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

March 8, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

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

Track and Field, World Championships

Ryan Whiting Wins First Gold for US at 2014 World Indoor Track and Field Championships

March 8, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

Previous 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships Coverage

Lots of US athletes kicked things off in the 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships on Friday but very few were in events that would reach the final. One who was is Ryan Whiting in the shot put. Whiting grabbed the gold medal for the US to get them off to a great start. More gold medals are sure to follow the rest of the weekend, but first here’s a more detailed recap of all of Friday’s action.

Women’s High Jump

Inika McPherson came very close to moving on to the final of the women’s high jump as she cleared the same 1.92m as the final two qualifiers. The problem for McPherson was that she needed two tries on both 1.92m and 1.88m so she ended up 12th.

Women’s 400m

Two Americans started the day off in the women’s 400m heats and both advanced to the semifinals. In the semifinals Francena McCorory won her heat while Joanna Atkins took third in her’s. Both of those finishes were good enough to advance to Saturday’s final.

Womens 400m - Semifinals

Men’s Shot Put

In the men’s shot put Ryan Whiting got the qualification round off to a great start by throwing 20.75m on the first attempt. That automatically qualified him for the final. Kurt Roberts faulted on his first two attempts and managed 20.17m on his third attempt but wasn’t able to qualify for the final. In the final Whiting was in second after two throws but went on top on the fourth attempt by hitting 22.05m. That distance held up as he won the gold over David Storl of Germany.

Mens Shot Put - Final

Men’s 400m

In the men’s 400m heats both David Verburg and Kyle Clemons won their heats to move into the semifinals. Both took care of business and advanced to the final with Clemons second in his heat and Verburg third in his. They will both be racing for medals in the 400m final on Saturday.

Mens 400m - Semifinals

Women’s 3000m

The women’s 3000m was a good example of how different heats can give you different results. Shannon Rowbury was fourth in her heat and within a second of the heat winner while Gabrielle Grunewald was over five seconds behind her heat winner in sixth. Who was faster overall? You gussed it, of course it was Grunewald whose time would have been second best in the other heat.

Continue reading Ryan Whiting Wins First Gold for US at 2014 World Indoor Track and Field Championships →

Cross-Country Skiing, FIS Cross-Country World Cup

Six US Men, Headlined by Noah Hoffman, in Field For 50km Mass Start Cross-Country World Cup Event in Oslo

March 7, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

Previous FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Cup Coverage

For the first time since the Olympics the cross-country men will be going the full 50km in the most grueling event on the circuit. The 50km event in Oslo this Saturday will be done with the classic style instead of the free style that was used in Sochi. In the Olympics Noah Hoffman was the top American with a 26th place finish. None of the other five Americans in the field were in that race in Sochi.

This is the last time a race of this distance will be held this year with the longest race for the men at the World Cup Finals the skiathlon (15km classic/15km free).

WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of the results of the men’s 50km on Saturday evening as well as a look at the start list for the women’s 30km that will be held on Sunday.

Schedule:

March 8th
- 6 AM ET – Men’s 50km Classic
  - Noah Hoffman
  - Sylvan Ellefson
  - Erik Bjornsen
  - Andrew Newell
  - Reese Hanneman
  - Simeon Hamilton

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

March 7, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

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.

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

ISU World Cup, Speed Skating

Heather Richardson Wins First 500m Race at ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Inzell

March 7, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

What was it about Sochi? The US showed no lingering effects from a horribly disappointing Olympics as they won one event and grabbed a medal in another in the first day of competition at the ISU Speed Skating World Cup in Inzell. Both came from the women with Heather Richardson winning the 500m by just one hundredth of a second while Brittany Bowe grabbed a third in the women’s 1500m.

Men’s 5000m

The only American men skating on Friday was Patrick Meek. Meek was in the A Division of the men’s 5000m race and finished 12th, 18 seconds behind the leader. Meek will compete again on Saturday in the men’s mass start race.

Women’s 500m

The women’s 500m race was where most of the action was happening for the US. The 500m is raced twice over the weekend but the results are not combined at all. Heather Richardson won the first of the two races by one hundredth of a second over Judith Hesse of Germany. Brittany Bowe made it two Americans in the top ten with an eighth place finish.

Women’s 1500m

The US had competitors in both the A and B division women’s 1500m races on Friday. The two races are considered separate events. In the Division B event Anna Ringsred finished fifth in a time of 2:01.42. In the Division A race Brittany Bowe took home third place finishing just over a second behind the winner while Heather Richardson finished 11th.

