It’s the final weekend of Olympic qualifying events and athletes will be putting it all on the line to prior next week’s U.S. Ski & Snowboard's team announcements.

FIS Ski Women’s World Cup - Cortina, ITA
Current overall, slalom and giant slalom leader Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) returns to the World Cup circuit this weekend for a chance to extend her already sizable 800-plus-point lead. Shiffrin joins teammates Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.), Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.), Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, Calif.) and more for a pair of downhills and a super-G Jan. 19-21. Vonn has won a staggering 11 times in Cortina, and Shiffrin was just .03 seconds off of the super-G podium under the sunshine in beautiful Cortina in 2017. The first downhill is scheduled for Jan. 19 and is a make-up race from the canceled event in Val d’Isere, France. Vonn won Wednesday’s downhill training run, with Jackie Wiles (Aurora, Ore.) third and Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) fourth. Shiffrin was 13th.

FIS Ski Men’s World Cup - Kitzbuehel, AUT
Veterans Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah) and Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY) return to competition to lead the American Downhillers down the Streif in the ski racing Mecca known as Kitzbuehel, Austria. Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) and Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah), who have also been showing great consistency, will also compete in the super-G and downhill events on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The weekend will culminate with slalom Sunday, where David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, Colo.) and Nolan Kasper (Warren, VT) will headline the roster for the Americans. Nyman was second in the first downhill training run Tuesday. Wednesday’s training run was canceled due to snow.

Toyota U.S. Grand Prix - Mammoth Mountain, Calif.
The Toyota U.S. Grand Prix moves to Mammoth Mountain, Calif., for the final Grand Prix event of the season with the remaining Olympic Team selections on the line in freeski and snowboard halfpipe and slopestyle. Who’s in the hunt? Check out the Mammoth Mountain preview to find out.

FIS Freeski World Cup - Nakiska, CAN
A pair of World Cup skicross events are on tap for Jan. 19-20 with four athletes representing the U.S., including Tania Prymak (Goshen, N.Y.) Tyler Wallasch (Acton, Calif.), Brant Crossan (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and Mazie Hayden (Pittsfield, Vt.).

Putnam Investments Freestyle Cup - Lake Placid, New York
The U.S. Ski Team aerialists compete in their final two Olympic qualification contests this week at the Olympic Jumping Complex Jan. 19-20. Kiley McKinnon (Madison, Conn.) is the only U.S. athlete who has clinched her Olympic spot, so all eyes will be on Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn. Va.), Mac Bohonnon (Madison, Conn.), Jon Lillis (Rochester, N.Y.) and others as they look to land those coveted podium spots.

FIS Freestyle World Cup - Mont Tremblant, CAN
The FIS Freestyle moguls World Cup visits Mont Tremblant, Quebec this weekend for its final pre-Olympic event. The U.S. team will be laying it all on the line as athletes including Troy Murphy (Bethel, Maine), Brad Wilson (Butte, Mont.), Keaton McCargo (Telluride, Colo.) and Tess Johnson (Vail, Colo.) look to get themselves in the best position to be named to the Olympic team next week. Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.) and Morgan Schild (Rochester, N.Y.) clinched their Olympic spots last week with two podium results each at Deer Valley Resort, Utah.

FIS Cross Country World Cup - Planica, SLO
It’s a full-on classic weekend in Planica, Slovenia as the entire U.S. Ski Team comes back together. A host of athletes, including Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) and Sadie Bjornsen (Anchorage, Alaska), took last weekend off but will be back in the lineup for final Olympic preparation. World Cup selection for the Olympics has concluded with the full team announcement to come next week. A classic sprint is set for Saturday, followed by a 15k for men and 10k for women on Sunday. Each event will live streamed on OlympicChannel.com. Diggins is ranked third in the FIS World Cup overall rankings with Bjornsen seventh.

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup - Oberstdorf, GER and Zao, JPN
The men’s ski jumping team heads to Oberstdorf, Germany for the World Ski Flying Championships where Kevin Bickner will look to challenge the U.S. record of 244.5 meters he set last season. Olympic selection via the World Cup has concluded. The women’s World Cup heads to Zao, Japan for two events. Olympic selection is tight with only Sarah Hendrickson, the Olympic Trials winner, having secured a spot. Abby Ringquist’s 23rd-place finish boosted her to become the U.S. leader in World Cup rankings. Both the men’s and women’s Olympic Teams will be announced next week.

