Three Americans Qualify for Semifinals at ICF Slalom World Cup in Pau, France

For the first time this year three Americans reached the semifinals at a ICF Slalom World Cup event and for the first time, one of them will be competing on Sunday. Zachary Lokken and Richard Powell reached the semifinals again, just like in Ivrea, while the American Olympians in their event failed to advance. Advancing to the semifinals for the first time was Olympian Ashley Nee in the women’s K1. Nee finished tenth and grabbed the final semifinal spot from the second qualifying heat with a time of 118.53, nicking the final spot by 0.46. Lokken advanced from the men’s C1 in the first qualifying heat with a 13th place finish in 109.34, over two seconds clear, while Powell grabbed the sixth of ten qualifying spots from the second heat with a finish of 103.68 that was only a second clear in qualifying position.

Among others competing…
Men’s C1Casey Eichfeld finished 15th in the second qualifying heat in 115.19, missing out on a semifinal spot by 2.4 seconds.
Women’s C1Sage Donnelly finished 13th in the second qualifying heat in 194.86 after taking a 50-second penalty. Donnelly would have easily been in qualifying range had she avoided that penalty.
Men’s K1Michal Smolen was 39th in the first heat and missed qualifying by 2.15 after taking a penalty. That would be the closest he would come after taking a 50-second penalty in the second heat and finishing in 155.60. Tyler Westfall finished 44th in the second heat in 131.81.
Women’s K1Anna Maria Ifarraguerri finished 32nd in the second heat after taking 58-seconds in penalties and a time of 197.18.
Men’s C2: Eichfeld and Devin McEwan were sixth in the second qualifying heat as they missed a semifinal spot by 2.65 seconds.

Lokken and Powell will participate in semifinals on Saturday with a final later in the day in each event. For Nee the semifinals and final of the women’s K1 are on Sunday. The men’s and women’s K1 cross events both will begin on Saturday with time trial runs to establish seeding and an 1/8 finals for the men. Powell (third in Ivrea) and Westfall are competing in the men’s event with Donnelly competing in the women’s event.

Previous ICF Slalom World Cup Coverage:
Pau Preview

Jeffrey Holguin Wins Double Trap at USA Shooting Shotgun National Championships

Jeffrey Holguin was dominant again on the second day of the double trap competition to take home the national championship. Everyone was a bit lower in the second half of qualifying but he held a four point lead going into the final where he really showed off. A perfect 30 put him into the final against defending national champion Derek Haldeman and another perfect 30 there gave him the national title by one point over Haldeman. 2016 Olympian Glenn Eller was third going into the final and defeated Jesse Haynes-Lewis in the bronze medal final 29-25. Last year’s bronze medalist, Dale Royer, wound up seventh.

In the battle of last year’s three medalists in women’s skeet the defending bronze medalist, Dania Vizzi, continues to lead after a strong 48 on the second day. Her margin is now three points over Sydney Carson, who posted a day best 49, while defending champion Caitlin Connor fell off the pace a bit with a 44 and is six back in a tie for fifth. Defending silver medalist Amber English is tied for third with Samantha Simonton and five behind Vizzi. Katharina Jacob had been third but a 45 has her tied with Connor.

In men’s skeet last year’s bronze medalist Dustan Taylor also continues to lead after a perfect day gave him a 124 out a possible 125 to start things. Zachary McBee was two back going in and maintained that gap after a perfect day of his own. Colton EvansHayden Stewart, and Edwin Halliday III all were one back after the first day but shot 45’s and are tied for seventh, six back. Taz GloriaPhillip JungmanMark Staffen, and Aaron Wilson are tied for third five behind the leader.

The skeet competitions will have three rounds on Monday, and two on Tuesday before a final on Tuesday as well.

Previous 2016 USA Shooting Shotgun National Championships Coverage:
Preview
Monday Update
Tuesday Update
Wednesday Update
Thursday Update
Saturday Update

Aaron Gwin Wins Downhill National Title at Mountain Bike National Championships

Considering almost no one in the world has been able to beat Aaron Gwin this year in the downhill it’s no surprise that no American could top him on Saturday. Gwin won the national title by almost 10 seconds over Mich Ropelato, the dual slalom gold medalist from Friday. Gwin’s expected toughest competition, Luca Shaw, was not in contention finishing over 40 seconds back in 55th. Shane Leslie finished third, a tenth of a second behind Ropelato.

No American women have taken part in the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup downhill events this year so it was nice to see the best Americans compete. There were only ten entries and first place easily went to Jill Kintner of Bellingham, Washington. Kintner won the title by over 16 seconds over Samantha Kingshill while Jacqueline Thomas finished third.

In the short track cross country event on Saturday Erin Huck won her second national title holding off Georgia Gould for the second straight day, this time by 2.7 seconds. Kate Courtney won the bronze on this occasion. On the men’s side Howard Grotts also made it two national titles as his time of 24:48.1 was two seconds quicker than Todd WellsRussell Finsterwald won bronze for the second straight day just barely finishing behind silver by less than a second.

