Category Archives: Ski Jumping

Basketball, Biathlon, Biathlon World Cup, FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup, FIS Nordic Combined World Cup, FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, Freestyle Skiing, Nordic Combined, Ski Jumping, The Melting Pot, World Championships

The Melting Pot: Lowell Bailey 3rd at Biathlon World Cup in Sprint Event, Jessica Jerome 8th at Ski Jumping World Cup

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Biathlon World Cup – Kontiolahti, Finland

The Biathlon World Cup held some great results for the US on Saturday. Lowell Bailey was the main noisemaker as he was perfect in shooting in the men’s 10km sprint and finished with the bronze! He was only a second back of grabbing the silver. Tim Burke was also strong as he finished 19th, 1:10 back, while Leif Nordgren was 27th, 1:23 back. All three will now be in the men’s 12.5 km pursuit on Sunday with a real chance for another medal as they will all be starting near the front.

In the women’s 7.5km sprint Susan Dunklee was 21 spots better than on Thursday as she finished eighth, within 36 seconds of the winner and 24 seconds of the bronze. Hannah Dreissigacker was 41st with Sara Studebaker in 58th and Annelies Cook in 76th. Dunklee, Dreissigacker, and Studebaker will all be in the women’s 10km pursuit on Sunday with Dunklee in good position to challenge for a medal.

Schedule:

  • March 16th
    • 4:45 AM ET – Men’s 12.5km Pursuit
      • Lowell Bailey
      • Tim Burke
      • Leif Nordgren
    • 6:15 AM ET – Women’s 10km Pursuit
      • Hannah Dreissigacker
      • Susan Dunklee
      • Annelies Cook
      • Sara Studebaker

Nordic Combined World Cup – Falun, Sweden

The final team event of the season was supposed to be held at the Nordic Combined World Cup today but plans changed and instead of the team event the individual event was held today with the team event pushed until Sunday. It was no matter for Taylor Fletcher and Bryan Fletcher as they both knew they would be in action today either way. Taylor Fletcher had the better day of the two with a 24th best jump leaving him 54 seconds back and then a 12th best cross-country time that gave him an 11th place finish for the day, one minute behind the winner. Bryan Fletcher was 44th in the ski jumping and a 17th best cross-country time meant he finished 28th overall.

The team event tomorrow will feature both Taylor and Bryan along with Nick Hendrickson and Brett Denney representing the US.

Schedule:

  • March 16th
    • 7 AM ET – Team Ski Jumping Round
      • Taylor Fletcher
      • Brett Denney
      • Nick Hendrickson
      • Bryan Fletcher
    • 11:45 AM ET – Team 4x5km Cross-Country Round

Freestyle Skiing World Cup – Ski Cross – Are, Sweden

The first of two ski cross events to wrap up the year were held on Saturday. John Teller and Joe Swensson were competing for the US with both advancing from qualifying. Teller kept up the momentum by winning his 1/8 final while Swensson finished last in his heat and was eliminated. Teller won his quarterfinal as well but finished last in the semifinals to end up in the small final. A second place finish in the small final gave him a final finish of sixth place.

The two will try to improve on their Saturday results when the second event is held on Sunday to wrap up the season.

Schedule:

  • March 16th
    • 7 AM ET – Men’s Ski Cross Qualifying
      • John Teller
      • Joe Swensson
    • 9:20 AM ET – Men’s Ski Cross Round of 32
    • 9:52 AM ET – Men’s Ski Cross Quarterfinals
    • 10:12 AM ET – Men’s Ski Cross Semifinals
    • 10:29 AM ET – Men’s Ski Cross Final

2014 FIBA World Championship for Women Draw – Turkey

The draw was held today for this year’s FIBA World Championship for Women. The tournament will be held from September 27th through the 5th of October in Turkey. The US was drawn into Group D with Serbia, China, and Angola. The US is currently ranked #1 in the world with China 8th, Angola 20th and Serbia 29th. The US won the event in 2010 with only Australia coming within single digits of the US in nine games played. Serbia and Angola were not part of the event in 2010 with China going 0-3 in the group stage before two wins placed them 13th.

The US will start things off with China on September 27th with Serbia to follow the next day and Angola on the 30th. The top team in the group gets a bye into the quarterfinals while the next two teams will be in the first elimination round. The US is on the same side of the bracket with Australia and assuming both won their groups and quarterfinal games they would meet in the semifinals on October 4th.

Schedule:

  • September 27th – USA vs. China – Group D – TBD
  • September 28th – USA vs. Serbia – Group D – TBD
  • September 30th – USA vs. Angola – Group D – TBD

Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup – Falun, Sweden

Jessica Jerome is the only one representing the US this weekend at the Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup and she had a strong day on Saturday. Jerome had a 7th best first jump score of 100.8 and followed it up with a 12th best second jump score of 100.7 as she totaled 201.5 to finish eighth in the overall standings. She’ll compete again on Sunday in what will be the second to last event of the year.

