January 20 marks “World Snow Day,” a day to celebrate new snow experiences for children across the world. World Snow Day was created by the International Ski Federation (FIS) as part of their “Bring Children to the Snow” campaign to promote skiing and snowboarding to global youth audiences.

World Snow Day brings together children and families around the world, in over 469 events and actions taking place in 45 countries across five continents.

A key role of FIS is to organise international ski and snowboard competitions up through the highest levels, and the FIS is also committed to the global promotion and development of recreational skiing and snowboarding. As the Olympic National Governing Body (NGB) of ski and snowboard sports in the USA, U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s mission is to lead, encourage and support athletes in achieving excellence by empowering national teams, clubs, coaches, parents, officials, volunteers and fans.

Atomic, the official ski of World Snow day and partner of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, is giving away a family set of skis to celebrate World Snow Day. Enter to win by:

1. Taking your best family ski photo
2. Post it to Instagram, Facebook or Twitter
3. Add the hashtag #atomicsnowday
4. Then check world-snow-day.com on 20th January 2019 to see if you have won!

Many of the world’s elite ski and snowboard athletes would not be the snowsports heros they are if it were not for their first experience with snow.
“I love the snow, I love skiing. I remember my first day on snow, I was four, and I’ve been hooked ever since.” - 2018 Olympian, moguls, Morgan Schild

On a perfect sun-splashed course in the Italian Alps, Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.) trusted her instincts and equipment and came away with another FIS Ski World Cup victory in super-G Sunday in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Starting 17th with the red World Cup leader’s bib, Shiffrin, who also leads the World Cup super-G standings, watched a few competitors before her, including teammate Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.), struggle on the Olympia delle Tofane course.

“I watched a couple girls going and I was thinking, ‘Ok..there are maybe two or three points on the course you really need to be on the right direction, and otherwise, it’s just to be aggressive,’” Shiffrin said. “I was comfortable with my skis and really, really comfortable with my setup, so I feel like I can do whatever I want if the surface is good, and today the surface was really nice.”

After inspecting the course, Shiffrin admitted she was a bit nervous, but all that disappeared once she was in the start.

“I was just kind of thinking ‘oh, the course looks tricky and a little bit more difficult than I thought from my inspection,’” she said.”But at the end when I started, I was just trying to trust my line and be aggressive. And yeah, I’m a little bit lucky...it’s super tight, but I’m happy to be on that side of the green light.”

Unlike most athletes who raced in Sunday's super-G, Shiffrin did not ski either of the downhill training runs or the downhills at the venue, which can be a more challenging way to head into a super-G race. But for Shiffrin - who had a solid day of super-G training in Sarntal, Italy prior to arriving to Cortina - it was no problem.

Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein was second, followed by Tamara Tippler of Austria in third. Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.) was 23rd. Vonn and Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.) were among the 22 athletes who did not finish, but both skied away and are OK. Vonn was making up time as she skied down the track but got pulled pretty low and couldn't make the next left footer, crossing her arms in front of her and skiing through the panel. 

“I haven’t quite processed everything yet,” an emotional Vonn said after her DNF. “I can’t seem to stop crying. It’s been a lot of great memories here in Cortina. I tried to really ski my best, I tried to come through the finish and make a good result for the fans here, but I didn’t quite do that.

“It’s just hard. I thought it would be easier honestly. But it’s not,” she continued while mentioning the support she has received from other athletes, including Italy’s Sofia Goggia, who is also working to come back from an injury and came out to support Vonn in her final race at Cortina, meant a lot to her. “It’s more than ski racing. It’s a respect for each other, sportsmanship, and what skiing is all about. And I’m lucky that I’m able to experience all of that. I feel really thankful that I’ve been able to do it as long as I have.”

Shiffrin acknowledged that it must have been a week full of emotions at a place that was so special to Vonn - a place Vonn has had so much career success. “For Lindsey, I can imagine it’s really emotional,” noted Shiffrin. “She had so many amazing races here...for it to be the last time she’s in Cortina racing, I imagine she must be going through so many memories and it’s a reflection of her entire career. The fans are coming out here to cheer for her - they don’t care if she wins, they just want to see her again. So, in that way, it’s also happy memories.”

