Just six days after her historic silver-medal performance in the 30k freestyle at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, Jessie Diggins was back on snow, finishing fourth in the FIS World Cup Cross Country Freestyle Sprint - leading four of her teammates into the top 28 in Lahti, Finland, Saturday.

Olympic gold medalist Jonna Sundling led a Swedish sweep of the podium with Emma Ribom in second and Maja Dahlqvist in third. Diggins's fourth-place result closed the gap on Russia’s overall World Cup leader Natalia Nepryaeva, who finished sixth. Diggins moved up to second in the overall World Cup standings, 209 points behind Nepryaeva.

Julia Kern was eighth, Rosie Brennan 13th, and Hailey Swirbul 28th. Both Diggins and Kern advanced to the semifinals, finishing 1-2 in the quarterfinal heat five. In the second semifinal, Diggins was second and Kern just missed advancing to the finals, finishing fourth.

“Today was a lot of fun,” Kern said. “The conditions were great, the stadium and course were filled with lively spectators and I was really excited to get back to racing the World Cup! I felt like I had a lot of great energy today, skied well, and enjoyed the awesome atmosphere while racing side-by-side with Jessie in the heats! I was stoked to put down maybe my best World Cup qualifier and see that my body is ready to fire after the Olympics.”

Up next, the women will compete in a 10k Classic, the men in a 15k Classic Sunday in Lahti.

RESULTS
Women’s Freestyle Sprint
Men’s Freestyle Sprint

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Crans-Montana, Switzerland for the first of two FIS Ski World Cup women’s downhills, with Keely Cashman leading two Americans into the top 30. 

Czech Republic’s Ester Ledecka found her way back to the top of the podium, with Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel in second place, and Austria’s Cornelia Huetter continuing her string of strong results in third to round out the podium. Cashman, who was fresh off a 17th place result in the downhill at Beijing 2022 to lead the Americans, was skiing solid and ended up in 28th to grab more World Cup points. Teammate Bella Wright followed in 30th. 

Both Cashman and Wright are coming back from injuries and gaining some important confidence on the World Cup stage once again. Cashman, who sustained a concussion, minor MCL strain, hematoma in both hips, and a temporary loss of feeling in her foot from bruising from a training crash in January 2021 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, has been building confidence all season since returning to competition in October's World Cup opener. Wright crashed in the second of two World Cup super-G races at St. Moritz, Switzerland in December, sustaining a broken talus bone in her right ankle. She returned for the Olympics, but this was her first World Cup back since injury. 

Italy’s Sofia Goggia, who had an impressive comeback at the Olympics from an injury sustained in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy to grab silver in the downhill at the Olympics, struggled to approach the race in her normal hard-charging manner. She ended up 12th on the day but remains the leader in the downhill standings with 422 points to Switzerland’s Corrine Suter with 357 points. 

Two-time Olympic champion and six-time world champion Mikaela Shiffrin, who opted to sit the Crans-Montana downhills out in order to rest, recharge, and prepare for the upcoming World Cups, retained her overall lead by a mere 15 points (1,026 points) over rival Petra Vlhova (1,011)  from Slovakia. Vlhova decided to leave the Olympics following the slalom to get some training in, entering the Crans-Montana speed races in hopes of skiing fast for valuable points but ended up taking home just two points in Saturday’s downhill, finishing 29th. 

Alix Wilkinson and Jackie Wiles also started for the Americans, narrowly missing the top 30 and landing in 31st and 33rd, respectively. The women will tackle another downhill on Sunday, which is the final downhill prior to the World Cup Finals in Courchevel/Meribel, France.

RESULTS
Women’s downhill

STANDINGS
Downhill
Overall

HOW TO WATCH:

Please note: Streaming services and apps are third-party services and subject to such parties’ terms of use and data privacy. U.S. Ski & Snowboard disclaims any and all liability for use of third-party services and apps.

*All times EST.

Sunday, Feb. 27, 2022
3:10 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 1 - LIVE, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, GER, Streaming Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock
4:00 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Women’s Downhill - LIVE, Crans-Montana, SUI, Broadcast Olympic Channel, Streaming Peacock
6:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Slalom, run 2 - LIVE, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, GER, Streaming Ski and Snowboard Live, Streaming Peacock

Sport-specific broadcast and streaming schedules are available below:

• Alpine
• Cross Country
• Freeski
• Freestyle
• Ski Jumping
• Nordic Combined
• Snowboard

Broadcast and streaming schedules are updated on a daily basis throughout the season.

