m as well as the women’s 1000m event with both Bowe and Richardson. Richardson leads the season standings by 70 points over Bowe so a good result will give her the season title and the US could easily go 1-2 for the year.

Schedule:

  • March 16th
    • 8:30 AM ET – Women’s 500m Division A (Race 2 of 2)
      • Brittany Bowe
      • Heather Richardson
    • 11 AM ET – Women’s 1000m Division A
      • Brittany Bowe
      • Heather Richardson
    • 11:49 AM ET – Men’s 500m Division A (Race 2 of 2)
      • Mitchell Whitmore
      • Tucker Fredricks

Freestyle Skiing World Cup – Moguls – Voss-Myrkdalen, Norway

The start list is in for the dual moguls event tomorrow in Voss-Myrkdalen, Norway. Six women will represent the US with Eliza Outtrim (6th), Heather McPhie (5th), Hannah Kearney (2nd) and Sophia Schwartz (9th) all in the top ten of the World Cup standings. On the men’s side there are seven US competitors and Bradley Wilson (5th) and Patrick Deneen (3rd) currently sit in the top ten.

There is another dual moguls event next week in La Plagne, France so there are still a lot of points up for grabs in the season standings.

Schedule:

  • March 16th
    • 3:15 AM ET – Women’s Dual Moguls Qualifying
      • Ali Kariotis
      • Heather McPhie
      • Hannah Kearney
      • Keaton McCargo
      • Eliza Outtrim
      • Sophia Schwartz
    • 4:45 AM ET – Men’s Dual Moguls Qualifying
      • Patrick Deneen
      • Troy Murphy
      • Jeremy Cota
      • Joseph Discoe
      • Bryon Wilson
      • Bradley Wilson
      • Dylan Walczyk
    • 7 AM ET – Women’s Dual Moguls Round of 16
    • 7:12 AM ET – Men’s Dual Moguls Round of 16
    • 7:24 AM ET – Women’s Dual Moguls Quarterfinals
    • 7:32 AM ET – Men’s Dual Moguls Quarterfinals
    • 7:40 AM ET – Women’s Dual Moguls Semifinals
    • 7:48 AM ET – Men’s Dual Moguls Semifinals
    • 7:59 AM ET – Women’s Dual Moguls Finals
    • 8:07 AM ET – Men’s Dual Moguls Finals

Alpine Skiing World Cup – Lenzerheide, Switzerland

The start lists have been released for the final Alpine Skiing World Cup events of the year. The men wrap up with the slalom and Ted Ligety, Bode Miller, and Tim Jitloff will represent the US. The women will wrap up with the giant slalom and the only one in the event for the US is Mikaela Shiffrin. The US has been so strong this week and it’d be great to see a medal on the final day. Unfortunately the top skiers for the US in these events were doing their better event on Saturday so there’s less chance of medals here. Still both Ligety and Shiffrin are in great form and are good enough to medal on Sunday to wrap up the year.

Schedule:

  • March 16th
    • 4 AM ET – Men’s Slalom Run 1
      • Ted Ligety
      • Bode Miller
      • Tim Jitloff
    • 5 AM ET – Women’s Giant Slalom Run 1
      • Mikaela Shiffrin
    • 6:30 AM ET – Men’s Slalom Run 2
    • 7:30 AM ET – Women’s Giant Slalom Run 2

Cross-Country Skiing World Cup Finals – Falun, Sweden

The start lists are finally in as well for the final Cross-Country Skiing World Cup event of the season. Kikkan Randall will be the first American across the start line. She’s 14th to start and 2:54 behind the leader. Elizabeth Stephen starts 18th, 3:13 back, with Sadie Bjornsen right behind her in 19th at the same time. Jessica Diggins, Ida Sargent, Sophie Caldwell, and Caitlin Gregg are also in the event but start at least four minutes back.

On the men’s side Noah Hoffman will start 21st, 4:19 back, with Reese Hanneman starting 38th, 9:56 back, and Andrew Newell starting 39th, 10:15 back.