With the victory, Shiffrin extended her overall World Cup lead to 596 points over Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova, who did not race Sunday. Shiffrin also leads the World Cup super-G, giant slalom, and slalom standings. Shiffrin is now tied with legendary Austrian skier Hermann Maier with 54 victories, sitting sixth place all-time among men and women. She needs just two more victories in order to equal Vreni Schneider (55) in fifth place.

Up next, the women’s World Cup tour moves on to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany for downhill and super-G races Jan. 24-25.

“I’m planning to take a little time off and get some training,” Shiffrin said. “It will be the first time this season that I’ve had a chance to really take a break. My team as well. My coaches have been going non-stop since the beginning, so we’re going to take a short break, get back on the skis, get back on the slalom skis, get ready for Maribor (Slovenia, Feb. 1-2) and the World Championships.”

As for Vonn, her comeback to the World Cup circuit this weekend in Cortina, where she has won 12 races (six downhill and six super-G) over her 18-year career, hasn’t been what she expected, despite 15th and ninth-place results in Friday and Saturday’s downhills, respectively.

“I’m not sure if I’m going to Garmisch,” Vonn said. “I’m not sure...I’m not sure if I can keep going. I have to really think things through the next few days and make some hard decisions.”

RESULTS
Women’s super-G

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Preliminary schedule, subject to change
*Same-day delayed broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Sunday, Jan. 20
8:00 p.m. - Women’s downhill - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - NBCSN**
9:00 p.m. - Women’s super-G - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - NBCSN*

Friday, Jan.  25
5:30 a.m. - Men’s super-G - Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Jan. 26
4:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill - Garmisch-Partenkirchen, GER - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:30 a.m. - Men’s downhill - Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
10:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill - Garmisch-Partenkirchen, GER - NBCSN*

Sunday, Jan. 27
4:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1 - Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
5:30 a.m. - Women’s super-G - Garmisch-Partenkirchen, GER - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2 - Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
9:00 p.m. - Women’s Super-G - Garmisch-Partenkirchen, GER - NBCSN*

Monday, Jan. 28
4:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill and super-G - Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBCSN**

Tuesday, Jan. 29
11:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom - Kitzbuehel, AUT - NBCSN**

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold andOlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

Madison Varmette (Stafford, Va.) led the U.S. Aerials Team with a fifth-place finish in the first FIS Freestyle World Cup event of the season at the USANA Lake Placid Freestyle Cup Saturday.

“This first competition was awesome,” said Varmette, who posted a career-best result. “To get fifth in the qualification round and then first in the first final, going into super finals, that was really cool. And then getting fifth, I’m just taking it one step at a time before World Champs. It really filled me with confidence to believe that I continue to do better and continue to do aerials year after year.”

Fans bundled up and braved the cold night, with temperatures around zero degrees Fahrenheit and light snowfall, to support aerial skiers from across the globe. Three American women and one American man qualified for finals and spectators were treated to some serious displays of athleticism as 57 aerial skiers from 10 nations took to the night sky at the Olympic Jumping Complex.

“Madi leading into the super finals was huge for her,” said U.S. Aerials Head Coach Todd Ossian. “She did some great jumps today.”

Finishing right behind Varmette was Winter Vinecki (Gaylord, Mich.), in sixth, a career best for her as well. China swept the podium with Mengtao Xu first, Qi Shao second and Nuo Xu in third.

On the men’s side, Russia’s Maxim Burov took the victory, followed by China’s Xindi Wang in second and Stanislav Nikitin of Russia in third. Chris Lillis (Rochester, N.Y.) was the top American, coming in seventh.

“There was a lot I liked about this event. It’s been good from the development side, all of our athletes are jumping well and getting to where we need to be for World Championships. Next week we’ll have a lot more training on an amazing site here in Lake Placid before U.S. Nationals on January 26,” said Ossian.

