Hailey Swirbul of the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team is ready to say goodbye to World Cup ski racing. The 2022 Olympian has formally announced her retirement from the World Cup circuit hours after crossing the finish line at the 2022-23 World Cup Finals in Lahti, Finland. 

24-year-old Swirbul, an El Jebel, Colorado native, has been on the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team for years, represented her country at two World Championships and was a member of Team USA in Beijing at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. She’s had a consistent presence on the World Cup throughout the last several years, starting in 64 races, finding the top-10 in four and standing on the 2020 Davos World Cup individual 10k skate podium in third. Now, Hailey is taking a step away from the World Cup circuit and is excited to begin her next chapter. 

Swirbul was a mountain kid growing up. Her childhood in Aspen’s Roaring Fork Valley was filled with romping around the nearby peaks, riding around on a mountain bike with her family and skiing the resorts on alpine skis. Looking back, if you asked her when she was young if she would grow up to be a professional cross country skier, she may have brushed it aside. “My earlier memories of cross country skiing include me freezing and holding back tears, woefully slogging along the ski trail as my dad got in his workout,” she said. 

It wasn’t until later that cross country skiing became a part of her life, thanks in part to her brother Keegan Swirbul. Keegan, now a professional road bike rider, decided that to stay in shape for bike season, he needed some consistent cross training; cue cross country skiing. The tight duo took this new step together, and the rest is history. 

Hailey started with the Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club until she left for college in 2016, skiing for the University of Alaska Anchorage Ski Team. Finding abundant success on the college circuit, Hailey then trained and competed with the Alaska Pacific University (APU) club team. There, she had breakout results, notably in the 2017 World Junior Championships in Solider Hollow, Utah where she, Katharine Ogden, Julia Kern and Hannah Halvorsen won the USA’s first-ever medal at Junior Worlds, and it only went up from there. 

Throughout the next several years, she racked up results; in 2018 she was back at the Junior World Championships and won an individual silver medal in the 5k classic and bronze in the skiathlon. Through the U.S. National Championships, SuperTours, Nor-Am Cups and FIS events, Hailey has over 15 wins to her name. 

Then, came the next step. In 2019, she was officially called up to the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team where she would now compete on the highest stage of the sport - the World Cup.

"Hailey has been a force of nature since she burst on the scene as a U20 and started making history for the USA with two individual medals at the World Junior Championships," said Chris Grover, the U.S. Cross Country Program Director. "Arriving on World Cup, she demonstrated that she is a force in every discipline and both techniques. She has an individual World Cup Podium and was key in securing a World Cup women’s relay podium this season in Toblach. She’s been a fixture of our World Championships and Olympic team over the past quad. Beyond the results, she’s been at the heart of the U.S. Team, an incredible teammate, and a caring and soulful friend to us all. We will all miss her but we also know she will be a big part of our community for life."

“Hailey’s positive influence goes far beyond the ski tracks. Her kindness and thoughtfulness impacts her teammates, coaches, competitors, and supporters everywhere,” said Kristen Bourne, Coach of the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team. “She follows her heart and shows us all the importance of doing so. There’s no doubt in my mind that Hailey will continue to push the sport of cross country skiing and impact the next generation and beyond.”

Outside of skiing, Hailey is active in the community that helped shape her. As a current board member for the Women's Ski Coaches Association, Hailey works day in and day out in helping create a collaborative network to encourage retention of women coaches in the industry. She also has a bachelors degree in civil engineering and this past summer, worked full time as an engineer. 

“Hailey will be immediately missed as an athlete who brought a lot of personality to our team,” said Matt Whitcomb, Head Coach of the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team. “While she was a very successful racer, she wasn’t simply motivated by winning, and needed to work hard to find purpose and meaning in each day. This style of motivation, and Hailey’s always-open way of sharing with her coaches and teammates, taught me how to become a better coach. She helped everyone around her improve, and I will miss that, and I’m eager to watch to her bring that wonderful personality to her next team. Thank you, Hailey!”

“With the end of my World Cup career on the horizon, it is so easy to see how much I appreciate this team,” said Swirbul. “It wouldn’t be possible for me to have been on the World Cup and chase some big dreams without the support of the U.S. Ski Team, and I will forever be grateful for that.”

Retirement doesn’t mean that Swirbul will never lace up her Madshus race boots and click in her skis again. She still plans on racing, competing at a high level within the states and training for a sport that has shaped “the core of my identity for the last 15 years.” She may be closing one chapter, but is excitedly opening the next. “I set out to find peace with skiing this season after a difficult few years between Covid and the Olympic cycle, and I can truly say that I love skiing more than I ever have now—I’m just ready to love skiing in a new way outside of World Cup racing,” said Swirbul. “After all, I’ve already been given the best gift: a lifelong love of sport.”

Congratulations on your World Cup career, Hailey! We are so excited to see what this next chapter brings. 