Sunday will wrap things up with the enduro races.

Previous USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships Coverage:
Preview
Friday Update

Tejay Van Garderen Stays Sixth at Tour de France

Tejay Van Garderen didn’t need to do much on Saturday to remain sixth in the Tour de France. Van Garderen did finish in the peloton but all the way back in 80th place but that was enough to maintain his position overall 3:19 back in sixth place after a flat stage that wasn’t going to provide any separation. Peter Stetina moved up a spot to 51st overall while Lawson Craddock fell one to 96th.

Sunday could carry more drama with a 99-mile mountain stage as the Tour de France features seven straight days of racing. After a day of rest the race ends with five final days of racing. There is one time trial, 11 miles in the mountains in stage 18, remaining.

In the Tour de Pologne on Saturday Larry Warbasse finished sixth in the first of two mountain stages as he shot up the standings to seventh overall. Warbasse was 5:12 behind winner Tim Wellens of Belgium who leads the race and is now 5:38 behind overall. Meanwhile Alexey Vermeulen was 76th, his first top 100 finish of the race, and improved to 92nd overall. Sunday will be a 45-mile mountain stage with a 15 mile individual time trial to wrap things up on Monday. There isn’t a ton of territory left for the riders to make their move but Warbasse still has a chance to move up.

Previous Tour de France Coverage:
Preview
Stage One Update
Stage Two Update
Stage Three Update
Stage Four Update
Stage Five Update
Stage Six Update
Stage Seven Update
Stage Eight Update
Stage Nine Update
Stage Ten Update
Stage 11 Update
Stage 12 Update
Stage 13 Update

Previous Tour de Pologne Coverage:
Preview
Stage One Update
Stage Two Update
Stage Three Update
Stage Four Update

Jeffrey Holguin Leads Double Trap at Halfway Point at USA Shooting Shotgun National Championships

In a field featuring all three of last year’s medalists, including a 2016 Olympian, it was Jeffrey Holguin that made most noise on the first day of the double trap national championship. Holguin was perfect in one round and nearly perfect in the other four posting a first day 146 to take a five point lead. Defending national champion Derek Haldeman is in second after a 141 while Jesse Haynes-Lewis is third after a 139 including a perfect round. 2016 Olympian Glenn Eller was a bit of with an opening 138 despite starting with a perfect round and is in fourth. Last year’s bronze medalist, Dale Royer, shot a 132 and is tied for seventh.

In a battle of last year’s three medalists in women’s skeet it’s the bronze medalist, Dania Vizzi, who leads after the first day where she posted a 74 that included a pair of perfect rounds. Her lead is two points over defending champion Caitlin Connor. The silver medalist from last year, Amber English, is tied for fourth after a 70 to start things off. Katharina Jacob is in third with a 71.

In men’s skeet last year’s bronze medalist Dustan Taylor took the day one lead with a 74. Colton EvansHayden Stewart, and Edwin Halliday III are right behind him with 73’s. All had perfect rounds, but Taylor had two to take the lead.

The men’s double trap event ends Sunday with five more rounds and a final. The skeet competitions will have two rounds on Sunday, three on Monday, and two on Tuesday before a final on Tuesday as well.

Previous 2016 USA Shooting Shotgun National Championships Coverage:
Preview
Monday Update
Tuesday Update
Wednesday Update
Thursday Update

ICF Slalom World Cup Hits Pau, France This Weekend

The third ICF Slalom World Cup event is this weekend in Pau, France and the US has their Olympic team members and several others competing. Things begin Friday with the qualifying heats in the various events headlined by the US Olympic team members: Casey Eichfeld in the men’s C1, Eichfeld and Devin McEwan in the men’s C2, Michal Smolen in the men’s K1, and Ashley Nee in the women’s K1. Zachary Lokken in the men’s C1 and Richard Powell in the men’s K1 are also entered and have made semifinal appearances earlier this year.

Previous ICF Slalom World Cup Coverage:
La Seu d’Urgell Recap

Erin Huck and Howard Grotts Win National Titles at Mountain Bike National Championships

Erin Huck hasn’t even been the second best American at any of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup events so far this year but Huck stepped up on Friday to win a national title, pulling away from the field and finishing over a minute in front of any of the other riders. Huck finished in 1:40:34 with Georgia Gould grabbing the silver in 1:41:46. Chloe Woodruff won the bronze medal but was almost four minutes behind Huck.

On the men’s side Howard Grotts, the top American in two of the three UCI World Cup races this year, was nearly two minutes clear of the field in his gold medal run. He finished in 1:41:53. Keegan Swenson won a photo finish against Russell Finsterwald to grab silver with both finishing in 1:43:44. Stephen Ettinger, who has been in the top 30 twice in the world cup this year, finished back in fifth.

National titles were also awarded in the dual slalom event with Jill Kintner taking gold over Adrian Sanders and Joanna Petterson on the women’s side while Mitch Ropelato won a close race on the men’s side. Ropelato held off Kyle Strait by 0.56 seconds to claim the title with Joseph Foresta just 0.52 seconds further back.