Ossian’s biggest take away from this event: Eric Loughran (Pelham, N.H.). “Eric jumped an incredible run in training, the best run he ever did. It’s capable of winning World Cups,” he said.

The men of the U.S. Team are definitely ramping up to show what they have this season. “Pat did first full double full full in training and stuck it. I don’t know many people that stuck their first one,” said Ossian of Patrick O’Flynn (Rochester, N.Y.).

Justin Schoenefeld (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) competed in his first World Cup jumping only triples. “It was his first time cold starting on the triple. He’s never warmed up on the triple before. And this is his first year of triples. It’s crazy good,” said Ossian.

Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, Va.) made her return to the triple in Lake Placid. “It was a huge step for Ashley to jump the triple today. She’s coming back from shoulder surgery and getting ready for Worlds, so to have that under her belt is awesome,” said World Cup Coach Emily Cook. C. Lillis and Vinecki made their return to the World Cup circuit from injury as well.

RESULTS
Men’s aerials
Women’s aerials

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.
**Next-day broadcast

Sunday, Jan. 20
5:00 p.m. - Men and women’s aerials - Lake Placid, N.Y. - NBC**

Chloe Kim (Torrance, Calif.) took the victory in Laax, Switzerland at the FIS Snowboard World Cup Laax Open halfpipe as teammates Arielle Gold (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and Jake Pates (Eagle, Colo.) each claimed third, completing a stellar showing for the U.S. Snowboard Team.

“I think I was a little nervous about the night final,” said Kim. “But it turned out really well. The pipe was sick, the ladies were killing it, and it was a really fun contest to be a part of.”

Pates also shared his excitement about the event. “I had such a blast,” he said. “The night finals were crazy. So many people showed up to support and everyone was riding at an insane level. Laax knows how to put on an event for sure.”

It was a perfect night in Laax with the sun setting over the Swiss Alps and a capacity crowd on the walls of the superpipe. The energy was definitely contagious with all the riders putting on a spectacular show. With perfect walls and a slightly longer runway for the athletes, the scene was set for snowboarding excellence and that’s exactly what went down.

Kim did not disappoint as she earned her second victory at the Laax Open, adding to her win in 2017. This is Kim’s sixth-consecutive halfpipe victory since the U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth in January of 2018. Her first run was full of amplitude and style, but only featured one 1080. She followed up her first run with a huge second run score of 95.75, this time incorporating back to back 1080’s that the Swiss crowd unanimously approved. Kim, striving for perfection, commented, “Yea, I definitely wish I grabbed the cab 1080, but other than that I’m happy I put it down,” she said.

Arielle Gold landed a strong first run that would hold for a podium finish. Gold was all smiles in the finish after her run. She has been battling a difficult college schedule at the University of Colorado at Boulder, while also sticking to a demanding competition schedule. Gold is now in top form moving into X Games.

“I was really happy to get my first podium of the season, especially against a really talented field of girls,” said Gold. “I was excited about my riding and am just hoping to build off of that going into X Games next week.”

Maddie Mastro finished in fifth place after landing her second run, but was unable to break into the podium. Spain’s Queralt Castellet finished in second between Kim and Gold. Cai Xuetong finished fourth and maintained her lead in the World Cup halfpipe standings, while Kim jumped from fourth to second. Gold also made a significant leap in the standings from 11th to seventh.

For the men, Pates came out of the gate on fire, landing a solid first run and finished it with a huge double Michalchuk that lit up the crowd. This is Pates first World Cup podium, but definitely not his first rodeo considering he represented the U.S. at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. On the other hand, Josey struggled on his first run, taking a double crippler to the deck, but stomping it and showing serious strength. Josey did not finish his full second run and would settle for 10th place. Australia's Scotty James claimed the top spot and now is the halfpipe World Cup leader. Pates also jumped into the top 10 of the standings moving into sixth place. Also, Josey is currently eighth, and Toby Miller (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) is in 10th.

The U.S. Snowboard Team will head to X Games for slopestyle, big air and halfpipe competition Jan. 24-27 at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colo. Following X Games athletes will head to Park CIty, Utah, the home of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, for 10 days of world class competition at the 2019 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships. Stay tuned for the U.S. SKi & Snowboard World Championships Team Announcement and tune into NBC to catch all the action.