FIS Nordic Combined World Cup - Chaux-Neuve, FRA
The Olympic selection process for nordic combined will come right down to the wire. There is just one individual World Cup event remaining, this Saturday in Chaux-Neuve, France. Olympic Trials champion Bryan Fletcher (Steamboat, Colo.), the only athlete to secure a spot so far, has headed home to prepare for the Olympics in Utah. Brother Taylor Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) is skipping the World Cup to challenge for an Olympic spot through the Continental Cup with a pair of events in Rena, Norway. The final Olympic Team lineup will be announced next week. The World Cup team this weekend will include Ben Loomis, Jasper Good, Ben Berend and Stephen Schumann. The Continental Cup lineup will include Taylor Fletcher, Grant Andrews, Adam Loomis and Jared Schumate.

FIS Snowboardcross World Cup - Erzurum, TUR
With just one individual World Cup remaining, competition for spots on the men’s Olympic Team will be intense as the first races of the New Year will take place in Erzurum, which therefore becomes the first ever Turkish ski resort to host a SBX World Cup. Only one U.S. man, Jonathan Cheever, has achieved a podium in an Olympic selection event. A half dozen American men will be vying for one of the team spots in Saturday’s World Cup in Turkey. The women’s top spots have already been claimed by Lindsey Jacobellis and Faye Gulini. The snowboardcross squad will be announced with the full snowboard team next week.

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*subject to change

ALPINE
Jan. 19
4:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill; Cortina – Olympic Channel TV
5:30 a.m. - Men’s super-G; Kitzbuehel – Olympic Channel TV
4:00 p.m. - Men’s super-G; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Jan. 20
4:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill; Cortina  – Olympic Channel TV
5:30 a.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel  – Olympic Channel TV
3:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel  – NBC (same day broadcast)
11:00 p.m. - Women’s downhill; Cortina  – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)
12:00 a.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Jan. 21
5:30 a.m. - Women’s super-G; Cortina  – Olympic Channel TV
7:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom; Kitzbuehel – Olympic Channel TV  
9:00 p.m. - Women’s super-G; Cortina – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)
10:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Jan. 23
6:30 a.m. - Women’s giant slalom; Kronplatz – Olympic Channel TV
2:30 p.m. - Men’s slalom; Schladming – Olympic Channel TV
12:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom; Schladming – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

FREESTYLE
Jan. 17
4:00 p.m. Men and women’s slopestyle; Snowmass - NBCSN (re-broadcast)

Jan. 20
3:30 p.m. - Men and women’s moguls; Mont Tremblant - Olympic Channel TV

Jan. 21
8:00 p.m. - Men and women’s aerials; Lake Placid -  Olympic Channel TV (Next day delay)

FREESKI & SNOWBOARD
Toyota U.S. Grand Prix
Jan. 19
12:15 p.m – Halfpipe skiing finals; Mammoth – nbcsports.com
5:00 p.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals; Mammoth – NBCSN (same day coverage)

Jan. 20
1:00 a.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals; Mammoth – NBCSN (next day coverage)
4:00 p.m. – Slopestyle skiing + snowboarding finals; Mammoth – NBC (same day coverage)

Jan. 21
5:00 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals, Mammoth – NBC (next day coverage)

CROSS COUNTRY
Jan. 20
5:30 a.m. - Men and women’s sprint; Planica - Olympic Channel TV

Jan. 21
3:30 a.m. - Women’s 10k; Planica - Olympic Channel TV

SKI JUMPING
Jan. 21
9:30 a.m. - Women's Individual; Zao - Olympic Channel TV

U.S. Snowboard Team and U.S. Freeski Team athletes who have not yet qualified for their respective Olympic teams will have one more chance to do so this week at the final Toyota U.S. Grand Prix of the season at Mammoth Mountain, California. Finals for halfpipe and slopestyle skiing and snowboarding will take place Jan. 19-21, with Olympic team naming celebrations taking place Saturday and Sunday.

After last week’s Grand Prix at Snowmass, Colorado, halfpipe athletes Shaun White (Carlsbad, Calif.), Ben Ferguson (Bend, Ore.), Jake Pates (Eagle, Colo.), David Wise (Reno, Nev.) and Maddie Bowman (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.) have all clinched their spots on the U.S. Olympic Team. The week was highlighted by White’s final run in the halfpipe, where he scored a perfect 100.