Upcoming on Saturday:

Things will continue with five different events on Saturday involving US athletes. Shani Davis will be skating in the men’s 1000m and Heather Richardson has a chance to win another women’s 500m race. WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of the results on Saturday evening.

Schedule:

March 8th
- 4:24 AM ET – Women’s 3000m Division B
  - Anna Ringsred
  - Maria Lamb
- 7:30 AM ET – Women’s 500m (2 of 2) Division A
  - Kelly Gunther
  - Sugar Todd
  - Heather Richardson
- 7:57 AM ET – Men’s 500m (1 of 2) Division A
  - Mitchell Whitmore
  - Tucker Fredricks
- 9:41 AM ET – Men’s 1000m Division A
  - Jonathan Garcia
  - Joey Mantia
  - Mitchell Whitmore
  - Brian Hansen
  - Shani Davis
- 10:31 AM ET – Men’s Mass Start
  - Brian Hansen
  - Joey Mantia
  - Patrick Meek

FIS Nordic Combined World Cup, Nordic Combined

Four for Four, All Four Americans Qualify for Saturday’s Nordic Combined World Cup Event in Oslo

March 7, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

Previous Trondheim – FIS Nordic Combined World Cup Coverage

The Americans continued a strong week in the Nordic combined World Cup by qualifying all four of their athletes for the event in Oslo. Bryan Fletcher led the way with a ninth place jump that is the kind of jump that can make him a medal contender. Bill Demong followed in 29th after a very clean jump while Nick Hendrickson (42nd) and Taylor Fletcher (48th) both weren’t great but did enough to make the field.

It will be interesting to see if the Americans can put up some strong numbers again tomorrow when it will set the start times for the cross-country portion and determine if they are capable of catching the top skiers or not. If the past few days have taught us anything it’s that this is a good spell for them and tomorrow could be very exciting. Visit WeSupportTheUS.com again tomorrow for coverage of tomorrow’s results.

Schedule:

March 8th
- 4 AM ET – Ski Jumping Round
  - Bill Demong
  - Bryan Fletcher
  - Taylor Fletcher
  - Nick Hendrickson
- 9:45 AM ET – 10km Cross-Country Round

Alpine Skiing, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup

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

March 7, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

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

Soccer

USA U-18 Women’s Soccer Start 10 Nations Tournament on Saturday

March 7, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

Following up the U-23 women who won the Six Nations Tournament in La Manga, Spain the U-18 women will take their turn in Spain with the 10 Nations Tournament. The US will take on Sweden, Norway, and France in their three games. The other teams in the tournament are Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, England.

The US has taken a roster of twenty to Spain with all but four of the players still in high school. Most of these players will be able to play for the U-20 team at the 2016 U-20 Women’s World Cup so this is a big tournament for them to make a good showing and help secure spots in the squad leading up towards that tournament.

The US starts things off with a 12 PM ET matchup with Sweden on Saturday. WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of the first day’s results once they can be located, not always easy with an U-18 women’s tournament like this.

Roster

Goalkeepers
- Rosemary Chandler – Atlanta, Ga.
- Casey Murphy – Bridgewater, N.J.
Defenders
- Anna Bialczak – Lutherville, Md.
- Madeline Elliston – Omaha, Neb.
- Megan Keeth – Los Altos Hills, Calif.
- Gabrielle Matulich – Los Gatos, Calif.
- Kaleigh Riehl – Fairfax Station, Va.
- Niki Romero – University of North Carolina
Midfielders
- Carlyn Baldwin – Oakton, Va.
- Jaye Boissiere -Los Altos Hills, Calif.
- Katie Cousins – Lynchburg, Va.
- Jordan DiBiasi – Littleton, Colo.
- Annie Kingman – Woodside, Calif.
- Emily Ogle – Strongsville, Ohio
- Jessica Vigna – Farmingdale, N.J.
Forwards
- Kayla Cappuzzo – Merrick, N.Y.
- Imani Dorsey – Elkridge, Md.
- Darian Jenkins – UCLA
- Amber Munerlyn – University of North Carolina
- Rebecca Rasmussen – University of Georgia

Schedule:

March 8th
- 12 PM ET – USA vs. Sweden
- Netherlands vs. Scotland
- England vs. Ireland
- Italy vs. Norway
- Denmark vs. France
March 10th
- 10 AM ET – USA vs. Norway
- Scotland vs. Sweden
- Ireland vs. Denmark
- Italy vs. Netherlands
- France vs. England
March 12th
- 6 AM ET – USA vs. France
- Denmark vs. Scotland
- Ireland vs. Sweden
- Italy vs. England
- Netherlands vs. Norway