RESULTS
Men’s Halfpipe
Women’s Halfpipe

WORLD CUP STANDINGS
Men’s Halfpipe
Women’s Halfpipe

HOW TO WATCH - X GAMES
Subject to change
All times EST
@XGames - Streaming via YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages.
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

FREESKI
Thursday, Jan 24. 
1:00 p.m. - Men’s slopestyle elimination - Aspen, Colo. - @XGames
7:30 p.m. - Women’s superpipe - Aspen, Colo. - @XGames
10:00 p.m. - Men’s superpipe - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN

Friday, Jan. 25.
12:00 p.m. - Women’s slopestyle - Aspen, Colo. - @XGames
12:00 p.m. - Men’s big air elimination - Aspen, Colo. - @XGames
9:00 p.m. - Women’s big air - Aspen, Colo. - @XGames
10:35 p.m. - Women’s big air - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN*

Saturday, Jan 26. 
10:00 p.m. - Men’s big air - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN

Sunday, Jan. 27. 
2:00 p.m. - Men’s slopestyle - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN2

SNOWBOARD
Thursday, Jan 24. 
1:00 p.m. - Men’s big air elimination - Aspen, Colo. - @XGames
10:00 p.m. - Women’s big air - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN

Friday, Jan. 25.
12:00 p.m. - Men’s slopestyle elimination - Aspen, Colo. - @XGames
10:35 p.m. - Men’s snowboard Big Air - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN

Saturday, Jan 26. 
1:00 p.m. - Women’s slopestyle - Aspen, Colo. - ABC
1:00 p.m. - Men’s slopestyle - Aspen, Colo. - ABC
8:30 p.m. - Knuckle Huck - Aspen, Colo. - @XGames
10:00 p.m. - Women’s superpipe - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN

Sunday, Jan. 27. 
8:30 p.m. - Men’s superpipe - Aspen, Colo. - ESPN

Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) led the U.S. Cross Country Team on Saturday in Otepaa, Estonia, with a 12th-place finish in the FIS Cross Country World Cup classic sprint. The race saw several falls and crashes that shook up the final results and most notably took out several of the strong Swedes.

“Today was a lot of fun, and I was really happy with how I skied,” said Diggins. “I ran out of gas a little in the second half of my semifinal, but given how stacked the semifinal one was, I’m taking a lot of confidence from today and in my classic sprinting. The steep herringbone technique on the big climb has always been a challenge for me, and I still have some work to do.”

The U.S. qualified five athletes for the finals, in part due to some fast skis from the wax techs. In addition to Diggins, the qualifiers included Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.), Ida Sargent (Craftsbury, Vt.), Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) and Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, Vt.).

“A bittersweet ‘day one’ of the classic weekend,” said Bjornsen. “After a qualifier that seemed a bit off, I went into the heats excited to find a better place and tried to hang in a smart position through the whole heat. As I came into the final corner, the tails of my skis got a little clicked by the Slovenian, which caused me to lose balance and find myself on the ground...not the way I had expected it.”

World Cup overall sprint leader Stina Nilsson of Sweden did not start the finals due to a potential injury opening the door for race winner Maiken Caspersen Falla of Norway. Russian Natalia Nepryaeva was second with third going to Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist.

In the men’s race, neither Bjornsen or Newell advanced past the quarterfinals. The men’s race was dominated by the Norwegians who held five of the six start positions in the finals. World Cup overall leader Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo of Norway took the victory, followed by Alexander Bolshunov of Russia in second, and Norway’s Paal Golberg in third.

RESULTS
Men’s Sprint Finals
Women’s Sprint Finals

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Preliminary schedule, subject to change
*Same-day delayed broadcast

Saturday, Jan. 19
3:00 p.m. - Men and women’s sprint - Otepaa, EST - Olympic Channel-TV*

Sunday, Jan. 20
3:30 a.m. - Women’s 10k interval - Otepaa, EST - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s 15k interval - Otepaa, EST - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
1:30 p.m. - Women’s 10k interval - Otepaa, EST - Olympic Channel-TV*

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold andOlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

Under the sunshine in front of 40,000 fans, Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) grabbed his third-straight FIS Ski World Cup downhill top five on the classic Lauberhorn track in Wengen, Switzerland.