The U.S. Freestyle Moguls Ski Team closed out their competitive season with the Toyota Dual Moguls National Championships Sunday at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire. Jaelin Kauf and Cole McDonald both became double 2023 National Champions, winning for the second day in a row. 

Kauf was honored to finish what has been one of her career best seasons at a double national champion. “It’s been three years since I’ve been able to ski Nationals so I’m stoked to be competing here again!” she said. “It’s such a fun event to get to ski and compete with all of the regional athletes.”

"It feels super amazing to end the year this way," said McDonald. "Coming together is always super fun and special at Nationals. It is great to see new faces and also the progress that young skiers have made in the past couple of years."

U.S. National Team athletes went head-to-head with the country’s top regional athletes. Nationals is an event that inspires the next generation of skiers by providing an opportunity for up-and-comers to compete on the same course and same event as the nation’s top athletes. 

On the women’s side Olivia Giaccio earned her second podium of the weekend with second place after dueling Kauf in the Big Final. Elizabeth Lemley bested Hannah Soar for third in the small final. Dylan Marcellini earned his second podium of the weekend with his second place after going against McDonald in the men’s Big Final. Landon Wendler won the Small Final against Nick Page for third place. 

Moguls breaks for some R&R before getting back to the grind in preparation for the 2023-24 season. 

RESULTS
Women’s Dual Moguls
Men’s Dual Moguls 

The last day of the of snowboardcross World Cup took place in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada and the U.S. Snowboard Team's Jake Vedder walked away with his third podium of his career.

Along with Vedder, U.S. men's snowboardcross athletes Alex Deibold, Nick Baumgartner, Senna Leith, Cody Winters, Hagen Kearney and Tyler Hamel competed. All athletes advanced to the 1/8th final in Saturday's qualifying round, where we saw the top Americans Kearney and Leith in eighth and ninth place. Vedder was the next ranked U.S. athlete in 13th place, which made him hungry for a better position the following day.

The snow was coming down throughout the day and the course was placed on hold several times. The athletes at the top of the course were forced to wait out the conditions until a gap in the weather appeared. Eventually, the weather cleared and the men were set to race head-to-head. Vedder had a stellar day racing his fellow competitors down the banks, jumps and turns. 

Starting with the 1/8th final, Vedder qualified to the quarterfinals in first place for his heat. Once again, he was the fastest racer in his quarterfinals heats and advanced as the top qualifier. Semifinals were next on the chopping board and to no one's surprise, Vedder placed first in his heat to move on to the Big Final. As the four final men strapped in and awaited their signal to go, Vedder pumped himself up by shaking out the nerves and giving himself one more clap of the hands. The gates opened and the men were off. Throughout the majority of the race, Vedder was in last. It wasn't until the last jump when Vedder came out of nowhere to secure a very tight second place, shocking his competitors. 

His second place result marks Vedder's third career podium and his second of the season. This result tops off a great end to the season for the rider, as he will now look to use this fuel for the next season to come. 

Results
Men's Results

U.S. Snowboard Team slopestyle rider Dusty Henricksen had a very successful weekend at the FIS Snowobard World Cup in Corvatsch Silvaplana, Switzerland, qualifying for the stacked finals and clinching his first ever coveted FIS Slopestyle Snowboard Crystal Globe. 

During the 2022-23 winter competition season, Henricksen qualified for every single World Cup final on the circuit (six) and landed on three of those podiums in either first or second place. During the Laax Open in Switzerland back in January, Henricksen had a successful day on the slopestyle course by placing second. Shortly following this podium, he made his way back to his hometown of Mammoth Mountain, where he dominated the field and won the whole event. His final podium of the season took place in Calgary, Canada, where he scored another second place. To add to his already decorated World Cup season, Henricksen earned a bronze medal at the Aspen X Games Snowboard Knuckle Huck back in January. 

Leading up to the last event of the season in Silvaplana, Henricksen was sitting in second overall for slopestyle FIS points. After placing seventh in Sunday's slopestyle finals, he was able to advance into that top overall spot with a 110-point lead. On top of earning the Crystal Globe today, Henricksen also secured a second place title as the overall park and pipe leader. 

Teammate Jake Canter also had a successful day today in Silvaplana. He qualified into the finals as the top American and held onto that title, placing just above Henricksen in sixth place. The overall conditions for finals could not have been any better with blue skies, no breeze and a pristine course. After falling on his first finals run, Canter strapped back in and headed to the top of the course where he took a big, deep breath before dropping in for his second attempt. After lacing his run from top to bottom, Canter received a score of a 73.50 to land him in sixth. 

Today marked the final competition of the 2022-23 slopestyle World Cup circuit. With much success throughout the whole entire season, Henricksen and Canter's showing today placed the cherry on top. All of the U.S. Snowboard Team athletes are fired up for another great 2023-24 season to come. 

Results 

Men's Results

Crystal Globe 

Men's Results 

The 2022-23 World Cup season has come to an end in Lahti, Finland with the 20k classic. It was another historic day for the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team, highlighted by Ben Ogden clinching the U23 Green Bib, Jessie Diggins placing second in the FIS Cross Country World Cup Overall and distance races, Rosie Brennan snagging fourth place in the overall and sixth in the distance and the team finishing in fourth place for the Nations Cup.