Saturday will be the finals of the downhill as well as a short track cross country event. Sunday will wrap things up with the enduro races. In the men’s downhill Aaron Gwin is the heavy favorite as the current leader on the world tour while Luca Shaw might be a contender as well.

Previous USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships Coverage:
Preview

Tejay Van Garderen Now in Sixth at Tour de France

Tejay Van Garderen moved up another spot at the Tour de France on Friday after finishing 16th in the 23-mile time trial. Van Garderen was 2:50 back of the stage winner and did drop some time to race leader Christopher Froome of Great Britain who is now 3:19 in front of Van Garderen. Van Garderen has now been in the top 25 in seven of the last nine stages at the Tour de France.

Brent Bookwalter was the only other American to finish in the top 100 as he placed 84th. Peter Stetina and Lawson Craddock remain in the top 100 overall in 52nd and 95th respectively.

Saturday is a 130-mile flat stage as the Tour de France features seven straight days of racing. After a day of rest the race ends with five final days of racing. There is one time trial, 11 miles in the mountains in stage 18, remaining.

In the Tour de Pologne on Friday Larry Warbasse finished in a large peloton at the front. Warbasse was 39th, improving on his previous day’s finish for the third straight day, and is now 48th overall, 35 seconds back. Saturday will be a 140-mile mountain stage as the riders should finally separate themselves in the week long race that ends Monday.

Previous Tour de France Coverage:
Preview
Stage One Update
Stage Two Update
Stage Three Update
Stage Four Update
Stage Five Update
Stage Six Update
Stage Seven Update
Stage Eight Update
Stage Nine Update
Stage Ten Update
Stage 11 Update
Stage 12 Update

Previous Tour de Pologne Coverage:
Preview
Stage One Update
Stage Two Update
Stage Three Update

No Americans Entered at Judo Grand Slam Event in Tyumen, Russia

With the Olympic judo spots already decided no Americans felt it was worth traveling to central Russia for the grand slam event in Tyumen this weekend. The same story was true last weekend in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia for the judo grand prix event. Three American women had competed in the Mongolian event last year and two men in the Russian event but the incentives are a bit different this year with a month to go until Rio.

The next Judo Grand Prix event is after the Olympics in Zagreb, Croatia from September 23rd through the 25th. The judo competition in Rio will take place from Saturday, August 6th through Friday, August 12th with the US judoka competing each day from Sunday through Thursday.

Previous Judo Grand Prix Coverage:
Budapest Recap

Ashley Carroll and Myles Walker Win Trap Events at USA Shooting Shotgun National Championships

Ashley Carroll successfully defending her trap title in dramatic fashion facing off against last year’s runner-up, Kayle Browning-Thomas, in a gold medal final that required a shoot-off. Carroll emerged a 5-4 victor to end up winning a competition she held a piece of the lead in after every step. Carroll posted a round best 48 on Thursday to take a two point lead to the final over Browning-Thomas with no one else within 11 of them. The format, a 15-shot final score being added to your four day total, meant that they were all but guaranteed a spot in the gold medal match where they produced the nerve-wracking shoot-off. Third place came down to Emma Williams and Kimberley Bowers with Williams posting the only perfect 15 of the finals to win bronze. Defending bronze medalist Janessa Beaman wound up seventh and missed out on a spot in the finals by two points.

On the men’s side there was some interesting drama as Myles Walker, tied for third going into the final, emerged as the victor. Walker shot a 48 in the qualifying rounds on Thursday to pull within two of the leaders and then a 12 in the final was enough to get him into a shoot-off for the final after Austin Odom scored just nine. Walker won the shoot-off again Shane Herman (who had been in seventh coming into the day) to advance to the gold medal match against Collin Wietfeldt, who he had begun the day tied with. Walker gave Wietfeldt no margin in the final notching a perfect 15 for the two point win. Herman would also win his final as he defeated Odom in a shoot-off 4-3 after a 14-14 tie for bronze. Michael Flores entered the day tied for the lead but a 45 in the qualifying rounds left him four behind the leaders and a nine in the final left him without a shot at the medals. Sevin Layer also had a share of the lead going into the final day but a 43 knocked him out of the top group and he finished tied for ninth.

Competition resumes Saturday with the men’s and women’s skeet competitions as well as the men’s double trap event. The skeet competitions will be three rounds Saturday, two on Sunday, three on Monday, and two on Tuesday before a final on Tuesday as well. The double trap competition is five rounds both Saturday and Sunday with a final on Sunday. Defending double trap national champion Derek Haldeman will be competing as will last year’s third place finisher, Dale Royer. Oh and Glenn Eller, defending silver medalist and 2016 Olympian. In men’s skeet last year’s bronze medalist Dustan Taylor is competing. All three of the medalists from last year’s women’s skeet, Caitlin ConnorAmber English, and Dania Vizzi, will be back this year.   

Previous 2016 USA Shooting Shotgun National Championships Coverage:
Preview
Monday Update
Tuesday Update
Wednesday Update

Covering America's Athletes