Schedule:

  • March 16th
    • 8:30 AM ET – Women’s 10 km Free Pursuit
      • Kikkan Randall
      • Sophie Caldwell
      • Sadie Bjornsen
      • Ida Sargent
      • Jessica Diggins
      • Elizabeth Stephen
      • Caitlin Gregg
    • 11 AM ET – Men’s 15km Free Pursuit
      • Andrew Newell
      • Reese Hanneman
      • Noah Hoffman
Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Curling, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup, FIS Cross-Country World Cup, FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup, FIS Snowboard World Cup, Freestyle Skiing, Snowboarding, The Melting Pot, World Championships

The Melting Pot: Mikaela Shiffrin and Ted Ligety Both Win Gold and Season Titles In Alpine Skiing World Cup

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World Women’s Curling Championships – Montreal, Canada

The World Women’s Curling Championships start on Saturday and the US is one of 12 nations represented. The US team is not the same one that competed in the Olympics which may or may not be a good thing. This team is skipped by Allison Pottinger (the alternate on the Olympic team who was never used) with Nicole Joraanstad as third, Natalie Nicholson as second and Tabitha Peterson as lead. Tara Peterson is their alternate.

They start play with China on Saturday. China won the 2013 Pacific-Asia Curling Championships and were 11th at the 2012 World Women’s Championships and 7th in the Olympics.

Schedule:

  • March 15th
    • 6:30 PM ET – USA vs. China

Snowboard World Cup – La Molina, Spain

The Snowboard World Cup wrapped up the 2013-14 season on Saturday in La Molina, Spain with the finals of snowboard cross. Lindsey Jacobellis was the only US woman competing and she won both her quarterfinal and semifinal heats to advance to the big final. In the big final she placed second to grab silver in her final event of the season. She also finished second in the season standings. In the men’s event Mick Dierdorff, Nick Baumgartner, and Hagen Kearney all advanced from the 1/8 finals while Jonathan Cheever was fourth in his heat and didn’t advance. In the quarterfinals Dierdorff and Kearney were in the same heat with only Dierdorff moving on after he finished second and Kearney fourth in the heat. Baumgartner was also eliminated after placing fourth. Dierdorff missed out on spot in the big final after finishing third in his semifinal heat but did win the small final to secure a fifth place finish to wrap up the year. Baumgartner was the top finisher for the US in the season standings as he placed 14th.

Alpine Skiing World Cup – Lenzerheide, Switzerland

The Alpine Skiing World Cup is at its final stop in Lenzerheide, Switzerland and the US has as good a day as you can on Saturday. Ted Ligety took first in the men’s giant slalom edging out the second place finisher by 0.03 seconds. The US also placed Tim Jitloff in 14th and Bode Miller in 15th. In the women’s slalom event Mikaela Shiffrin was the only one representing the US but they didn’t need anyone else. Shiffrin smoked the field on run one by over one and a half seconds and even a tenth best run on the second was enough to win her the title by 1.44 seconds.

Ligety’s win, his fifth of the year in the giant slalom, gave him the season long title on a tiebreaker of most wins. Ligety would have wrapped up the title a while ago but only competed in six of the eight events this year. Shiffrin also won her fifth event of the year but she had clinched the season title last week.

Sunday will be the men’s slalom and the women’s giant slalom events. I’ll have an update on who will start those events for the US later today.

Schedule:

  • March 16th
    • 4 AM ET – Men’s Slalom Run 1
    • 5 AM ET – Women’s Giant Slalom Run 1
    • 6:30 AM ET – Men’s Slalom Run 2
    • 7:30 AM ET – Women’s Giant Slalom Run 2

Cross-Country Skiing World Cup Finals – Falun, Sweden

The second day of the Cross-Country Skiing World Cup Finals featured the skiathlon events. On the women’s side Elizabeth Stephen was the top finisher for the US in 15th about two minutes behind the winner. Kikkan Randall followed her in 20th with Sadie Bjornsen right behind her in 21st. The US also had Jessica Diggins in 36th, Ida Sargent in 37th, Caitlin Gregg in 40th, and Sophie Caldwell 41st.