Biathlon, Olympics, Recaps, Sochi 2014

Sochi 2014 Biathlon Recap: US With Best Ever Finish in Five of Ten Events, Appear Closer and Closer to Medaling

March 7, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

It may seem a little surprising that the biathlon is an event the US has never ever had any success in. It seems at the surface like such a simple concept, skiing and shooting, but the amount of conditioning necessary to ski quick enough to be a top biathlon athlete is not simple. And to be able to then calm yourself down in a matter of seconds for a round of shooting is quite incredible. It’s a sport that has eluded the US for decades but might finally be on the verge of becoming a discipline where the US could medal.

The US had the best ever finish in five of the ten events contested in Sochi including the best ever finish any event by an individual man (Lowell Bailey) and woman (Susan Dunklee). The US has still never medaled but it feels closer and closer to happening.

Men’s Sprint

Tim Burke led the way for the US in the men’s sprint finishing 19th. He led a group of three Americans in the top 50 and his 19th place finish was only the third time since 1980 that the US had a finisher in the top 20. It was down from Jeremy Teela’s ninth place finish in 2010.

Women’s Sprint

On the women’s side in the sprint Susan Dunklee finished a solid 14th, the best ever finish by a woman in the event for the US. Sara Studebaker made it two US women that finished ahead of their best finisher from 2010 when she improved on her 45th place finish by one spot.

Continue reading Sochi 2014 Biathlon Recap: US With Best Ever Finish in Five of Ten Events, Appear Closer and Closer to Medaling →

Paralympics, Sochi 2014

18 Athletes Will Compete for Team USA in First Day of 2014 Winter Paralympics

March 7, 2014 Jon Green Leave a comment

It’s been a few weeks since the Olympics but things are ready to ramp back up in Sochi with competition beginning on Saturday. The US will see their teams get underway in wheelchair curling and in sledge hockey. They will also have 18 other athletes competing individually in nine events that are either downhill skiing or biathlon.

Things get started at 12:30 AM ET with wheelchair curling vs. Slovakia and the last event to start will be the sledge hockey game against Italy at 7:30 AM ET.

Broadcast Information:

TeamUSA.org will have live streaming of likely all of the events Saturday while NBCSN will cover the downhill live from 1-5 AM ET Saturday and show a daily coverage show from 5:30-8:30 PM ET.

Schedule:

March 8th
- 12:30 AM ET – Wheelchair Curling – Round Robin – USA vs. Slovakia
- 1 AM ET – Women’s Alpine Skiing – Downhill – Visually Impaired
  - Danelle Umstead
- 1 AM ET – Women’s Biathlon – 6km – Sitting
  - Oksana Masters
- 1:15 AM ET – Women’s Alpine Skiing – Downhill – Standing
  - Allison Jones
- 1:25 AM ET – Men’s Biathlon – 7.5km – Sitting
  - Andrew Soule
  - Daniel Cnossen
  - Sean Halsted
  - Jeremy Wagner
  - Travis Dodson
  - Aaron Pike
- 1:35 AM ET – Women’s Alpine Skiing – Downhill – Sitting
  - Alana Nichols
  - Laurie Stephens
- 1:40 AM ET – Men’s Alpine Skiing – Downhill – Visually Impaired
  - Mark Bathum
- 2:50 AM ET – Men’s Alpine Skiing – Downhill – Sitting
  - Christopher Devlin-Young
  - Tyler Walker
  - Jasmin Bambur
- 3:15 AM ET – Men’s Biathlon – 7.5km – Standing
  - Omar Bermejo
- 4:44 AM ET – Men’s Biathlon – 7.5km – Visually Impaired
  - Kevin Burton
  - Jacob Adicoff
- 6:30 AM ET – Wheelchair Curling – Round Robin – USA vs. South Korea
- 7:30 AM ET – Ice Sledge Hockey – Group Round – Group B – USA vs. Italy

Schedule:

Women’s High Jump

Women’s 400m

Men’s Shot Put

Men’s 400m

Women’s 3000m

Schedule:

Schedule:

Men’s 5000m

Women’s 500m

Women’s 1500m

Upcoming on Saturday:

Schedule:

Schedule:

Schedule:

Roster

Schedule:

Men’s Sprint

Women’s Sprint

Broadcast Information:

Schedule:

Covering America's Athletes