Notable names who’ll be looking to clinch Olympic spots in the final halfpipe events on Saturday, Jan. 20 include Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.), Alex Ferreira (Aspen, Colo.), Torin Yater-Wallace (Basalt, Colo.), Maddie Mastro (Wrightwood, Calif.) and Kelly Clark (Mammoth, Calif.). Halfpipe athletes who’ve secured their nominations to the U.S. Olympic team will be named Saturday night.

"I couldn't be more excited that Mammoth Mountain is going to host the last Olympic qualifier and the naming of the 2018 Olympic team,” said Clark “I always love getting to compete in my home halfpipe, and it would be a dream to qualify for my fifth Olympic team in front of my hometown crowd."

On the slopestyle side of things, Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, Mont.) and Red Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo.) were the only two athletes to clinch spots in Snowmass, so the field is still pretty open for athletes to claim spots. Chandler Hunt (Park City, Utah), Ryan Stassel (Anchorage, Alaska), Julia Marino (Westport, Conn.), Jessika Jenson (Rigby, Idaho) and Hailey Langland are the top snowboard athletes who still have to clinch their spots.  

Top slopestyle skiing athletes looking to clinch include Nick Goepper (Lawrence, Ind.), McRae Williams (Park City, Utah), Darian Stevens (Missoula, Mont.), Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.) and Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, Colo), who is coming off of a win in Snowmass. Athletes who’ve secured their nominations to the women’s U.S. Olympic slopestyle skiing team qualified will be named on Saturday night. The men’s freeski athletes will have two competitions, one Saturday and one Sunday, before their team is named on Sunday.

“The entire Mammoth Mountain crew couldn’t be more proud and excited to host the final Olympic qualifier here in Main Park,” said Lauren Burke, public relations and social media manager for Mammoth Mountain. “It’s truly been an all-hands-on-deck effort and we’re excited to watch some of the best freeskiing and snowboarding in the world go down over the next couple days. It’s even more exciting to have so many Mammoth Team Athletes like Chloe Kim, Maddie Mastro, Judd Henkes, Brock Crouch Carly Margulies and others battling it out for a spot on Team USA.”

NBC Sports Group will feature coverage of the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain with shows airing on NBC and NBC Sports Network, with a select streaming package on nbcsports.com. For additional event information, visit usskiandsnowboard.org/grandprix.

TOYOTA U.S. GRAND PRIX - MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN
U.S. Ski & Snowboard Olympic Selection Update (as of 1/14/18)
Current Freeski Olympic Selection Rankings
Current Snowboard Olympic Selection Rankings

Event Schedule
*subject to change
Jan. 18: Halfpipe skiing + slopestyle snowboarding qualifications

Jan. 19: Halfpipe snowboarding + slopestyle skiing qualifications; halfpipe skiing finals

Jan. 20: Slopestyle skiing + slopestyle snowboarding + halfpipe snowboarding finals
Jan. 21: Men’s slopestyle skiing finals (non-World Cup) AFP Platinum

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*subject to change

Jan. 19
12:15 p.m – Halfpipe skiing finals – nbcsports.com
5:00 p.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals – NBCSN (same day coverage)

Jan. 20
1:00 a.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals – NBCSN (next day coverage)
4:00 p.m. – Slopestyle skiing + snowboarding finals – NBC (same day coverage)

Jan. 21
5:00 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – NBC (next day coverage)

PARK CITY, UT (Jan. 16, 2018) – U.S. Ski & Snowboard has today announced that airweave is the latest world-class brand to join the Olympic sports organization’s growing roster of partners as the Official Bedding Supplier.  As a primary element of the partnership, airweave will supply mattresses to U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s athletes to help them maximize performance throughout the year ahead.

“We are proud to continue our history of supporting U.S. national team athletes and their performance,” said airweave CEO and President Motokuni Takaoka. “We look forward to watching the U.S. Ski & Snowboard teams compete knowing they are well-rested thanks to airweave.”

“Sleeping well is an incredibly important part of an athlete’s preparation and recuperation in training and competition,” said Troy Taylor, U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s High Performance Director. “Having airweave on board with our team is a vital part of the intricate planning that we do with our athletes in competition throughout the year and we are delighted to welcome airweave into our U.S. Ski & Snowboard family.”