The Americans haven’t had a solid finish in Wengen on the 2.7 miles (4.4 km) Lauberhorn downhill - the longest downhill on tour - since the Daron Rahlves-Bode Miller era. In fact, the last time an American landed in the top five in Wengen was Bode Miller in 2014, with a fifth place. Bennett showed that today was the day for that to change.

Bennett, who ran bib 18, watched teammate Steven Nyman’s DNF on TV before he ventured to the start gate. “I didn’t see much of it,” he said. “I just saw him flipping upside down in the fastest part of the course (the Haneggschuss) and I was like, ‘Ooooh, huh...don’t do that.’” Nyman did indeed DNF, as he caught his inside edge and crashed, but got up right away and was thankfully OK, skiing down to the finish.

Running third, the Attacking Viking Aksel Lund Svindal laid down a fast run taking a unique line in the Hundschopf section of the course, and as he went through the Jungfrau tunnel, a train passed overhead. It is said that if the train is going by as a downhiller passes through the tunnel, it is a good omen. Unfortunately for Svindal, the omen didn’t hold true, as the Swiss with red bib Beat Feuz came down nearly four tenths ahead of Svindal - eventually landing in second, then Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr came down blazing fast, to steal the Lauberhorn victory from the homeboy Feuz. Finally, Svindal’s teammate Aleksander Aamodt Kilde came down in third, pushing Svindal from the podium.

Bennett, who has snagged personal best venue results at each World Cup this season with 12-9-4-4-5, respectively, continues to show consistency and prove that he’s not a one trick venue pony - establishing a home for himself among the greats on a stacked men’s tour. He led three Americans into the points, with teammate Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, Calif.) finishing 24th and Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah) landing in 30th.

“Feels good to be in the top five here in Wengen,” reflected Bennett. “I did pretty well here last year - I think I was 17th - and I knew there were some sections I needed to clean up. Luckily this year we had the opportunity to go from the top again. It was perfect weather, cold conditions...couldn’t have been a better Lauberhorn.”

Bennett, channeling his inner Bode Miller, made up time in the bottom half of the course after not meeting his expectations in the vital top section. “I knew I needed to make time up in the upper sections of the course, and that first left-foot turn is so important to carry speed, otherwise you can’t get it back. And, I didn’t ski it well,” he laughed. “I went out there and it was kind of soft, and the ski didn’t react quite the way I was anticipating it to, and I tried to hold on as best I could. I thought I skied the bottom half of the course well. I won in one section, and through the super-G turns I was really committed to going straight - I was trying to remember Bode’s line. I’m happy. Another top five - that’s far beyond my expectations of the season, so I just have to keep focusing on the skiing aspect and not get too caught up on trying to win. But one of these days it’s going to come.”

Many of the top skiers - including Nyman and Austrians Max Franz and Matthias Mayer - DNFed, as the conditions were bulletproof and the snow was really reactive underfoot, which allowed for athletes to really go for it and risk a lot. Up next for the men is slalom in Wengen before the athletes head to the biggest classic of them all: the legendary Hahnenkamm in Kitzbuehel, Austria.

“Generally, I haven’t quite figured out Kitzbuehel yet,” Bennett said. “I have some learning to do, so hopefully this year I can maybe put a run together.”

RESULTS
Men’s downhill

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day delayed broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Sunday, Jan. 20
4:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1 - Wengen, SUI - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:00 a.m. - Women’s super-G - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2 - Wengen, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill - Wengen, SUI - NBCSN**
8:00 p.m. - Women’s downhill - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - NBCSN**
9:00 p.m. - Women’s super-G - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - NBCSN*

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold andOlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) continued to fight through the pain and build upon her return to top form, finishing ninth in her second FIS Ski World Cup downhill of the season in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday.