In the men’s sprint event Noah Hoffman was the top American as he finished 18th. Reese Hanneman was 38th and Andrew Newell 39th to round out the field for the US.

The 2013-14 World Cup season wraps up with the pursuit events on Sunday. I’ll have more info on who will represent the US when the start lists are published.

Schedule:

  • March 16th
    • 8:30 AM ET – Women’s 10 km Free Pursuit
    • 11 AM ET – Men’s 15km Free Pursuit

Freestyle Skiing World Cup – Moguls – Voss-Myrkdalen, Norway

The final moguls event of the Freestyle Skiing World Cup was Saturday in Voss-Myrkdalen, Norway on Saturday. Heather McPhie, Hannah Kearney, Ali Kariotis, and Eliza Outtrim all advanced from qualifying for the US. Keaton McCargo was one spot short in 17th, 0.15 points short, while Sophie Schwartz did not start the event. Only Kearney advanced from the first round of the finals as Outtrim and McPhie just missed out in seventh and eighth both within 0.3 points of advancing in sixth. Kariotis was further back in 13th. In the final Kearney finished third in a tight battle for the top that saw her just a 0.48 points back of first and 0.15 points behind second.

On the men’s side Patrick Deneen and Troy Murphy were the only two Americans to advance from qualifying. Bradley Wilson was just outside in 17th, 0.04 points back of 16th, with Dylan Walczyk 19th, Jeremy Cota 23rd, Bryon Wilson 25th and Joseph Discoe 31st. Murphy had a rough run on his first final run and was eliminated in 15th while Deneen advanced in fifth. In the second final Deneen finished third to grab the bronze.

There will be a dual moguls event on Sunday with qualifying to start things off. I’ll have coverage of which Americans are in the field later today once the start lists are revealed.

Schedule:

  • March 16th
    • 3:15 AM ET – Women’s Dual Moguls Qualifying
    • 4:45 AM ET – Men’s Dual Moguls Qualifying
    • 7 AM ET – Women’s Dual Moguls Round of 16
    • 7:12 AM ET – Men’s Dual Moguls Round of 16
    • 7:24 AM ET – Women’s Dual Moguls Quarterfinals
    • 7:32 AM ET – Men’s Dual Moguls Quarterfinals
    • 7:40 AM ET – Women’s Dual Moguls Semifinals
    • 7:48 AM ET – Men’s Dual Moguls Semifinals
    • 7:59 AM ET – Women’s Dual Moguls Finals
    • 8:07 AM ET – Men’s Dual Moguls Finals
Alpine Skiing, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup, FIS Nordic Combined World Cup, Nordic Combined, Paralympics, Sochi 2014, The Melting Pot

The Melting Pot: US Wins Eight More Paralympic Medals, Newly 19-Year Old Mikaela Shiffrin Set For Final Slalom Event of Year

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Alpine Skiing World Cup – Lenzerheide, Switzerland

The start lists are in for the Alpine Skiing World Cup events for Saturday. Mikaela Shiffrin is the lone US representative in the women’s slalom but she is the favorite every time they hold this event and has already won the season title. In the men’s giant slalom Ted Ligety won the last event held and will be joined in the field by Bode Miller and Tim Jitloff.

Schedule:

  • March 15th
    • 4 AM ET – Women’s Slalom Run 1
      • Mikaela Shiffrin
    • 5 AM ET – Men’s Giant Slalom Run 1
      • Ted Ligety
      • Bode Miller
      • Tim Jitloff
    • 6:30 AM ET – Women’s Slalom Run 2
    • 7:30 AM ET – Men’s Giant Slalom Run 2

Nordic Combined World Cup – Falun, Sweden

The Nordic Combined World Cup is holding their final team event of the year in Falun, Sweden on Saturday. The US is one of 12 countries in the event which will feature teams of four. The US is always strong in the cross-country portion so a strong ski jumping round is what they need to be relevant. Taylor Fletcher will jump first followed by Brett Denney, Nick Hendrickson, and Bryan Fletcher.