The Sponsorship includes airweave’s total sleep solution of mattresses, toppers, pillows, duvets, and a limited edition travel blanket for use while U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes are competing internationally and at the Sleep Center at the Center of Excellence in Park City, Utah. In addition, airweave will be utilizing individual athletes from their High Performance Team as brand ambassadors on social media.

Trusted by The World’s Elite
Having fostered relationships with top athletes, businesses and institutions has become a crucial part of airweave’s R&D which includes years of studies with top sleep scientists and IMG Academy on the relationship between sleep quality, bedding, and athletic performance. U.S. Ski & Snowboard joins airweave’s list of global partners which includes The Ritz Paris, Royal Ballet School, and Japan Airlines. 

About airweave
Airweave is the Japanese bedding manufacturer known for their unique mattress core material airfiber® and the belief that “Tomorrow Starts Tonight.”  Offering optimum breathability, even pressure distribution and support airfiber® is the latest in sleep surface technology while also being 100% washable and eco-friendly. Having expanded to a range of bedding, lifestyle and technology products in Japan, airweave Founder and CEO Motokuni Takaoka introduced his line of mattresses to the United States online through airweave.com and select retail partners in 2014. Airweave aims to be recognized as a global sleep solution brand, designing innovative products for use at home, while traveling and everywhere in between.

About U.S. Ski & Snowboard
U.S. Ski & Snowboard is the Olympic sports organization based in Park City, UT providing leadership and direction for elite athletes competing at the highest level worldwide and for tens of thousands of young skiers and snowboarders in the USA, encouraging and supporting all its athletes in achieving excellence wherever they train and compete. 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. One of the oldest and most established sports organizations worldwide, directly tracing its roots back to 1905, U.S. Ski & Snowboard receives no direct government support, operating solely through private donations from individuals, corporations and foundations to fund athletic programs that directly assist athletes in reaching their dreams.

Olympic silver medalist Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, Colo.) put down a massive second run through the Aspen-Snowmass slopestyle course to take first place the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix Olympic selection event, putting himself in the driver's seat to qualify for the 2018 Olympic Team.

Olympic bronze medalist Nick Goepper (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) finished in second. Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, Mont.) took second for the women.

Goepper dominated the first run with a 93.60 score and laid down another clutch run on his second go-around. But Kenworthy dropped in on his second run with a fire burning underneath him, and put down big, clean tricks to score a 95.60 and take his first 2018 Olympic qualifying podium in slopestyle.

“I feel great today,” said Kenworthy happily in the finish after hugging his mother and father. “This season has actually been kind of tough for me, so this just feels good and gives me a lot of confidence and hopefully momentum going into Mammoth.”

Goepper would have clinched a spot in the Olympics with a first-place finish, so will have to wait until next week’s Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain to confirm his Olympic team spot. But he was still excited about the second place and lauded his teammate.

“Gus skied really well—he inspires me with his skiing,” said Goepper. “I’m feeling great sitting in a really good position to qualify for the Olympics and it’s on to Mammoth.”

Young gun Quinn Wolferman (Missoula, Mont.) showed that he’ll remain on the radar for the remainder of the Olympic qualifying season, taking fourth place. Willie Borm (Chaska, Minn.) was eighth and McRae Williams (Park City, Utah) was ninth.

In the women’s competition, Voisin followed up her second place in Saturday’s slopestyle with another second. She had clinched her Olympic nomination after Saturday’s podium.

“Like yesterday, it’s still unexplainable,” said Voisin humbly, who is being touted as a major medal threat in Korea next month. “I just wanted to put down the run I did yesterday, but make small improvements—grab a little better, go a little bigger. The second run I put down felt like I did just that, so I am so happy, grateful and loving skiing more than ever.”

Julia Krass (Hanover, N.H.) was just off the podium in fourth. Darian Stevens (Missoula, Mont.) was seventh and Caroline Claire (Edina, Minn.)

The final Olympic qualifiers go off this week at Mammoth Mountain, with the U.S. Olympic Team in freeski slopestyle and halfpipe named at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix next weekend.

RESULTS
Men’s and women's slopestyle

OLYMPIC STANDINGS
Men’s and women’s freeski 

Nolan Kasper’s long road of recovery is finally over, and just in time to give the men’s U.S. Ski Team tech squad, and his own Olympic aspirations, a much-needed boost.