The strength of the U.S. Cross Country development program continues to shine as the next generation has already made their mark on the world stage. On Wednesday, the junior men’s relay team won the bronze medal at the 2022 Junior/U23 World Championships in Lygna, Norway.

The team of Michael Earnhart, Brian Bushey, Walker Hall, and Will Koch finished just 22.4 seconds off the winning time of Russia in the 4x5k relay. Norway just edged USA at the line to take the silver at 21.8 seconds back. This was the fourth time in the past five World Championships that the USA men’s relay team has won a medal. 

In the women’s 4x3.3k team relay, the U.S. team of Kate Oldham, Samatha Smith, Nina Schamberger, and Sydney Palmer-Leger finished fifth, 1:32 off the winning time of Norway.

In Tuesday’s 15k Mass Start Freestyle, Palmer Leger was the top U.S. finisher in sixth. In the men’s 30k Mass Start Freestyle, Earnhart was the top U.S. finisher in 10th. 

The 2022 Junior/U23 World Championships continue Thursday with the U23 10k classic for women and the 15k classic for men. 

RESULTS
Men's 4x5k Team Relay
Women’s 3.3k Team Relay
Men’s 30k Mass Start Freestyle
Women’s 15k Mass Start Freestyle

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has named 12 athletes to the 2022 FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships Team. These athletes will represent the U.S. Alpine Ski Team in Panorama, Canada, in 11 events from March 1-9, 2022.

The 2022 squad is derived from the U.S. Alpine Ski Team C and D teams and the U.S. Ski & Snowboard National Development Group, as well as top U.S. Ski & Snowboard club program athletes from across the nation.

In 2021, Junior World Ski Championships were shortened and nation quotas were halved due to COVID, but both Ben Ritchie (gold) and AJ Hurt (bronze) brought home medals in the slalom for the American squad. Ritchie and Hurt have moved up in the ranks. Still, the 2022 team features depth and promise, along with experience on the World Cup stage by Lauren Macuga, Allie Resnick, Nicola Rountree-Williams, and Zoe Zimmermann—who was sixth in the slalom last year in Bansko. Isaiah Nelson, who snagged seventh in giant slalom and ninth in super-G in Bansko, will lead the way on the men's side.

“We have named a great group of promising young athletes for this year’s World Junior Championships team,” said U.S. Alpine Ski Team Alpine Development Director Chip Knight. He continued, “After winning two medals at last year’s COVID-shortened event in Bulgaria and returning five members from that 2021 team, we are excited to continue building for the future. Everyone on this year’s team has had standout results at the Europa Cup and NorAm levels so far this season, so we are looking forward to competing for podiums and top-10s against the world’s best junior athletes.”

The 2022 Junior Worlds will once again include downhill, alpine combined, and team events, along with super-G, giant slalom, and slalom events for both men and women. Live timing will be provided by the International Ski Federation (FIS).


2022 FIS ALPINE JUNIOR WORLD SKI CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM
Name, Hometown; Club (Birthdate)

Women

• Ava Sunshine Jemison, Edwards, Colo.; Burke Mountain Academy (6/20/2002)
• Lauren Macuga, Park City, Utah; Park City Ski & Snowboard (7/4/2002)
• Allie Resnick, Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail (9/1/2001)
• Dasha Romanov, Thornton, Colo.; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (5/3/2003)
• Nicola Rountree-Williams, Edwards, Colo.; Independent/Private (7/7/2002)
• Zoe Zimmermann, Gilford, N.H.; Burke Mountain Academy (5/16/2002)

Men

• Isaiah Nelson, Wayzata, MN.; Buck Hill Ski Racing Club (4/3/2001)
• Camden Palmquist, Eagan, Minn.; Team Summit Colorado (4/15/2003)
• Tanner Perkins, Crested Butte, Colo.; Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club (5/18/2001)
• Jay Poulter, Bondville, Vt.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club/Stratton Mountain School (7/1/2003)
• Cooper Puckett, Steamboat Springs, Colo.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club (3/31/2003)
• Ryder Sarchett, Ketchum, ID; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (7/28/2003)

PANORAMA 2022 COMPETITION SCHEDULE
March 1 – Downhill Training
March 2 – Downhill Training
March 3 – Men’s and Women’s Downhill
March 4 – Men’s and Women’s Super-G
March 5 – Mixed Team Event
March 6 – Men’s Alpine Combined
March 7 – Women’s Alpine Combined
March 8 – Men’s Giant Slalom and Women’s Slalom
March 9 – Women’s Giant Slalom and Men’s Slalom

MORE INFORMATION
Panorama 2022 Official Website

FOLLOW THE U.S. ALPINE SKI TEAM
Instagram - @usskiteam
Facebook - @usskiandsnowboard
Twitter - @usskiteam
TikTok - @usskiandsnowboardteam

Jessie Diggins turned herself inside out to win the silver medal in the women’s 30k freestyle Sunday - her second medal of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. But just as impressive as her gutsy performance, all four Team USA athletes finished in the top 18 on another extreme weather day at the Kuyangshu Nordic Center, in Zhangjiakou, China.