“I think it was still an improvement, but not what I’m looking for,” said Vonn, who improved upon her 15th-place result from Friday in her first race of the season since suffering a knee injury in November while training at Copper Mountain, Colorado. “It’s just hard sometimes when it’s bumpy to trust my right leg, and I still have a lot of pain, so I’m fighting through it the best I can, but I just have to find a faster way through it.”

Austria took the top two spots in Saturday’s downhill with Ramona Siebenhofer winning for the second-straight day and Nicole Schmidhofer in second. Slovenia’s Ilka Stuhec was third. Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.) and Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.) were 20th and 30th respectively.

Vonn displayed flashes of brilliance on the Olympia delle Tofane course where she has 12 career World Cup victories but admitted that the bumpy track and lack of speed training were challenging and forced her to push through the pain.

“In the middle section where it’s really wavy, it’s hard for me to trust myself, and trust my skiing,” she said. “I haven’t skied downhill since November, so it was a bit of a stretch to just come back and just jump right into the podium.

“It definitely hurts every time I push on my leg,” she continued. “It is what it is, and I’ll take it as a step in the right direction and tomorrow is another chance.

Sunday is indeed another chance as the women race super-G in Cortina, where Vonn has six career World Cup super-G victories. Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.), the current World Cup super-G leader, is also expected to start Sunday. In just her fourth career super-G start and first down the Olympia delle Tofane track in 2017, Shiffrin was fourth - a mere .03 off the podium. 

“I was hoping to come back and get a win here in my final season, but I still have a chance tomorrow,” Vonn said. “I have to stay positive and keep fighting. I’m still enjoying it. I love being in the start gate. I love feeling the adrenaline and going fast. It’s just not as fast as I had hoped.”

RESULTS
Women’s downhill

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day delayed broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Sunday, Jan. 20
4:15 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 1 - Wengen, SUI - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:00 a.m. - Women’s super-G - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom run 2 - Wengen, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill - Wengen, SUI - NBCSN**
8:00 p.m. - Women’s downhill - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - NBCSN**
9:00 p.m. - Women’s super-G - Cortina d’Ampezzo, ITA - NBCSN*

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold andOlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

The U.S. Freestyle Aerials Team will compete in their first World Cup event of the season Saturday at the Olympic Jumping Complex (OJC) in Lake Placid, New York. Sixteen athletes will represent the United States, five of whom are making their World Cup debut.

Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, Va.) and Jon Lillis (Rochester, N.Y.), current reigning World Champions, are ready to kick off the season with an event that feels like a homecoming.

“It’s really awesome to be back here in Lake Placid,“ said Caldwell. “A lot of us grew up here and began our aerials career in Lake Placid, so it's always pretty nostalgic and exciting to come back. It’s the first World Cup of the season and to have it on home turf makes it feel comfortable, and it’s really awesome to have a big team at the first event of the year.”

The Lake Placid event is always a team favorite, as most athletes partially grew up there, coming up through the Elite Athlete Development Program (EADP) and living and training at the Olympic Training Center (OTC). Roots run deep in Lake Placid, as U.S. Head Coach Todd Ossian first trained there in 1990, World Cup Coach Eric Bergoust in 1988, and World Cup Coach Emily Cook in 1992. “You have all generations here together, which is special - from the up and coming EADP athletes to both World Champions,” said Cook.

The course at the OJC is always top-notch and this year is no exception. “The hill crew here is amazing. The guys that chop it are always driving, they work hard and fast, are here early and stay late and there are lots of them,” explains Ossian. Additionally, Lake Placid has had a lot of early snow, which helps the course exponentially."

“It’s been really fun to go out there and see all the athletes from around the world that we don’t often get a chance to see. The site’s incredible, I just hope the weather stays warm,” said Megan Nick (Shelburne, Vt.).