Kasper (Warren, Vt.), competing in his first FIS Ski World Cup race in two years following a host of knee and hip surgeries, came from the 52nd start position on a rutted, icy slalom track to finish 20th in Wengen, Switzerland Sunday.

“I'm psyched to be back and having a second run again,” Kasper said. “This is a good as I could have hoped for. I knew I was skiing well, but we’re at the World Cup and these are the best guys.”

Skiing balanced and solid, Kasper took control in the first run, mastering the steep sections that took out numerous competitors before him, including teammates David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, Colo.) and AJ Ginnis (Vouliagmeni, Greece), and skied into the top 30, just ahead of Mark Engel (Truckee, Calif.) in 28th position.

“They injected the course yesterday and it held up pretty well, but you definitely get some grooves and bumps,” Kasper said. “They didn’t (groom) it after the combined (Friday), so there are some ruts in there from that slalom. But you just have to fight through it.”

Starting third in the second run, Kasper kept fighting and skied to his best World Cup result in three years. Austria’s Marcel Hirscher extended is overall World Cup lead with yet another slalom victory – his fifth of the season – as Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen finished second and Sweden’s Andre Myhrer was third.

In addition to surgeries and recovery over the past two years, Kasper returned to Dartmouth College to complete his degree in economics. He also interned for U.S. Ski & Snowboard, assisting with the Athlete Career & Education department and redesigning the new U.S. Ski & Snowboard website.

Up next, the men’s World Cup circuit returns to Kitzbuehel, Austria Jan. 19-21 with super-G, downhill and slalom races where Kasper will once again have the opportunity to state his case for becoming a member of the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team.

“Its always in the back of my mind,” Kasper said of the prospects of making his third Olympic team. “But it’s not for me to decide. I’m just going to go out and try and ski and have fun. My goals this year don’t change, I’m trying to go and prove to myself that I can be competitive and try and ski well. I just want to go out and have some fun and enjoy this year.”

RESULTS
Men’s slalom
 

Laurenne Ross (Bend. Ore.) competed in her first FIS Ski World Cup downhill after recovering from a severe knee injury suffered at the U.S. Alpine Championships last season and led the U.S. Ski Team, finishing 11th, in Bad Kleinkirchheim, Austria Sunday. Italy swept the podium with Sofia Goggia, Federica Brignone and Nadia Franchini going 1-2-3.

Weather issues hampered downhill training all week and continued into Sunday as light mist and fog forced FIS officials to move the downhill start down to the super-G start. The ladies also completed and abbreviated downhill training run prior to Sunday morning race. The race start was then delayed as course crews worked to smooth out the rough, icy track.

However, none of that seemed to faze Ross during her run as she charged down the course. But the sigh of relief after crossing the finish line told another story.

“Today was an extremely tough race,” Ross said. “These are the most difficult conditions I’ve skied in since I’ve been injured and to have to race in them was a really big challenge for me.

“I wasn’t sure if I was going to race or not, but when I decided to go for it … I tried to charge and tried to be solid on the front of my skis,” she added. “It didn’t feel good, but I suppose nobody’s run felt that great. It’s a difficult hill and the conditions are kind of ridiculous.”

Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) provided another bright spot for the Americans as she posted her second top-20 result of the season in 16th. Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, Calif.) was 18th; Breezy Johnson (Victor, Idaho) 20th; and Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) 22nd.

“I knew it was going to be a struggle this morning from the training run,” Vonn said. “Really poor visibility, pretty icy and bumpy conditions. I really had no grip on the ice and I felt like I was skiing on marbles.”

Up next, the women’s FIS World Cup circuit continues with super-G and downhill Jan. 20-21 in Cortina, Italy, where overall World Cup leader Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) is expected to compete.

RESULTS
Women’s Downhill

In front of huge crowds in the historic German city of Dresden, Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.) and Ida Sargent (Orleans, Vt.) sprinted to third behind two powerhouse Swedish teams in a World Cup freestyle team sprint Sunday. It was a career-best match for Sargent. Italy beat Sweden for the men's victory.