Rosie Brennan just missed the podium for the second time at these Games, finishing fifth; while Sophia Laukli was 15th in her Olympic debut and Novie McCabe was 18th - the best-ever cross country performance by American women at the Olympic Winter Games. Norway’s Therese Johaug won her third gold medal of the Games, finishing with a time of 1:24:45. Diggins was 1:23 back, while Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen led a strong chase in the closing kilometers to take the bronze at 2:43 back.

Despite suffering a bout of food poisoning on Saturday, Diggins came out firing on all cylinders Sunday. She matched the early pace and eventually made the front group selection on the first of four 7.5k laps. “I went from having not the race prep I had envisioned - laying in bed, force-feeding myself oatmeal and soup from a can - to here we go,” she said. “But I just wanted to race because I love to race.”

With wind gusts in excess of 50mph and temperatures in the low teens, Johaug threw down an attack on the second lap, grinding her nose into the wind and building a lead of 27 seconds over Diggins at the halfway point. Meanwhile, Diggins clawed out a 49-second advantage over Sweden’s Ebba Andersson in third, while Brennan led the charge in the chase group.

“I felt really good, but it was a frustrating race,” Brennan said. “I really wanted to bridge up that top group, but nobody was really interested in working with me, which is always hard. I really just had to do it on my own, and that was hard and I really paid the price at the end, and that was hard to swallow.”

As the final event of the Games, Diggins, Brennan, Laukli, and McCabe had a ton of support not only from their cross country teammates but members of the U.S. Biathlon Team, and other Team USA athletes, coaches, and staff. “The cheering was insane,” Diggins said. “I felt like the whole world was cheering and helping me get up those hills.”

With Johaug and Diggins off the front, the battle was on for the bronze. Andersson was eventually caught by the chase group, finishing eighth, while Brennan just missed a medal by 

5.4 seconds. Meanwhile, Laukli and McCabe - who finished fifth and eighth respectively in the final stage of the Tour de Ski last month - moved up throughout the race, proving that the next generation of USA skiers are ready to step up to the world stage. 

Diggins’ silver medal matches the best-ever American cross country performance of Bill Koch from the 1976 Olympics, also won in the 30k mass start.

Up next, Diggins and Brennan fly to Finland Monday for next weekend’s FIS Cross Country World Cup in Lahti - a freestyle sprint and a 10k classic. Laukli and McCabe head back to the U.S. Monday and will compete in upcoming NCAA races for the University of Utah.

RESULTS
Women’s 30k Mass Start Freestyle

The 'Good Vibes Crew' got the job done in the halfpipe final on Saturday, Feb.19 despite frigid and windy conditions. David Wise collected his third medal in his third Olympics, taking home silver behind New Zealand's Nico Porteous. Alex Ferreira took home bronze, his second Olympic medal in his second Olympics.

Both athletes scaled their first runs back a bit due to weather in homes a strong run with solid grabs would land them a podium position, and both were right.

Wise threw a gutsy first run to claim silver that began with a switch right 900 lead tail grab, into a switch left double cork 1080 mute, then a right 900 lead tail, a left double cork 1260 mute, and finally a massive right double cork 1260 mute that would earn him a score of 90.75. While Wise wasn't able to throw everything he wanted to in the Olympic final, adding a silver medal to gold medal collection was a feat in itself after crashing out in the last two runs.

"I'm proud to have gotten the run down that I did," said Wise. "I didn't get to crack into the bag of tricks as far as I wanted to today, but sometimes strategy plays. I really wanted to land those other two runs, I had an equipment failure on run two, switched to a different pair of skis on run three, and then something went wrong so that's just how the cookie crumbles for me today. "

 

 

 

 

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Ferreira’s 86.75-scoring first run began with a switch left 720 Japan, followed by a right double cork 1260 mute, then a left double cork 1440 safety, into a switch right double cork 1080 Japan, and finally a left double cork 1260 safety to finish things off for a score 86.75.