Schedule:

  • March 15th
    • 6 AM ET – Team Ski Jumping Round
      • Taylor Fletcher
      • Brett Denney
      • Nick Hendrickson
      • Bryan Fletcher
    • 10:45 AM ET – Team 4x5km Cross-Country Round

2014 Winter Paralympics – Sochi, Russia

The US was very strong at the Paralympics on Friday winning eight medals! The US won a medal in the women’s para snowboard cross when Amy Purdy finished third. Cristina Albert finished fourth for the US and Heidi Jo Duce was fifth to give the US three of the top five. Nicole Roundy finished eighth and Megan Harmon tenth as the US had half of the top ten. In the men’s para snowboard cross the US swept the medal stand! It was Evan Strong barely edging out Michael Shea for gold. The margin was just 0.57 seconds over two runs. Keith Gabel took bronze for the US. The other two US competitors in the field were Tyler Burdick who finished eighth and Daniel Monzo who was 18th.

The 15km men’s biathlon sitting division was stacked with US competitors, but none medaled with Andrew Soule coming closest in fourth, 6.4 seconds behind bronze. Daniel Cnossen was tenth with Sean Halsted 11th as they finished three seconds apart. Jeremy Wagner was 18th, Aaron Pike 19th, and Travis Dodson 21st to round things out for the US. In the standing division Omar Bermejo was 17th while in the visually impaired event Kevin Burton was 12th.

In the women’s super combined Danelle Umstead finished third in the visually impaired division and Stephanie Jallen was third in the standing division to give the US two more medals. Jallen beat out teammate Allison Jones for bronze as Jones finished fourth in the standing division.

In the men’s super combined Mark Bathum was second in the visually impaired division, James Stanton was 13th in the standing division, and Heath Calhoun grabbed a silver for the US in the sitting division.

On Saturday the men will be taking to the slopes for the giant slalom with 11 American men competing. Cross-country skiing will be holding the 4×2.5km mixed relay and the 4×2.5km open relay. I don’t know if the Americans will be involved, no start list is online yet. The cross-country skiing will be on NBCSN live from 3:30-5:30 AM ET.

Finally and perhaps most excitingly Saturday is the ice sledge hockey final. The US is getting a chance for revenge against Russia. The final will be shown LIVE on NBC starting at 12 PM ET.

Schedule:

  • March 15th
    • 1:30 AM ET – Men’s Alpine Skiing – Giant Slalom – Run 1 – Visually Impaired
      • Mark Bathum
    • 1:55 AM ET – Men’s Alpine Skiing – Giant Slalom – Run 1 – Standing
      • James Stanton
      • Ralph Green
      • Jonathan Lujan
      • Joel Hunt
      • Tyler Carter
    • 2 AM ET – Cross-Country Skiing – 4×2.5km Mixed Relay
    • 2:45 AM ET – Men’s Alpine Skiing – Giant Slalom – Run 1 – Sitting
      • Christopher Devlin-Young
      • Heath Calhoun
      • Jasmin Bambur
      • Stephen Lawler
      • Scott Meyer
    • 4 AM ET – Cross-Country Skiing – 4×2.5km Open Relay
    • 5:30 AM ET – Men’s Alpine Skiing – Giant Slalom – Run 2 – Visually Impaired
    • 5:50 AM ET – Men’s Alpine Skiing – Giant Slalom – Run 2 – Standing
    • 6:25 AM ET – Men’s Alpine Skiing – Giant Slalom – Run 2 – Sitting
    • 12 PM ET – Ice Sledge Hockey – Gold Medal Match – USA vs. Russia
Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Biathlon World Cup, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup, FIS Nordic Combined World Cup, FIS Ski Flying World Championships, FIS Snowboard World Cup, Nordic Combined, Ski Jumping, Snowboarding, The Melting Pot

The Melting Pot: Americans Winning Medals in Alpine Skiing World Cup, Qualifying Well at Snowboard World Cup

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Biathlon World Cup – Kontiolahti, Finland

The Biathlon World Cup had a men’s 10km sprint race and a women’s 7.5km sprint race on Thursday. The top American man in the 10km sprint was Lowell Bailey who finished 29th, 1:29.1 behind the winner. Tim Burke was 35th in the event, 1:32.3 back, while Leif Nordgren was 55th, 2:21.5 back.