The podium finish for Caldwell and Sargent matched their finish in the Olympic test event at Alpensia in PyeongChang, South Korea last February. The duo had been fifth in Planica, Slovenia a year earlier. Caitlin Patterson (Anchorage) and Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) teamed up to finish eight for the women, as did Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) and Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) for the men.

In the second women's semi-final, it was an all USA show as Caldwell and Sargent took the win with Patterson and Randall right behind. In the final, it was a tight battle most of the way between Sweden, Germany and the USA's two teams plus Switzerland and Slovenia. Sargent handed off to Caldwell for the final leg with the Swiss in the lead. Caldwell worked her way through traffic on the short, flat sprint course to join the Swedes for a finish sprint.

"That was a really fun and exciting race and I'm so happy to be on the podium with Sophie," said Sargent. "The course was so fast so the pack stayed together. We tried to stay near the front and stay out of trouble."

The high speed of the course also created chaos in the tag zone. "We had a couple of rough tags where we lost a little time to the Swedes but luckily we stayed on our feet," said Sargent.

"It was another great day for our team," said Caldwell, who scored her second straight sprint podium. "Our goal was to stay towards the front, stay out of trouble, and save some legs for the last lap of each heat. I think we executed our plan really well and I was proud of how both Ida and I skied."

With Olympic qualifying now completed, the World Cup tour now heads to Planica, Slovenia for a weekend of classic sprint and distance. Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) and Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) will rejoin the team after taking a one week break. The full Olympic team will be announced the week of January 22.

RESULTS
Men's Team Sprint 
Women's Team Sprint 

Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, Mont.) took second place at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix freeski slopestyle at Aspen-Snowmass, which clinched her spot in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Voisin was the youngest team member to be named in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, but broke her ankle during training just prior to the Olympic competition. Emotions came running back to her when she called her mother to tell her that she was named to another Olympic team.

“Oh my gosh, I can’t even explain it,” said Voisin. “I feel like it’s been a long four years since my last Olympic experience and just to lock it in today is emotional in the best way. I can’t believe I’m going back to my second Olympics with a little bit of redemption going into Korea. There’s just so much look forward to. Grateful.”

Voisin finished behind Johanne Killi of Norway and ahead of Isabel Atkin of Great Britain. The only other American woman in the finals was Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.), who finished sixth.

The men’s competition was hotly contested, with the top six skiers all scoring more than 90 points. McRae Williams (Park City, Utah) was in the running for a podium spot, but was bumped in the last run to fourth. Nineteen-year-old Andri Ragettli of Switzerland took the win, with Norwegians Ferdinand Dahl and Oystein Braaten in second and third.  

Competing in his second World Cup event, Quinn Wolferman (Missoula, Mont.) finished ninth. The North Face Rookie Team member Willie Borm (Chaska, Minn.) was 14th.

The men and women contest another slopestyle Sunday, which is also an Olympic selection event.

RESULTS
Men’s slopestyle
Women’s slopestyle

OLYMPIC STANDINGS
Men’s and women’s slopestyle

Two-time Olympic champion Shaun White (Carlsbad, Calif.) rose up to the challenge of making the Olympic Team with a definitive perfect winning run to lead a trio of Americans onto the 2018 Olympic Team Saturday at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Aspen-Snowmass.

"It's been all about making the Olympic team and after having had a poor finish at the Dew Tour, it put a lot of pressure on me for the win at this event," White said. "And that was my goal - to win this thing!"

Sitting ninth out of 10 after his first run, White came back on his third and final run to score a perfect 100 to take the World Cup win over Australia's Scotty James in second and Yuto Totsuka of Japan in third. Americans Ben Ferguson (Bend, Ore.) and 2016 Youth Olympic Games champion Jake Pates (Eagle, Colo.) were fourth and fifth respectively. White, Furguson, and Pates all clinched spots on the Olympic Team with one selection event remaining. This will be White's fourth Olympic Winter Games dating back to the 2006 Games when he won gold in the halfpipe.

White nailed his perfect run with a frontside 1440 to cab double 1080, frontside 540, tomahawk and a frontside double 1260 - a trick he had worked on to clean it up over the last couple of weeks.

“Man, I’m tripping out,” said White. “What a day.”

White had strong practice runs but had a leg tighten up heading into the competition. His first run was a wash and he missed a landing on the second. On the outside looking in, White dropped in one final time for his third run and nailed it.