A huge benefit for the U.S. Team at Lake Placid is the crowd. Many team members are from New England so there will be a lot of familiar faces cheering them on. Because of the rich history of aerial skiing in Lake Placid, the crowd knows about the sport, which is always fun for the athletes. “We love coming to this venue. I always loved jumping at Lake Placid. It really has a hometown feel,” said Cook. “Also the lights here are awesome. It’s like jumping in the day, so it’s a really consistent course for our athletes to train and perform on.”

The U.S. has a long history of success at the OJC, the most recent being in a 2017 World Cup with Caldwell’s victory and Mac Bohonnon’s (Madison, Conn.) finishing second. “An added fun touch when you podium here is a picture up in the OTC. So when we come to [Lake Placid] to train and compete it’s exciting to see everyone who’s made it up on the wall,” explains Cook.

Athletes to watch Saturday will be reigning World Champions Caldwell and Lillis. Native New Yorker, Chris Lillis (Rochester, N.Y.), has been jumping well and thrives in the East, where his whole family will be supporting him in the crowd. This is his first World Cup competition since sustaining an injury during the 2016-17 season. “I’m really excited to be competing at Lake Placid. Coming off of a knee injury I couldn’t imagine a better place to compete for the first time than the place I’ve been jumping at my whole career,” said Lillis. Four athletes, previously of the EADP who now train with Park City Ski & Snowboard, will jump in their first World Cup events: Karyl ‘Dani’ Loeb, Karenna Elliott, Kalia Kuhn, and Megan Smallhouse. Additionally, EADP athlete Quinn Dehlinger will make his World Cup debut. 

Lake Placid Starters
Men
Alex Bowen
Chris Lillis
Jon Lillis
Eric Loughran
Nicholas Novak
Patrick O’Flynn
Justin Schoenefeld
Quinn Dehlinger

Women
Ashley Caldwell
Karenna Elliott
Kaila Kuhn
Karyl ‘Dani’ Loeb
Megan Nick
Megan Smallhouse
Madison Varmette
Winter Vinecki

Live scoring
Men
Women

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST.
Preliminary schedule, subject to change
**Next-day broadcast

Saturday, Jan. 19
7:00 p.m. - Men and women’s aerials - Lake Placid, N.Y. - NBCSports.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Jan. 20
5:00 p.m. - Men and women’s aerials - Lake Placid, N.Y. - NBC**

Tess Johnson (Vail, Colo.) led the U.S. Freestyle Team with a third-place finish at the USANA FIS Freestyle World Cup moguls in Lake Placid, New York, Friday.

“I’m really excited. It’s been a long time since we’ve had three [American] girls in a super finals. It was really fun to ski with them. I’m just thrilled about getting on the podium again this season,” said Johnson, who shared the podium with first-time World Cup winner Jakara Anthony (Australia) and Perrine Laffont (France).

“Tess was just awesome, she just kept making the adjustments to make the difference,” explained U.S. Head Moguls Coach Matt Gnoza.

Five American women qualified for the two-run final: Johnson, Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.), Morgan Schild (Pittsford, N.Y.), Nessa Dziemian (East Hampstead, N.H.) and Alex Jenson (Park City Ski & Snowboard). Kauf was just off of the podium in fourth place, with Schild on her heels in fifth.

“It’s very exciting to have made it to the super finals,“ said Schild. “I did not expect to be back in the top six. I was happy to be able to put down a run top to bottom. It wasn’t my best run or my cleanest skiing but I have room to improve. And I have a couple of weeks to do that before World Champs. I’m just looking forward to staying healthy and continuing to push my boundaries in these next couple of weeks.”

Four men qualified for the final: Casey Andringa (Boulder, Colo.), Bradley Wilson (Butte, Mont.), Jesse Andringa (Boulder, Colo.) and Dylan Walczyk (Long Beach, N.Y.), with Casey Andringa and Wilson both making super finals. Casey Andringa had a career-best with a fourth-place finish. France’s Benjamin Cavet took the victory, followed by Sweden’s Walter Wallberg in second and Australia’s Matt Graham in third.

“I was psyched about my finals run,” Casey Andringa said. “It was the best run I’ve put down all season.”

“I felt like Casey really skied who he is today, his personality came out with that grab, getting that locked in was really sweet,” said Gnoza.