"Less than ideal conditions but extremely happy, extremely grateful to get the job done, and be on the podium in my second Olympics," said Ferreira. "Two medals, I mean I consider that a W if you ask me."

Birk Irving had a solid day in his Olympic halfpipe final debut, finishing fifth overall with a flat score of 80. Aaron Blunck ended the day in seventh with a score of 78.25.

The men's freeski halfpipe wraps the freeski portion of competition at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

RESULTS
Men's halfpipe final

On a cold, blustery day at the Kuyangshu Nordic Center, in Zhangjiakou, China, Team USA’s Scott Patterson turned up the heat, finishing eighth in the shortened Freestyle mass start. Patterson’s finish was the second-best ever Olympic result for an American man behind Bill Koch’s silver medal at the 1976 Games.

Originally slated as a 50k race, the race jury made the decision to cut the race distance to 30k to reduce the time of exposure for the athletes due to the extreme conditions, which saw temperature in the single digits and winds gusting to 40+mph.

“I certainly could have used that extra 20k today,” said Patterson, who thrives in challenging conditions and longer races. “I would have liked it if they would have run us a 50k, even with these conditions. I wanted the grinding instead of the punches. But I am psyched with how it went. Eighth is pretty special.”

Patterson was in the mix throughout the race, protecting himself from the wind and going with the early surges to find himself among an elite lead group of 10 midway into the race. With one lap to go on the four-lap 7.5k circuit, he moved into the third position. 

 “With 5k to go, those guys started punching pretty hard,” Patterson said. “I didn’t have a ton of response for that.” 

The Russian Olympic Committee’s Alexander Bolshunov won his second gold medal - and his fifth medal of the 2022 Games - with a time of 1:11:32. Countryman Ivan Yakimushkin took the silver at 5.5 seconds back, with Norway’s Simen Krueger winning the bronze at 7 seconds off the winning time. Patterson was 33.9 seconds back from the Russian winner. 

“In the end, this worked out pretty well,” Patterson said of the shortened race distance. “The 50(k) is kind of iconic and it feels like a half measure to run a 30k, but…I’m not exactly sure it would have changed the results a ton. Those top guys were strong and they probably would have been strong with another 20k.”

Patterson walks away from the 2022 Games with three top-11 results, including 11th in the 30k Skiathlon, and ninth in the 4x10k men’s relay with JC Schoonmaker, Gus Schumacher, and Luke Jager.

The women’s 30k Freestyle, the final cross country event of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, has been moved up to 11:00 a.m. Sunday (10 p.m. EST Saturday). Jessie Diggins, Rosie Brennan, and Novie McCabe will be joined by Sophia Laukli, who will be making her Olympic debut. Laukli finished fifth in the final stage of the 2022 FIS Tour de Ski in Italy last month.

The race will stream live on Peacock at 10 p.m. EST Saturday, with same-day broadcasts offered on both USA Network and NBC at 2:30 p.m. EST Sunday. The medals ceremony for the women’s 30k will take place at the Closing Ceremonies in Beijing Sunday night.

RESULTS
Men’s 30k Freestyle Mass Start

In a heavy women's halfpipe final on Friday, Feb. 18, 17-year-old Hanna Faulhaber led the way for Team USA, finishing in sixth overall. China's Eileen Gu walked away with her third Olympic medal and second Olympic gold after posting a score of 95.25 in her second run. Canadians Cassie Sharpe and Rachael Karker followed suit with silver and bronze. 

Team veteran and three-time Olympian Brita Sigourney finished 10th overall. Carly Margulies finished 11th.

The women experienced a significant shift in weather from qualifiers to finals, transitioning from a perfect bluebird day to a windy, snowy one. 

"The wind today really affected my training before the contest and kind of my mind state," said Sigourney. "I did what I could, and you can't always be on. It's hard when you can't display what you want to when it matters, so I'm a little frustrated. But I'm also a little relieved. It's been a crazy week and I'm happy that it's over."

Faulhaber also said she felt the pressure in practice when the high winds slowed down her hits, and she wasn't putting down the tricks she wanted to. 

"In practice, it was really tough, probably the biggest mental battle that I've ever faced," Faulhaber said about her emotions headed into the final in her Olympic debut. "I was crying throughout practice, just really trying to find myself and find why I'm doing this sport and trying to have fun again."

"I think I put quite a bit of pressure on myself going in, and being able to put something down in finals made me so happy and made me have fun again," she added.

The women's halfpipe final marks the conclusion of women's freeski events at the Olympic Games. 

The men's team will have their final shot at a medal on Saturday, Feb. 18. 

RESULTS 
Women's halfpipe finals

In Thursday's alpine combined, Tricia Mangan followed through on a solid downhill run with a speedy slalom earning 11th in her second Olympic Games. Her teammates, Mikaela Shiffrin, Keely Cashman, and Bella Wright, posted strong times in the downhill, finishing fifth, seventh, and 15th. Unfortunately, the trio was not able to capitalize on their strong speed run. Each woman skied out of the slalom in approximately the same spot, ending their medal dreams with DNF's. 

"The one thing I didn't want to do was ski safe to protect any sort of an advantage I had from the downhill run against some of the more slalom specialist skiers," Shiffrin said in a post-race interview. "I didn't want to ski safe in order to make it to the finish. I wanted to ski a good, solid run of slalom. It was not actually that much to ask for from myself, and I was starting to do it, and then I was out anyway."

"I don't really understand it, and I'm not sure when I'm going to have much of an explanation. I can't explain to you how frustrated I am to not know what I can learn from today."

Shiffrin will make one last play for a Beijing 2022 Olympic medal alongside teammates Paula Moltzan, Tommy Ford, and River Radamus on Saturday, Feb. 18. 

RESULTS
Women's alpine combined

Seven Team USA athletes are headed into halpipe finals after Thursday's qualifiers at the Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, China. 

Aaron Blunck led the men's qualifying standings in first. Followed by Birk Irving in third, David Wise in fourth, and Alex Ferreira in seventh. With the entire U.S. men's team through to the final, the boys hold a strong chance to earn one last individual medal for the U.S. Freeski Team, or three. 

"I felt really really nervous coming into that second run," Blunck said after the conclusion of qualifiers. "I felt good going up the T-Bar but then once I got back up to the top I couldn't stop shaking, couldn't stop moving. Very stressful, but none the less, "I just told myself, dude just chill, you got this thing man' and sure enough, dropped in and I feel like everything went black. I don't even really remember riding through the pipe. That's the most nerve-racking part, but now that it's on to finals we get to go ski and have fun, and that's what it's all about."

Brita Sigourney put down two technical runs to solidify her spot in the final, posting an eighth place finish. 17-year-old Hanna Faulhaber finished in ninth in her Olympic debut, showing off her amplitude but keeping it mellow before bringing her more technical tricks to the final. Carly Margulies followed suit in 10th, throwing down two solid runs with more to come in her final show. 

"This is a lot of weight off of my shoulders," said 32-year-old team veteran and Olympic bronze medalist, Sigourney. "You would think I would be able to calm the nerves a little bit more at my third Olympics but I do not remember being this stressed in PyeongChang or Sochi."

"But that's part of competing, that's part of our sport," she added. "You have a lot of adrenaline, a lot of self doubt, constant building yourself up, and reminding yourself you can do it. But that's why it feels so good when you do do it."

Sigourney, who earned a bronze at the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, has been feeling a bit more nervous coming into the Beijing Games. Having medaled at the last Olympics puts a bit more pressure on the team veteran from all corners of the country. The sport has progressed over the past for years, and Sigourney expects the women's final to be quite teh show. At the end of it all, she hopes to make herself and the people closet to her proud.

"I expect (Friday) to be the best contest we've ever seen in women's halfpipe," said Sigourney. "Just the first eight scores before I dropped were really impressive. I've never really seen a final where everyone is in the 80s or high 70s. I'm happy everyone is putting down their best skiing and progression is through the roof."

Devin Logan finished just outside of the top 12 in 13th, missing the last spot by half a point in her final Olympic appearance.

Women's finals are up first in the line up, scheduled to take place Friday, Feb. 18 in Beijing, and Thursday evening in North America. 

RESULTS
Women's halfpipe qualifiers
Men's halfpipe qualifiers

START LISTS
Women's halfpipe final
Men's halfpipe final 

HOW TO WATCH
*All times EST

Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022
8:30 p.m. Freeski – Women's Halfpipe Final, Genting Snow Park, Zhangjiakou, CHN, USA Network

Friday, Feb. 18, 2022
6:00 a.m. Freestyle Skiing - Women's Halfpipe Final, Genting Snow Park, Zhangjiakou, CHN, NBC Broadcast

8:30 p.m. Freestyle Skiing - Men's Halfpipe Final, Genting Snow Park, Zhangjiakou, CHN, NBC Broadcast, USA Network, Streaming Peacock, NBCOlympics.com