In the women’s 7.5km sprint Hannah Dreissigacker and Susan Dunklee went 28th-29th with Dreissigacker about four seconds ahead. Dunklee was 29th and within 1:39 of the winner despite missing four targets. Annelies Cook finished 75th with Sara Studebaker in 80th.

The same athletes who competed on Thursday will compete in another set of sprint races on Saturday. Same distances, 10km for the men and 7.5km for the women, and a chance to rebound quickly from any disappointment on Thursday.

Schedule:

  • March 15th
    • 6:15 AM ET – Men’s 10km Sprint
      • Lowell Bailey
      • Tim Burke
      • Leif Nordgren
    • 8:45 AM ET – Women’s 7.5km Sprint
      • Hannah Dreissigacker
      • Susan Dunklee
      • Annelies Cook
      • Sara Studebaker

Ski Flying World Championships – Harrachov, Czech Republic

The US stay at the Ski Flying World Championships was not a long one. Anders Johnson finished 33rd and Nicholas Fairall 38th in the qualifying round where only the top 30 moved on. Johnson scored a 109.8 which was still well behind the 30th place score of 129.3. Fairall scored a 73.2.

Attention will turn back to the Ski Jumping World Cup where the final stop is set for Planica, Slovakia starting next Thursday. There will be two individual men’s events and a team event in Planica.

Alpine Skiing World Cup – Lenzerheide, Switzerland

The Alpine Skiing World Cup is at its final stop in Lenzerheide, Switzerland and the action has been going on for several days. The downhill events were held on Wednesday and the US grabbed a medal as Ted Lilly finished in a tie for second in the men’s downhill, just 11 hundredths of a second behind the winner. Travis Ganong followed with a strong sixth, 0.52 seconds back and Bode Miller was eighth, 0.62 seconds back. In the women’s downhill Julia Mancuso finished 10th, 1.34 seconds back, while Stacey Cook was 18th and nearly three seconds behind the winner.

The US medaled again on Thursday when the super-g events were held. It came on the men’s side as Bode Miller finished third, 0.57 seconds back. Ted Ligety did well again with a fifth place finish, 1.09 seconds back, while Travis Ganong was ninth and Andrew Weibrecht took a DNF. There were three US women in the women’s super-g and they all finished in a narrow window. Julia Mancuso led the way in tenth, 2.2 seconds back, with Stacey Cook two tenths of a second behind her in 11th and Leanne Smith about a second back in 14th.

Friday was the team event with the US represented by Julia Mancuso, David Chodounsky, Mikaela Shiffrin, and Tim Jitloff. The event involves a series of four head-to-head races between two countries with the team that wins more of the races advancing. Every matchup in the event ended tied two-to-two and went to the tiebreaker of the fastest combined time of the best men’s run and best women’s run in that series. The US won the first two tiebreakers against France (by 1.02 seconds) and against Austria (by 0.39 seconds) to advance to the final. In the final they lost to Switzerland by 0.14 seconds.

Saturday will be the men’s giant slalom and the women’s slalom events. I’ll have an update on who will start those events for the US later on Friday.

Schedule:

  • March 15th
    • 3 AM ET – Women’s Slalom Run 1
    • 4 AM ET – Men’s Giant Slalom Run 1
    • 5:30 AM ET – Women’s Slalom Run 2
    • 6:30 AM ET – Men’s Giant Slalom Run 2

Nordic Combined World Cup – Falun, Sweden

The Nordic Combined World Cup is at the final stop in Falun, Sweden and set to host a team and an individual event there this weekend. Friday was the provisional competition round with four American vying for spots in the main event. Two of them made it: Taylor Fletcher in 24th and Bryan Fletcher in 44th. Brett Denney came oh so close with a 51st place finish and missed out on the 50th spot by 0.4 points. Nick Hendrickson was further off the pace in 62nd and missed out by 7.6 points.