“For the third run it was this huge debate (with myself),” he said. “It’s like, ‘do you play it safe and make the Olympic team or do you try to win it?’”

At the top, White took his time as options raced through his mind. With encouragement from his coaches, he launched one of his sport’s best runs ever.

“I’m just so stoked and then I got a 100 man,” said White. “That was unreal. I was almost in tears, man, I shed a couple.”

White served notice when he launched a YOLO early in his run - a 1440 move that includes two head-over-heels flips and two 360-degree turns. He stuck it perfectly, then launching a cab double 10, wrapping up with double 12s - a McTwist 1260 and a front double 12.

“That was a cool one because I’d reworked that trick the second day of practice here,” said White.

The win clinched White’s spot for an unprecedented fourth Olympics. 

“For sure, I mean it’s so exciting to be around this long,” said White, who is looking forward to returning to PyeongChang where he finished second to Australia’s Scotty James last year. “The test event was amazing. I’m so excited. I’m just going to take this run I’m doing now and just build – get it bigger, better, more technical tricks.”

In the women's halfpipe, Spain's Queralt Castellet took the win with Chloe Kim (Torrence, Calif.) top American in second ahead of Maddie Mastro (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) in third and Kelly Clark (Mt. Snow, Vt.) fourth.

Kim’s second-place run included an air front 10 tail, cab seven indie, front five McTwist.

With the Olympic Team already achieved, Kim contemplated the best approach to the event in Aspen-Snowmass. 

“The pipe was a little tricky here and everyone was kind of struggling, so I just wanted to challenge myself, said Kim. “I wanted to put down a run that’s normally pretty easy for me in these conditions and I was able to do that. So, I’m pretty hyped. I’m looking forward to Mammoth now and it will be a good time.”

With Kim the only one to clinch a spot on the Olympic Team, Mastro heads to Mammoth Mountain next weekend with a continuing mission. “I’m really happy with how I’m riding and where I’m moving and the direction of my snowboarding,” said Mastro. “I just hope it keeps snowballing and rolling forward and I just keep climbing and climbing.”

Mastro put down a front nine, back five, front seven, Haakon, crippler and method to close.

Two spots via objective criteria remain open for the women's Olympic Team with Mastro, Clark and Arielle Gold (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) all in contention. While the three men's objective criteria spots are now filled, a fourth discretionary spot may still be available with a host of men vying for the potential opportunity.

​​​​​​RESULTS
Men's World Cup Halfpipe
Women's World Cup Halfpipe 
 

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Jan. 14
3:00 p.m – Slopestyle skiing finals #2 – nbcsports.com
3:00 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – NBC (next day coverage)

Jan. 15
1:30 a.m. – Slopestyle skiing finals #1 – NBCSN

Jan. 16
12:00 a.m. – Slopestyle skiing finals #2 – NBCSN
 

Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.) charged through a traffic jam of Swedes to finish third in a photo finish at a freestyle city sprint in the historic city of Dresden, Germany. Sweden's Hanna Falk skied with a vengeance to pickup her first World Cup win in eight years.

Caldwell, who qualified 11th, moved into the finals with a lucky loser finish in the semifinals. One of the shortest and flattest sprint courses ever, the Dresden track was an all-out sprint from start to finish. Falk led the Swedes out of the gate at a torrid pace. Caldwell was slow getting out but held with the pack, moving quickly up into position.

Just past the midway point, Sweden's Stina Nilsson crashed hard just in front of Caldwell, who navigated around and used the incident to burst up into the front half of the pack. "The crash happened right in front of me," said Caldwell, "but I managed to avoid it and then put in a big push to maintain contact with the leaders."

It was a great return to the World Cup from Caldwell who had dropped out of the Tour de Ski a week ago with illness. "I was really happy with today," she said. "It was a course unlike any we’ve ever skied before being the flattest and shortest race I’ve ever done. It was important to get in a good position from the beginning and I did a decent job of that in my quarter final and semi final, but got off to a bit of a slow start in the final. I tried to stay patient and make moves where I could."

The podium moved Caldwell into third in the FIS World Cup sprint rankings. A team sprint is set for Sunday. It was the last World Cup race of the Olympic selection period with Ida Sargent (Orleans, Vt.), Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) and Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, Vt.) all confirming team spots with top 50 sprint rankings.

RESULTS
Men's Sprint 
Women's Sprint