Schedule:

  • March 16th
    • 5 AM ET – First Round/Final Round (Separate Event)
      • Jessica Jerome
FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup, FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, Freestyle Skiing, Short Track Speed Skating, Short Track World Championships, Ski Jumping, The Melting Pot

The Melting Pot: Jessica Jerome Set for Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup This Weekend, No US Medals On First Day at Short Track World Championships

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Short Track Speed Skating World Championships – Montreal, Canada

The Short Track Speed Skating World Championships started today in Montreal with the US looking to rebound from a disappointing Olympics. In the women’s 1500m both Jessica Smith and Emily Scott moved on from their heats before Scott was eliminated in the semifinals after coming fourth in her heat. Smith made the final where she finished sixth.

In the men’s 1500m J.R. Celski and Chris Creveling both emerged from the heats easily but suffered disappointment in the semifinals. Creveling fell and finished a half minute behind the pack in his heat while Celski was in the pack but finished fourth in his heat, denying the US a berth in the final.

In the women’s 3000m relay the US team of Alyson Dudek, Jessica Smith, Emily Scott, and Brittany Salmon finished fourth, missing a spot in the final by over six seconds.

Smith and Scott will compete again in the women’s 500m on Saturday with Celski and Creveling in the men’s 500m. The men’s 5000m relay team will also take part in the semifinals.

Schedule:

  • March 15th
    • Women’s 500m
      • 12:35 PM ET – Preliminaries
        • Jessica Smith
        • Emily Scott
      • 2:15 PM ET – Heats
      • 3:03 PM ET – Quarterfinals
      • 3:40 PM ET – Semifinals
      • 4:07 PM ET – Final
    • Men’s 500m
      • 1:17 PM ET – Preliminaries
        • J.R. Celski
        • Chris Creveling
      • 2:32 PM ET – Heats
      • 3:14 PM ET – Quarterfinals
      • 3:46 PM ET – Semifinals
      • 4:13 PM ET – Final
    • Men’s 5000m Relay
      • 4:34 PM ET – Semifinals
        • USA Team

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

The final moguls event of the Freestyle Skiing World Cup season is in Voss-Myrkdalen, Norway on Saturday. Qualification and the final rounds will all be held on the same day with 13 competitors from the US. Heather McPhie, Hannah Kearney, and Eliza Outtrim are the biggest names on the women’s side with Patrick Deneen, Bradley Wilson, and Bryon Wilson as big names on the men’s side.

Schedule:

  • March 15th
    • 4:45 AM ET – Women’s Moguls Qualifying
      • Ali Kariotis
      • Heather McPhie
      • Hannah Kearney
      • Keaton McCargo
      • Eliza Outtrim
      • Sophia Schwartz
    • 6:35 AM ET – Men’s Moguls Qualifying
      • Patrick Deneen
      • Troy Murphy
      • Jeremy Cota
      • Joseph Discoe
      • Bryon Wilson
      • Bradley Wilson
      • Dylan Walczyk
    • 7:30 AM ET – Women’s Moguls Final 1 (Top 16)
    • 7:55 AM ET – Men’s Moguls Final 1 (Top 16)
    • 8:25 AM ET – Women’s Moguls Final 2 (Top 6)
    • 8:35 AM ET – Men’s Moguls Final  (Top 6)

Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup – Falun, Sweden

The women are in Falun, Sweden this weekend for their second to last Ski Jumping World Cup event. There will be two separate events this weekend with the first one on Saturday. Jessica Jerome is the only one representing the US in the event.

Schedule:

  • March 15th
    • 9:15 AM ET – First Round/Final Round
      • Jessica Jerome
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
FIS Ski Flying World Championships, Ski Jumping

Anders Johnson and Nicholas Fairall to Compete at FIS Ski Flying World Championships

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The Ski Jumping World Cup takes a break this weekend for the Ski Flying World Championships. What is ski flying? It’s basically ski jumping on an even larger hill where flying 660 ft. is not uncommon. Woah.

This week’s event gets started with qualifying on Thursday and Anders Johnson and Nicholas Fairall will represent the US in the field.

Schedule:

  • March 13th
    • 12 PM ET – Qualifying
      • Anders Johnson
      • Nicholas Fairall
FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, Ski Jumping

Jessica Jerome With Another Top 10 In Oslo Ski Jumping World Cup Event

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Previous Oslo – FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Coverage

Oslo - Womens First Round

Jessica Jerome wasn’t able to replicate the top three finish from earlier this week in Rasnov but she didn’t fall too far down the standings either. Her first and second jumps were very similar with a slight increase of four points from the first to second jump. Jerome was 11th after her first jump but was ninth best on her second to finish 10th for the event. She was 13 points behind third in the final standings.

Oslo - Womens Final Round

On the men’s side it was a better day for Anders Johnson though he still didn’t advance from the qualification round. Johnson came close in 43rd but was still about five points behind the score he needed with a 97.4. Alexander finished 52nd about 20 points behind the qualification score of the 40th place jumper.