There aren’t any details on which teams will compete on Saturday yet but I would assume the US will be represented. I’ll have a further update on that later in the day.

Schedule:

  • March 15th
    • 6 AM ET – Team Ski Jumping Round
    • 10:45 AM ET – Team 4x5km Cross-Country Round

Snowboard World Cup – La Molina, Spain

The Snowboard World Cup is at the final stop in Lo Molina, Spain where a snowboard cross competition in underway. In the qualifying runs on Friday American Lindsey Jacobellis was the fastest and will have the #1 seed for the knockout rounds tomorrow. In the men’s event Mick Dierdorff was fourth, Nick Baumgartner tenth, Hagen Kearney 12th, and Jonathan Cheever 15th as they all qualified after the first run. Ross Andrews was the only other American in the field and he failed to qualify after finishing 40th.

Schedule:

  • March 15th
    • 5:30 AM ET – Men’s Finals
      • Nick Baumgartner
      • Jonathan Cheever
      • Hagen Kearney
      • Mick Dierdorff
    • 5:30 AM ET – Women’s Finals
      • Lindsey Jacobellis
Alpine Skiing, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup

Ted Ligety Is Top American in Slalom at Kranjska Gora, 16th Overall

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Previous Kranjska Gora – Alpine Skiing World Cup Coverage

The US doesn’t really have a top slalom racer right now but Ted Ligety did his best to fill those shoes on Sunday. Ligety led way for the Americans with a 16th place finish about two seconds behind the winner. He was followed by Will Brandenburg in 23rd and Nolan Kasper in 26th. The best slalom skier this year for the US has been David Chodounsky but he didn’t even make it to the second run after he was disqualified on run one.

Kranjska Gora - Mens Slalom

Attention is now turned to the final Alpine Skiing World Cup event of the year in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. The men’s slalom will be one of the last events as it will be held on Sunday the 16th. Things kick off on Wednesday with the downhill races.

Alpine Skiing, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup

On Top Again: Ted Ligety Wins Giant Slalom at Alpine Skiing World Cup Event in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia

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Previous Men’s Alpine Skiing World Cup Coverage

Ted Ligety raced out to a great start in the first giant slalom run opening up a lead of 0.42 seconds and then hung on in the second run as he finished 12th in that run but still 0.18 seconds faster in total that anyone else to win another giant slalom event on the Alpine Skiing World Cup. Ligety, who just won gold in the giant slalom in Sochi, took his sixth giant slalom title at Kranjska Gora including three straight.

Ligety was joined in the top ten by Tim Jitloff who was 23rd on run one but second fastest in run two to get back within 1.21 seconds of Ligety and finish eighth. Bode Miller was the only other American to advance to the second run and he ended up 24th.

Ligety is now within 50 points of the lead for the season long giant slalom standings. He’d need some help in the final event of the year in Lenzerheide to catch the leader and win the title, but it certainly is possible.

Kranjska Gora - Mens Giant Slalom

On Sunday they’ll turn to the slalom event at the same site. Ted Ligety will compete in that as well and be joined by four other Americans including Nolan Kasper who finished 13th in the slalom in Sochi.

Schedule:

  • March 9th
    • 2:30 AM ET – Slalom – Run 1
      • Ted Ligety
      • David Chodounsky
      • Will Brandenburg
      • Nolan Kasper
      • Colby Granstrom
    • 6:30 AM ET – Slalom – Run 2
Alpine Skiing, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup

Just Like Sochi: Mikaela Shiffrin Wins the Slalom Again at Alpine Skiing World Cup Event in Are, Sweden

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Previous Are – Women’s FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup Coverage

Mikaela Shiffrin finally got to race the slalom again and the 18-year-old picked up where she left off in Sochi with another slalom win, her fourth win in seven events this year. Her total of 538 points in the slalom has clinched her the season title with one slalom race left. Resi Stiegler showed some nice skill as well navigating the course to a sixth best time on her second run and finishing 14th overall despite being over three seconds behind Shiffrin on the first run.