Gnoza characterized the Lake Placid event as all about the team. “We had five women and four men make finals, which was impressive. They all worked together, it started yesterday with qualifications and carried into today,” he said. “Everyone was down here cheering each other on. Whether they were in the finals or not, everyone was cheering each other on.

“It was really fun to watch the women train today, they were loading the lift together, lapping together and feeding off of each other’s energy. They were so excited to have three of their own in the finals. They know the day is coming when there will be multiple of them on the podium, they’re all working hard to get to that point,” Gnoza added.

The moguls team has one World Cup event left in Mont Tremblant, Quebec, before the World Championships Team is announced Jan. 29.

RESULTS
Men’s moguls
Women’s moguls

STANDINGS
Men’s World Cup
Women’s World Cup

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day delayed broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Saturday, Jan. 19
5:00 p.m. - Men and women’s moguls - Lake Placid, N.Y. - NBC**

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold andOlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) came out on top with another clutch performance in the FIS Snowboard World Cup slopestyle competition in Laax, Switzerland, earning his first slopestyle World Cup victory of the season.

“Winning Laax was amazing,” said Corning. “This contest is a really big one and to have some top guys there made it even better. I had so much fun everyday hitting the park and then having pow laps after. Laax is a beautiful place and I could not be happier with this week”

Resembling his performance at the World Cup event in Kreischberg, Austria, Corning put it all together on his last run with a cab 180 to a frontside 180 on 360 out, backside rodeo 540 - which has become a staple in his run - a cab 1260, frontside 1440, backside triple cork 1440 and a very technical backside 270 on 270 off.

Just like Corning, Judd Henkes (La Jolla, Calif.) was also able to land his run on his last opportunity putting him just outside podium contention in fourth. Lyon Farrell (Haiku, Hawaii) finished seventh, NIkolas Baden (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) 10th,  and U.S. Rookie Team member Sean Fitzsimons (Hood River, Ore.) 11th.

On the women’s side, Julia Marino (Westport, Conn.) represented the U.S. in the final round of competition. Unfortunately, Marino couldn’t put her run together quite as cleanly as needed to take the fight for podium spots to the talented international field. Despite landing her cab double-underflip 900 on both runs, it was the rest of her run that posed a challenge. Marino finished fourth behind Norway’s Silje Norendal in the top spot with Swiss riders Celia Petrig and Sina Candrian in second and third respectively.

Following the Cardona, New Zealand, and Modena, Italy, World Cup big air events, the friendly rivalry between Japan’s Takeru Otsuka and Corning is clearly developing into something special. With the 2019 FIS World Championships in Utah right around the corner, Corning jumps into first-place in the World Cup slopestyle standings ahead of Otsuka, who currently holds the top spot in the World Cup big air standings, right in front of Corning in second-place.

“It was a bummer Otsuka couldn’t be here, but I am happy to have that yellow bib back and be back at the top,” said Corning. “I love going for that globe and hope to keep the yellow bib the rest of the season!”

After snow earlier in the week, the weather decided to play nice in Laax complete with sun, occasional light snow and no wind. The conditions and creative course consisting of two rail features, four jump features, and even a snowboardcross inspired turn before the last rail made the competition a fun one to watch.

The U.S. Snowboard Team’s halfpipe athletes will compete in the final round of competition Saturday for both the men and the women. Expect Chloe KIm (Torrance, Calif.) and Chase Josey (Sun Valley, Idaho) to try to repeat their winning performances from 2017. With valuable FIS 2019 World Championship Team spots on the line, U.S riders will be looking to perform their best in Switzerland. See how to tune in and catch the action below.

RESULTS
Men’s slopestyle
Women’s slopestyle

WORLD CUP STANDINGS
Men’s slopestyle
Women’s slopestyle

START LISTS
Men’s Halfpipe
Women’s Halfpipe

HOW TO WATCH
*Subject to change
*All times EST

Saturday, Jan. 19
11:30 a.m. - Men and women’s halfpipe - Laax, SUI - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold