The women’s FIS Alpine World Ski Championships super-G race in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy was canceled due to fog Tuesday morning. It had been 380 days since reigning super-G World Champion, Mikaela Shiffrin, had stood in the start gate of a super-G race. She'll have to wait a couple more days to get the chance. 

The day started out beautifully but was marred by a thick layer of fog that settled over the start and middle of the course and refused to budge. The officials postponed the race multiple times and lowered the start to try and dodge the clouds, but 1.5 hours after the race was scheduled to begin, the officials canceled. Mikaela Shiffrin, Breezy Johnson, Bella Wright, AJ Hurt, and Jackie Wiles were all scheduled to race for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team.

This gives the Italian weather 2 and race organizers 0, following Monday’s cancelation of the women’s alpine combined due to heavy snowfall. Both men's and women's super-G are now scheduled for Thursday, February 11. 

UPDATED PROGRAM FOR CORTINA 2021 
Wednesday, February 10: no races and no training scheduled
Thursday, February 11: Women's Super-G at 10.45 CET // Men's Super-G at 13.00 CET
Friday, February 12: Women's Downhill Training 2 // Men's Downhill Training 1
Saturday, February 13: Women's Downhill // Men's Downhill Training
Sunday, February 14: Men's Downhill
Monday, February 15: Women's Alpine Combined // Men's Alpine Combined

U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced on Feb. 8, 2021 that the national governing body will not field a team at the 2021 FIS Freestyle, Snowboard, and Freeski Junior World Championships in Krasnoyarsk, Russia March 18-28.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Board of Directors approved a Strategic Panel tasked with determining whether to withdraw the U.S. Junior World Championships Team from the event in accordance with its responsibilities as a national governing body, as detailed in the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. The Strategic Panel includes one-third athlete representation and their input was included throughout all levels of the review.

After significant evaluation of circumstances specific to the region including the COVID-19 landscape, travel challenges, additional safety and medical concerns, as well as potential quarantine situations, U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Strategic Panel unanimously decided to withdraw from the event. The health and safety of all U.S. Ski & Snowboard members, athletes, and staff remain our highest priority. U.S. athletes will not be able to participate independently.

While no U.S. athletes will compete, U.S. Ski & Snowboard wishes the International Ski Federation (FIS), the local organizing committee, and all athletes a successful event.

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About U.S. Ski & Snowboard
U.S. Ski & Snowboard is the Olympic National Governing Body (NGB) of ski and snowboard sports in the USA, based in Park City, Utah. Tracing its roots directly back to 1905, the organization represents nearly 200 elite skiers and snowboarders in 2020, competing in seven teams; alpine, cross country, freeski, freestyle, snowboard, nordic combined and ski jumping. In addition to the elite teams, U.S. Ski & Snowboard also provides leadership and direction for tens of thousands of young skiers and snowboarders across the USA, encouraging and supporting them in achieving excellence. By empowering national teams, clubs, coaches, parents, officials, volunteers and fans, U.S. Ski & Snowboard is committed to the progression of its sports, athlete success and the value of team. For more information, visit www.usskiandsnowboard.org.
 

Jessie Diggins and Sadie Maubet Bjornson, along with Simi Hamilton and Kevin Bolger teamed up to represent the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team in Sunday’s FIS Cross Country World Cup team sprint in Ulricehamn, Sweden, finishing fourth and sixth respectively.

“I had a lot of fun being Sadie’s team sprint buddy today,” Diggins said following the eight-lap race on the same track she sprinted to third on Saturday. “This was a really hard course because it played to none of my strengths; it was windy, no big climbs, and pretty much impossible to drop people or even tire them out because the draft was so big.”

Both Diggins and Maubet Bjornsen pushed the pace through the race to try and break things up. However, the final sprint came down to positioning and luck. “With such a strong headwind, it was a tough position to lead from the front,” Maubet Bjornsen said. “My mission was to stay in the front and out of trouble, and then attack on leg 3. On such a drafty, tactical course Jessie and I had to get creative with our strengths. We would have loved to attempt to stretch people from the gun, but the wind was not in our favor.”

Slovenia took the win, with Sweden I in second and Switzerland in third. The top four teams were separated by only 0.31 seconds at the line with Switzerland taking third in a photo finish.  “I played the cards I had and tried to push the pace,” Diggins recalled of her final leg, “then tucked in to prepare for a sprint finish but ended up too boxed in.”

“After finishing fourth by a photo finish, we both of course left wanting a bit more, but also felt like we did the best we could with our strengths,” Maubet Bjornsen added. “Even if I am 31 years old, I still feel like every race is a learning lesson, so there are no losses.”

In the men’s race, Hamilton and Bolger used many of the same tactics Diggins and Maubet Bjornson used - push the pace and stay near the front and out of trouble. Bolger skied the anchor leg and held the lead for the first half of the last lap but down the stretch, he also found himself boxed out. Italy I took the victory with Switzerland I second and Sweden II in third. 

Diggins added another 12 points to her overall World Cup lead (1,246 points) over Russia Yulia Stupak (904) in second and Rosie Brennan in third (879). Neither Stupak nor Brennan competed Sunday. 

Up next, many of the athletes will return to Davos, Switzerland, to prepare for the upcoming FIS Nordic World Championships Feb. 22-March 7 in Oberstdorf, Germany.

“I’m headed to Davos for a training camp in preparation for World Champs and excited to train with the team and be sure to absorb all the hard work I’ve put in over the past few weeks,” Diggins said. 

“Each race back on the World Cup, I feel a little less dusty, so I look forward to showing up at World Championships both excited and full of fitness,” Said Maubet Bjornsen, who will also join Diggins in Davos.

RESULTS
Women’s freestyle team sprint
Men’s freestyle team sprint

STANDINGS
Women’s World Cup overall
Women’s World Cup sprint
Men’s World Cup overall
Men’s World Cup sprint

The U.S. Aerials Freestyle Ski Team wrapped up the Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International at Deer Valley in style, earning three podium finishes in the first domestic Olympic tryout event for any U.S. Ski Team athlete on Saturday. Winter Vinecki and Justin Schoenefeld lead the way for the men’s and women’s teams, finishing in second behind Australia’s Danielle Scott and Switzerland’s Noe Roth respectively. The 17-year-old American up-and-comer Kaila Kuhn rounded out the podium for the women in third, while Switzerland’s Pirmin Werner claimed the position on the men’s side.

For both Vinecki and Kuhn, Saturday’s podium was their first on the iconic White Owl course at Deer Valley Resort. After an extremely busy competition schedule in January, the women were able to pull off a strong finish and positive sign as they look toward World Championships in Kazakhstan in March.

This is the third time Vinecki has found the podium this season after never quite squeezing into the top three in previous super finals. It’s also the third time Vinecki has found the podium with the back double-full-full, a trick that she just started building into her repertoire in the summer of 2020, proving to her that all her hard work is starting to pay off.

“This is the second week in a row that I’ve been on the podium with a teammate,” commented Vinecki. “Megan Nick last week in Belarus and Kaila [Kuhn] this week. It’s always fun when you have your teammates up there supporting you and we’re all having a good time and putting some good jumps down. I got a fourth-place last year at this event and so I’m super excited to get on the podium this year.” 

For Kuhn, earning a podium at Deer Valley alongside her older teammate and fellow Michigan native meant the world. Bonus, Deer Valley has always been her favorite jump site.

“The conditions got pretty tough today so I’m excited to put my jumps to my feet,” reflected Kuhn. “Being on the podium with Winter, she’s one of my idols on the team so it’s awesome to jump with her and be on the podium.”

Despite not qualifying for the super final, team veteran Ashley Caldwell had a big day, returning to a triple for the first time in two years during a competition. Caldwell was right on the screws when she landed initially but had to throw a punch front to bring it all the way around, which wasn’t enough to break into the top six, despite showing the most difficult trick of the women’s field. Caldwell is known for going big at Deer Valley, and with Saturday being an Olympic tryout, commentators expected her to bring the intensity. Unfortunately, on Saturday, the landing didn’t quite click.

“I’m definitely excited that I did triples for the first time in two years in competition, but I’m also devastated at the same time,” said Caldwell. “Deer Valley is obviously a good event to perform at, it’s an Olympic qualifier event, and I trained really well. So to mess up in competition is not very fun. I’m a little devastated but I’m excited for my teammates.”

Caldwell finished the day in 12th. Tanner Tasia preceded Caldwell in 11th – her World Cup debut – followed by Megan Smallhouse (13), Megan Nick (21), Madison Varmette (22), and Dani Loeb (22). 

Schoenefeld represented for the U.S. men, sending a huge back double-full-full-full that nearly earned him the win. But Switzerland’s Roth executed a more difficult trick almost flawlessly, putting him just enough ahead to send Schoenefeld into second – earning him the second podium of his career, and his first podium of the season. Schoenefeld topped the podium in Belarus in 2020 but since has struggled to break into the top three after qualifying for multiple super finals. 

“This winter has been pretty challenging,” said Schoenfeld. “I made a couple of super finals and ended up with a fourth and two fifths. I guess I just hadn’t figured it out yet this season on what I really needed to do in super finals, but today I think I knew what was up.”

Teammate Chris Lillis threw a double-full-full-full during the first final, the highest degree of difficulty the men’s competition had seen so far on Saturday. Unfortunately, a sticky landing with a small hand drag was too big of a mistake for him to overcome to break into the super final. 

Lillis ended the day in 7th, followed by Eric Loughran (9), Quinn Dehlinger (15), Derek Krueger (24), and Nick Novak (25).

Overall, Head Coach Vladimir Lebedev was satisfied with Saturday’s results. In preparation for World Championships in March (only a month away), Lebedev thinks the number one thing his athletes need to prioritize looking ahead is rest. 

“In January we had nine events, which is a lot. We have competed for a month-and-a-half straight, so everyone is tired,” explained Lebedev. “I’m glad the whole team handled the schedule well. I know we are moving in the right direction into the World Championships, but first, the team needs to take a break and rest.”

RESULTS
Women’s Results 
Men’s Results 

HOW TO WATCH

*Subject to change

All times EST

Sunday, Feb. 7

8:00 p.m., Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Dual Moguls World Cup - next-day broadcast, Deer Valley, USA, Broadcast NBCSN

9:30 p.m., Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Aerials World Cup - next-day broadcast, Deer Valley, USA, Broadcast NBCSN

Sunday, Feb 21

1:00 p.m., Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Moguls World Cup - Deer Valley, USA, NBC Sports 

Sunday, March 14

12:00 p.m., Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Aerials World Cup - Deer Valley, USA, NBC Sports

Jessie Diggins took another massive step toward one of the biggest goals of her career - the overall FIS Cross Country World Cup title - after finishing third in Saturday’s freestyle sprint in Ulricehamn, Sweden.

For the ninth time this season, Diggins stood on the podium. But what is most impressive is that her podiums, and victories, have come in both sprint and distance events this season proving that she is indeed the best overall skier on the World Cup tour. However, none of her four victories, or podium results have come easy, and Saturday’s third-place finish was no exception.

The track at Ulricehamn was hard, fast, and with minimal climbing, the heats were more of a drag race with speeds so high it was challenging to pass. “That was a really cool day, because the course here is so challenging and tactical! You don’t really get any rest out there and it’s super hard to find windows to pass, so this challenged me to ski differently than I normally might,” Diggins said. 

Six Davis U.S. Cross Country Team athletes qualified for the heats with Diggins posting the third-fastest qualifying time for the women. Sadie Maubet Bjornsen and Hannah Halvorsen qualified 16th and 22nd respectively. For the men, Simi Hamilton qualified 23rd, Kevin Bolger 24th, and Logan Hanneman 25th.

In the women’s opening quarterfinal heat, Halvorsen, unfortunately, broke a pole right off the start but rallied after receiving a pole from one of the Czech coaches to finish fifth in the heat.  Going into next week’s U23 World Championships her form is coming around and she sees that as a positive improvement. “It was a great day, and a big improvement from last weekend,” she said. 

Diggins set a fast pace in her quarterfinal heat, leading from start to finish to advance to the semifinals. Meanwhile, Maubet Bjornsen just missed advancing by a half-second, finishing third in her quarterfinal heat. Unfortunately, for the U.S. men, they were not able to advance past the opening quarterfinal heats.

In her semifinal heat, Diggins set the opening pace and kept her foot on the gas, which proved a worthy strategy as despite finishing fourth, she advanced to the finals as one of the two Lucky Losers.

“In my quarter and semi I had the tactic to lead right away since I knew I could pull the group to a fast time and have a much better chance of moving on with the Lucky Loser time added in there as a bonus,” Diggins said.

In the finals, Sweden’s Jonna Sundling - one of four Swedish athletes in the race, got tangled up at the start and broke a pole. That incident disrupted the pace and Diggins settled into the pack. However, with 500 meters to go, she took the inside line and move up to third, and powered her sprint to the line.

“In the final I knew leading would make me too tired to have a good finishing sprint,” Diggins reflected. “SoI tucked in early and just kept looking for any windows and was ready to jump through them when they opened up!”

Sweden’s Maja Dahjqvist took the victory - her first individual World Cup win - ahead of countrywomen Johanna Hagstroem at 0.30 second back, with Diggins in third at 0.39. Maubet Bjornsen finished 15th, and Halvorsen finished a World Cup career-best 22nd and was the fourth among U23 athletes.

Diggins extended her World Cup lead to 330 points (1,234) over Russia Yulia Stupak (904). Rosie Brennan remained third overall (879). Neither Stupak nor Brennan competed Saturday. 

Up next, Sunday features a freestyle team sprint in Ulricehamn.

RESULTS
Women’s freestyle sprint
Men’s freestyle sprint

STANDINGS
Women’s World Cup overall
Women’s World Cup sprint
Men’s World Cup overall
Men’s World Cup sprint

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Sunday, Feb. 7
6:45 a.m. FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Cup Men's Team Sprint & Women's Team Sprint - LIVE, Ulriceham, SWE, Streaming Peacock
 

On another balmy day at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Travis Ganong led the way in super-G for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, in 12th place—the final FIS Ski World Cup before World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. 

Austria finished one-two, with Vincent Kriechmayr leading the way and Matthias Mayer in second, at .17 seconds back. Swiss Marco Odermatt rounded out the podium in third, .49 seconds back. It was a sprint as far as super-G tracks go, at just over a minute (1:12.68), and only 1.07 seconds separated the top-15.  

The temperatures at Garmisch were high and the conditions springlike once again, with the surface not freezing overnight. During the inspection, the coaches and athletes could already feel the surface getting slushy. Hats off to the organizers for working tirelessly to make this race series happen in such challenging conditions. 

Despite a major mistake, Ganong hung in there with the best in the world once again, just .86 seconds off the pace. “Stoked with another solid result today...really good skiing, I’m really happy with how I’m skiing and how I’m pushing on my skis,” he reflected after the day. “I had another big mistake like yesterday—I went down on my hip—but luckily it was in a section of the course that was pretty steep, so I was able to bounce back up after going down on my hip and keep going. For sure, without this mistake, I would have been at least in the top five, if not better...I was 18 hundredths from fifth. It was a really tight race.” 

Heading into Cortina, Ganong has tinkered with his set-up and is feeling confident with where he’s landed. “Really dialed with my set-up now and feeling comfortable on the skis...and now it’s go-time,” he added. “So I’m feeling ready to push and start racing. Like I said yesterday, my set-up in downhill and super-G are completely different, and I finally figured out how to switch between the set-ups—my downhill boots to my super-G boots are completely different, so I have to take some runs and get used to the super-G boots before the race. But yeah, I think it’s the way to go, and I’m pretty happy with where I’m at, so I’m looking forward to Cortina.” 

Bryce Bennett, Jared Goldberg, and Middlebury College’s Erik Arvidsson also started for the Americans but ended up 39th, 40th, and 45th, respectively.  

The Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team will now travel to the gorgeous Dolomites in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, for the World Championships. 

RESULTS
Men’s super-G

Check out the World Champs Preview/Schedule.

Day two of mogul competitions at the Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International ended with a bang as three Americans, Kai Owens, Hannah Soar, and Tess Johnson triumphantly stood on top of the podium at the base of Deer Valley’s Champion course. Loads of fresh snow and low visibility didn’t stop 16-year-old Owens from capitalizing on Thursday’s career-best to earn her first-ever World Cup win (despite only having 10 World Cup starts under her belt). Owens bested her teammate Hannah Soar in the big final to take the win. This marks the first time in history that Americans have swept a dual moguls World Cup competition, and demonstrates the might of the #powHERhouse women's moguls team.

"It’s unreal, I’m feeling like I’m on cloud nine right now," said an exasperated Owens. "I’m so lucky to share it with my teammates. I put everything I had in today, so I’m just really feeling honored and excited to be here."

Soar finished the day in second after overtaking Kazakhstan’s Yuliya Galysheva in the semi-final, allowing her to move on to face her teammate Owens in the big final. Feeling a bit exhausted after multiple duals run and catering to a leg injury, Soar continued to push it on her first air, but a tiny mistake in her landing almost sent her out of the course upon exit. Soar was able to regain composure, stay in the course, and finish her run just behind Owens. Although her skiing wasn’t enough to capture her first win, it was enough for her second podium of the season and matching her career-best.

“Some of those runs were a little wild, but that’s what I needed them to be, a Deer Valley-esque, not sure if you’re going to die into the bottom air or make it across the finish line run,” reflected Soar. “After yesterday where I skied conservatively, that was a good accomplishment for me to just push it and enjoy the moment. Hopefully next year I can turn these two second-places into Deer Valley into a win.”

Tess Johnson rounded out the podium for the Americans, outdoing Galysheva in the small final to capture third and secure an all-American podium for the red, white, and blue on home soil. Johnson personally knocked Perrine Laffont out in the quarter-final, ending the French woman’s World Cup-win streak, putting herself in a head to head battle against her young, up-coming teammate Owens in the quarter-final.

Earlier during training, Johnson broke a ski and almost decided to opt-out of competition for the day, so as she rode up the lift with Owens, one of her best friends from Vail headed into the round of eight, the duo swore no matter what happened they promised put on a good show at Deer Valley.

“Tess is like my best friend and older sister,” said Owens. “We’ve been training together for the past month, so I was just ready to put on a show and give it everything I had and show everyone here and at home what we could do.”

“It was a close one, I wanted to get her, but it was so much fun and I love dueling teammates in the round of four,” added Johnson. “I got pretty emotional earlier. Ever since I’ve made the team I’ve wanted [to see a podium sweep] almost more than individual success. Sweeping the podium with these girls, its a dream come true, it really is. They’re my sisters, they’re my best friends, it feels unreal. It’s an honor to be on such a progressive, hardworking women’s team.” 

The United States women once again ended the day with all competing athletes finishing inside the top 30. Following the podium, the women finished in order from Olivia Giaccio (17) Jaelin Kauf (18), Kenzie Radway (20), Sabrina Cass (24), Madison Hogg (28), and Avital Carroll (29).

On the men’s side, Bradley Wilson faced a tough competitor in the round of 16 – Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury, who has been on a hot streak since early on in 2020 and won the singles event at Deer Valley the day prior. Wilson gave Kingsbury a run for his money, coming into the second air at top speed after fighting past a few mistakes in the midsection and making a massive save upon entry. Despite a shaky entry, Wilson successfully landed his jump and sailed into the finish, securing the fastest run points. Unfortunately, his early mistakes cost him and he was unable to defeat Kingsbury who went on to capture the win for the day. 

“It’s the luck of the draw when you get into that bracket, you don’t really know who you’re going to duel until the day before,” commented Wilson. “Getting [Kingsbury] in the round of 16 is usually way too early, which is a bummer, but I was really happy to put down a good run, give him a run for his money, and beat him across the line. There’s only so much you can do with him, he’s pretty amazing and a flawless skier so you do your best and hope that he loses it for you.” 

Fellow Americans Alex Lewis and Dylan Walczyk qualified for the round of 32. Lewis finished 16th, a career-best. Walczyk had a clean finish but it wasn’t enough to best the day’s third-place finisher, France’s Benjamin Cavet. Australia’s Matt Graham rounded out the podium in second.

Nick Page, Jesse Andringa, and Jaelin Kauf all took hard crashes while giving duals all they had. Page and Kauf thankfully walked away unscathed. Andringa sustained an injury to his ankle and underwent further evaluation, but Gnoza stated he is confident Andringa will be oaky after a bit of time resting.

Despite conditions, Friday proved to be a great day for the United States moguls team. A podium sweep pushed Team USA further ahead in the Nation’s Cup standings, securing their lead and giving the entire crew momentum headed into World Championships at the end of the month.

“The whole team can build momentum off of a sweep like this, they can all see what they are capable of,” commented Head Coach Matt Gnoza. “They can all take a look at what happened today and say ‘next time that’s gonna be me up there.’ We look forward to everybody taking this as an opportunity to step up as a team and continue to build momentum. [The Nation’s Cup] is something everyone on the team is a part of and if we can pull off winning, it’s something that every athlete that competes in a world cup can be proud of.” 

To support the U.S. Moguls Freestyle Ski Ski Team, please click here for more information.

RESULTS
Women’s Results
Men’s Results 

HOW TO WATCH

*Subject to change

All times EST

Saturday, Feb. 6

4:30 p.m., Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Aerials World Cup - LIVE, Deer Valley, USA, Broadcast Olympic Channel, Streaming Olympic Channel, and Peacock

Sunday, Feb. 7

8:00 p.m., Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Dual Moguls World Cup - next-day broadcast, Deer Valley, USA, Broadcast NBCSN

9:30 p.m., Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Aerials World Cup - next-day broadcast, Deer Valley, USA, Broadcast NBCSN

Sunday, Feb 21

1:00 p.m., Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Moguls World Cup - Deer Valley, USA, NBC Sports

Sunday, March 14

12:00 p.m., Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Aerials World Cup - Deer Valley, USA, NBC Sports

In an IGTV video, four-time Olympian and Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Steven Nyman announced he will sit out for the remainder of the season, in order to prep and come back stronger for the Beijing 2022 Olympic year.

After tearing his Achilles at a training camp at Official Training Site Timberline Resort and Ski Area last summer, Nyman returned to Europe in late December but did not feel confident on the "big boy tracks." Nyman is back with family—including his two daughters—in Park City, Utah...working to get bigger, faster, and stronger. 

In the video, he noted that he will be cheering for his teammates at World Champs in Cortina, "I want to say good luck for my teammates going to Cortina...you guys got this, let's go! I want to see it, I'm bummed I'm not going to be there...and see you soon."
 

 

 

 

 

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On a sunny, 50+ degree Fahrenheit day in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Travis Ganong was seventh to lead three into the points in a shortened Kandahar downhill—the final FIS Ski World Cup downhill prior to World Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.   

Italy’s Dominik Paris became the first Italian downhill victor on the Kandahar since 2013. Swiss Beat Feuz was second, .37 seconds off the pace, and Austria’s Matthias Mayer in third, .40 off the lead. Just 1.56 seconds separated the 15 fastest athletes, and a sizable mistake kept Ganong just off the podium, yet he ended up in a solid seventh place. 

Despite warm temperatures, the organizers did an excellent job prepping the track and ensuring a safe and fair race could occur on Friday. Even so, crashes by Germany’s Josef Ferstl and France’s Brice Roger (they both thankfully skied down) caused lengthy course holds that affected the track and made it increasingly difficult for the higher bibs to throw it in there. 

“It’s kinda crazy that I still have a top-10 result after a huge mistake like that today...but I really like this hill, and I really know this hill well. I’ve had a lot of success here...I hit that huge hole and scorpioned for a second, and thought I was going down, but somehow when I looked up I was still on line and I was able to get back in my tuck and keep going," Ganong reflected. "Men's downhill is so competitive, so I thought for sure my day was over. But, I just kept skiing and really started pushing harder and looking for my tuck everywhere I could, and pulled off some really good turns in the technical section on the bottom. I'm stoked with a seventh-place result...it's my best downhill result of the season, and gives me a little confidence going into Worlds, which is awesome." 

With significantly less time on the speed set-up in the prep period this year due to COVID, many athletes lacked the time they needed to dial in their equipment. Ganong, like many others, has been experimenting with his set-up this season, and "There are two totally different boots that I've been playing around with, and I'm finally just sticking with one and moving forward with that...and just focusing on going fast. It's always a battle with equipment trying to figure out what the best set-up is to try to be the fastest possible...it's like Formula 1, we have to figure out every little detail in order to be comfortable on our skis so then we can go and push and look for speed." As far as super-G goes, Ganong says, "Anything is possible, hopefully, I can get an early bib number...and then it'll be fun to go to Cortina. I'm looking forward to it." 

Jared Goldberg got caught up in the same hole teammate Ganong did, but carried good speed down the dark Kandahar track, ending up with his seventh top-30 World Cup result during the 2020-21 season. Bryce Bennett has been dialing in his equipment set-up and made some good progress on Friday, ending up 21st. 

Middlebury College’s Erik Arvidsson, who recently won his first Europa Cup downhill, narrowly missed his first World Cup points, landing in 34th—less than three-tenths of a second out of 30th. Sam Morse—who was third in the same Europa Cup downhill when Arvidsson won—also started for the Americans and was 40th. 

Up next will be a super-G on Saturday, which will be the final World Cup prior to World Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. 

RESULTS
Men’s downhill

HOW TO WATCH 
*All times EST.

Friday, Feb. 5
7:00 p.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill - same-day broadcast, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, GER, Broadcast NBCSN

Saturday, Feb. 6
5:30 a.m. FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Super-G - LIVE, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, GER, Broadcast Olympic Channel, Streaming Olympic Channel and Streaming Peacock

Both Kai Owens and Jesse Andringa achieved career-best finishes on Thursday in the mogul’s event at the International FIS Ski World Cup at Deer Valley Resort. Exactly one year out from the 2022 Beijing Olympics, the athletes turned up the heat on a notoriously steep, tough course to push their results to new heights on home soil. 

At just 16-years-old, Owens capitalized on her run in the first final to qualify as the sole representative for the United States in the final round of six. Thus far, Owens had made finals in every mogul’s event she has competed in this season, but Thursday was the closest she’s ever coming to stepping on the podium, finishing just 2.2 points out in fourth place. Having battled some serious nerves in the morning, a top-five was more than she could hope for.

“Being on World Cup last year, I gained a lot of experience,” said Owens. “I learned a lot last year in the struggle of Deer Valley, so I came out today. I overcame a lot this morning since last year I didn’t do that well here, so I’m really proud to come out and get redemption. This course is a real beast, it’s really tough, but I really like the challenge.” 

Owens fourth place finished bumped her world ranking up from 11th to 8th in her second season competing on the World Cup tour. 

“I’m really happy with the performance from Kai Owens today, she really stepped up,” said Head Moguls Coach Matt Gnoza. “She was amazingly nervous this morning and corralled it and skied like Kai Owens. She trusted her skills and her ability and took it all the way to fourth place. A podium is in her future for sure.”

France's Perrine Laffont remained podium-perfect with her fourth World Cup victory of the season. Japan finished second and third with Anri Kawamura and Kisara Sumiyoshi, respectively.

Americans Tess Johnson, Hannah Soar, and Jaelin Kauf also qualified for the first round of finals but were unable to break into the top six, finishing 8th, 9th, and 16th respectively. Kauf, currently ranked second in the world, returned from four weeks off nursing a major back injury to compete in the Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International. Her second air was a close call, just enough to light a fire under her going into the dual mogul event on Friday.

“Jaelin is a warrior, hard-charging Jaelin,” commented Gnoza. “We’re just happy to have her back upright on skis and going down the mogul course. I wouldn’t want to go against Jaelin tomorrow in the duals.”

The rest of the women’s mogul team finished within the top-30 with Avital Carroll in 18th, followed by Olivia Giaccio in 22nd, Sabrina Cass in 25th, Madison Hogg in 27th, and Kenzie Radway in 30th.

On the men’s side, Andringa followed up on his 2020 career-best in Deer Valley with yet another strong finish. A close attempt at a tail grab into a cork 7 followed by a D spin put together an air package that allowed Andringa to break into his first top-10 against a stacked competition field. After a tough start to the season in December, Andringa came home and took some time to focus and make adjustments to his skiing in order to come out on Thursday and lay it down in front of friends and family.

“I’ve been putting a ton of work in mentally to be able to compete because in the past I haven’t competed where I wanted to,” Andringa reflected. “I put two really good runs down for myself today and grabbed a top 10, my personal best. I’d like to be in the top six but that’s to come.” 

Dylan Walczyk also had a strong finish for the United States, just barely missing the top six in the first final and overall finishing the day in seventh, grabbing yet another top-10 result for the 27-year-old. U.S. Ski & Snowboard veteran Bradley Wilson sent it big on his first air in final one, but scrubbed his landing and ended the day in 16th overall. Alex Lewis finished the day in 19th, followed by Nick Page in 23rd, Ian Beauregard in 25th, Wyatt Antkiewicz in 29th (his career-first World Cup finish), and Joel Hedrick in 34th.

Canada's Mikael Kingsury made an incredible return from injury to claim victory, France's Benjamin Cavet placed second and Australia's Matt Graham placed third. 

Unlike years past, the 2021 Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International day-time start schedule allows for more time to focus and get some rest before the athletes head into the dual mogul event on Friday. Gnoza says the plan tonight is to go home, analyze video and judging scores, and take the extra time to calm the nerves and prepare for the next competition.

To support the U.S. Moguls Freestyle Ski Ski Team, please click here for more information.

RESULTS
Women’s Results 
Men’s Results 

HOW TO WATCH

*Subject to change

All times EST

Friday, Feb. 5

2:30 p.m., Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Dual Moguls World Cup - LIVE, Deer Valley, USA, Broadcast Olympic Channel, Streaming Olympic Channel and Peacock

8:30 p.m., Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Moguls World Cup - next-day broadcast, Deer Valley, USA, Broadcast NBCSN

Saturday, Feb. 6

4:30 p.m., Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Aerials World Cup - LIVE, Deer Valley, USA, Broadcast Olympic Channel, Streaming Olympic Channel, and Peacock

Sunday, Feb. 7

8:00 p.m., Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Dual Moguls World Cup - next-day broadcast, Deer Valley, USA, Broadcast NBCSN

9:30 p.m., Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Aerials World Cup - next-day broadcast, Deer Valley, USA, Broadcast NBCSN

Sunday, Feb 21

1:00 p.m., Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Moguls World Cup - Deer Valley, USA, NBC Sports

Sunday, March 14

12:00 p.m., Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Aerials World Cup - Deer Valley, USA, NBC Sports