Oslo - Qualification Round

The women will be back in action next week at Falun with two events (Saturday and Sunday). The men are off on the World Cup schedule until Thursday the 20th when they’ll have qualifying at the final stop of the year. In the meantime the FIS Ski Flying World Championships will be held starting Thursday the 13th and running until the 16th. No Americans competed at the last FIS Ski Flying World Championships in 2012 but that doesn’t mean they won’t this year, we’ll know later in the week.

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, Ski Jumping

After 2nd Place in Rasnov, Jessica Jerome Looks To Compete for Title Again at Ski Jumping World Cup in Oslo

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Previous FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Coverage

Earlier this week Jessica Jerome had her best ever finish in the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup with a second place finish in Rasnov. Now we get to find out what she has in store for the encore performance. Jerome is in a group of 30 women who will be competing in Oslo showing off their abilities right before the men get underway.

Speaking of the men Nick Alexander and Anders Johnson are just trying to qualify for a men’s world cup event right now. Only once since the Olympics, Alexander in Falun, did either man qualify for the first round. It’s now four straight events where they haven’t reached the first round. Both are capable of reaching the round with a good jump and there are 40 spots available for the 57 men trying to qualify.

WeSupportTheUS.com will have a recap of the men’s and women’s ski jumping action on Saturday evening. Hopefully I can report good news on both the men’s and women’s side with another top-five for Jerome and a couple men competing in the main event on Sunday!

Schedule:

  • March 8th
    • 10:30 AM ET – Women’s First/Final Round
      • Jessica Jerome
    • 1 PM ET – Men’s Qualification Round
      • Anders Johnson
      • Nick Alexander
FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, Ski Jumping

Four in a Row: Nick Alexander and Anders Johnson Can’t Emerge From Qualifying Round at Ski Jumping World Cup in Trondheim

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Previous Trondheim – FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Coverage

Nick Alexander and Anders Johnson tried to end a streak of three straight Ski Jumping World Cup events without a US jumper in the first round but failed to qualify again or even reach the top 50. Alexander did improve on his 56th place finish from the last jump but came up short in 51st after “only” jumping 116m. Johnson slipped to 56th after a 54th place finish in his last event as he scored only a 46.5 on the judges score.

Trondheim - Qualification Round

Both should have a chance to rebound quickly as there is another ski jumping event in Oslo starting with a qualification round on Saturday morning. Saturday will also be a return to the hill for the women including Jessica Jerome who finished second in her last event. WeSupportTheUS.com will have a look at the start lists for the Oslo events on Friday evening.

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, Ski Jumping

Nick Alexander and Anders Johnson Will Attempt to Qualify for Latest Ski Jumping World Cup Event in Trondheim

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Previous FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Coverage

It’s been three straight events on the Ski Jumping World Cup tour since we had an American advance from the qualifying round. Nick Alexander and Anders Johnson will try to end that streak on Thursday in Trondheim, Norway. There are 58 men in the round vying for 40 spots in the first round that will be held on Friday. Last time out in Kuopio neither American placed in the top 50 in the qualifying round.

With just three more ski jumping events left after this the time is running out for Alexander and Johnson to have one last strong event in the 2013-14 World Cup season. WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of the results later on Thursday.

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, Ski Jumping

Stuck in the 50s: Anders Johnson (54th) and Nick Alexander (56th) Can’t Advance From Qualifying in Ski Jumping World Cup at Kuopio

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Previous FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Coverage

The streak of failing to have a US ski jumper advance from the qualification round reached three straight events on Tuesday as both Nick Alexander and Anders Johnson couldn’t reach the top 50. Johnson had the better of the two jumps reaching 100.5m and scoring a 73.4, still well short of the 94.0 needed to reach the top 40. Alexander only made it 90m and took just a 6.0 for distance points.

Kuopio - Qualification Round

The next chance for ski jumping success is not far off with Trondheim, Norway hosting an event Thursday and Friday with qualifying on Thursday. There are just four events left in the 2013-14 season. Check back to WeSupportTheUS.com tomorrow night when hopefully I can confirm if Anders Johnson and Nick Alexander are indeed in the field.

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, Ski Jumping

Qualifying in Kuopio, Finland postponed to Tuesday, Nick Alexander and Anders Johnson Will Look to Reach First Round

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Previous FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Coverage

Things were supposed to get started in Kuopio, Finland on Monday with a qualification round for Tuesday’s main event. Instead heavy snowfall caused the qualifying to be delayed so it will be held on Tuesday night right before the first round. After failing to qualify in Lahti on Sunday both Nick Alexander and Anders Johnson will be in the field and have a chance to improve on that result. WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of the results Tuesday evening.

Schedule:

  • March 4th
    • 9:30 AM ET – Qualification Round
      • Anders Johnson
      • Nick Alexander
    • 11 AM ET – First/Final Round