Are - Womens Slalom

The slalom will be back in action next Saturday at the final stop in Lenzerheide, Switzerland while the next women alpine skiing event is Wednesday in Lenzerheide when the final women’s downhill is held. WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of all the skiing in Lenzerheide.

Alpine Skiing, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup

Julia Mancuso in 20th the Top American in Women’s Giant Slalom in Are, Slalom Featuring Gold Medalist Mikaela Shiffrin Tomorrow

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Previous Are – Women’s FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup Coverage

The giant slalom didn’t result in any big results for the US on Friday. Julia Mancuso did rebound from a 28th place finish in the giant slalom on Thursday to finish 20th in this one but Mikaela Shiffrin fell from 15th to 24th. This isn’t the best event for either of these women but Shiffrin will get a shot at her best event, the slalom, on Saturday.

Shiffrin had a better first run where she placed 18th overall but she was only 23rd in the second run and gave up enough time to end up 24th. Mancuso’s 18th place in the second run bumped her up only a spot to 20th. Both were roughly three seconds behind the winner.

Are - Womens Giant Slalom #2

As mentioned earlier Shiffrin will stick around to compete in the slalom on Saturday as will Megan McJames. Joining those two in the field will be Resi Stiegler who was 20th in the first run of the slalom in Sochi. Visit WeSupportTheUS.com tomorrow night for a recap of the slalom.

Schedule:

  • March 8th
    • 4:30 AM ET – Women’s Slalom – Run 1
      • Mikaela Shiffrin
      • Resi Stiegler
      • Megan McJames
    • 7:30 AM ET – Women’s Slalom – Run 2
Alpine Skiing, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup

Ted Ligety Set For First Giant Slalom Event Since Winning Gold in Sochi

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Previous Men’s Alpine Skiing World Cup Coverage

For the first time since the Olympics the men are back racing the giant slalom in the Alpine Skiing World Cup. This weekend’s location rolls off the tongue, Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. That makes this the first time Ted Ligety will ski the giant slalom as the reigning gold medalist. Ligety is not alone in the field as he is joined by fellow Olympians Bode Miller and Tim Jitloff. Brennan Rubie and Robby Kelly will also be representing the US in the event.

The slalom event will be held on Sunday at the same place. WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of the results of the giant slalom and a look at the slalom start list on Saturday evening.

Schedule:

  • March 8th
    • 3:30 AM ET – Giant Slalom – Run 1
      • Ted Ligety
      • Bode Miller
      • Tim Jitloff
      • Brennan Rubie
      • Robby Kelley
    • 6:30 AM ET – Giant Slalom – Run 2
Alpine Skiing, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup

Mikaela Shiffrin Finishes 15th in First of Two Women’s Giant Slalom World Cup Events in Are, Sweden

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Previous Are – Women’s FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup Coverage

The Americans weren’t at their strongest on Thursday as the top US finisher, Mikaela Shiffrin, finished 15th after failing to crack the top 12 on either of her two runs. Julia Mancuso was even further back in 28th of the 29 skiers who were able to complete the two runs. Only the top 30 competed on the second run and that eliminated Megan McJames after she finished 53rd on the initial run.

Are - Womens Giant Slalom

There is another women’s giant slalom event tomorrow with the same three in the starting field. A top five finish by the US isn’t expected, that should hopefully come with Shiffrin’s slalom event on Saturday, but it would be nice to see a better result out of Shiffrin and Mancuso tomorrow. Check WeSupportTheUS.com tomorrow night for a recap of the giant slalom event and a look at Saturday’s slalom start list.

Schedule:

  • March 7th
    • 9:45 AM ET – Women’s Giant Slalom – Run 1
      • Mikaela Shiffrin
      • Julia Mancuso
      • Megan McJames
    • 12:45 PM ET – Women’s Giant Slalom – Run 2