31 World Cup races later, the 20k classic wrapped up the 2022-23 season program. In mass start style, a large field for both the men and women took on the four-lap course with technical downhills and long, striding uphills. For the women, Diggins, Julia Kern, Brennan, Hailey Swirbul, Sammy Smith and Novie McCabe were on the start list, while Zak Ketterson, Gus Schumacher, Scott Patterson, Luke Jager and Ogden represented the U.S. men. Final results showed Diggins in 22nd, Brennan in 23rd, McCabe 25th, Swirbul 26th, Kern 38th, Smith 48th. For the men, Ogden was 18th, Ketterson 28th, Jager 33rd, Schumacher 40th and Patterson 50th. 

At the finish line, there was triumph: triumph for crossing the finish line and triumph for finishing the last race of the season. As athletes crossed the line, they did something atypical - they stayed around to hug each other, cheer on their teammates, take photos and of course spray champagne. The energy in the finish pen was electric - the season was over and there was so much to celebrate.

The day was highlighted by Diggins clinching second place in the FIS Cross Country Overall standings and second in the overall distance standings. This is Diggins' third year in a row in the top three overall. “I am really proud of that,” said Diggins. “It speaks to the really incredible support from the team - all of the amazing and consistent hard work from our coaches, wax techs and volunteers. I’m just really proud of the year.”

Ogden Makes History

Ogden won the U23 Green Bib for being the best skier under the age of 23 on the World Cup, joining an elite class of past winners and cementing himself as one of the most dominant young forces on the circuit. 

Ogden is becoming a household name in the cross country world. As each race passes, there are always stories about how "Benny-O" took it one level higher, pushed the pace that much more or tried something new in the sprints. Winning the U23 Green Bib is a testament to one's consistency and speed in distance, sprint and stage races throughout the entire season. Ogden started dawning the green in Drammen, Norway. Since then, it's been part of his uniform and today, he took it for good. 

Ogden walks away from the circuit with one of the finest seasons on record by an American male cross country skier in over 30 years, winning not only the green bib, but taking home eighth place overall in the FIS World Cup overall standings. 

Rosie Brennan also had an incredible season, scoring many top-10's and performing consistently in nearly all of the races on the World Cup to be fourth overall. "It's of course bittersweet to be fourth place (overall) but hopefully it can be a reflection of what to do better and come back stronger next year!" said Brennan. "It's been really good to find consistency this year and build off that. Mostly though, I am super psyched to see Ben win the green bib! That's been amazing to watch. We definitely have a strong group of men and women coming up and is so cool to see. It has also been a big motivator to make these good results stick and make it a thing where the U.S. is always competitive!" 

As the 2022-23 season ends, it was a year of many highs for the U.S. Cross Country Team. With countless top-10s, several podiums, two World Championships medals, World Cup starts by some of the U.S.'s young stars and skiing in venues across the world. Now, the team will spend one last night in Europe before going home for the first time since November. 

RESULTS
Men's
Women's

OVERALL
Men's
Women's
Nations Cup

Despite Mother Nature’s best efforts, the Toyota U.S. Freestyle Championships kicked off Saturday at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire with individual moguls. U.S. Freestyle Ski Team athletes Jaelin Kauf and Cole McDonald were crowned the 2023 U.S. National Champions, skiing a challenging course made especially firm from rain earlier in the week. This marks Kauf’s fourth U.S. Championship title and McDonald’s first.

U.S. Nationals brings the whole American mogul skiing community together, with national team members competing alongside regional clubs. 

“Nationals is such a fun event, especially skiing with these younger athletes,” said Kauf. “The course was really firm and challenging today. But it was fun for our team going back and forth with those top spots all day.”

Kauf was joined on the podium by teammates Olivia Giaccio and Hannah Soar, who took second and third, respectively. “It’s a nice way to end the season,” said Giaccio of skiing to the Nationals podium.

On the men’s side, Dylan Marcellini and Landon Wendler went second and third. 

The weekend closes with Dual Moguls National Championships on Sunday. Watch live on Twitch.

RESULTS
Women’s Moguls
Men’s Moguls

On a beautiful day in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada, six U.S snowboardcross athletes competed in their second to last race of the season with Lindsey Jacobellis securing her 59th career podium.

Conditions were overcast, but it made for very fast snow conditions for the racers. During the women's qualifications just the day before, Jacobellis, Faye Gulini, and Stacey Gaskill each raced their hearts out in order to make the quarterfinals Saturday. Both Jacobellis and Gulini advanced to the semifinals as the top two athletes in their heats. Jacobellis then ranked first in the semifinals and advanced to compete in the big final against Gulini, who placed second in her heat. The big final saw Jacobellis securing another third place finish to add as her 59th career podium.

Jacobellis is the most decorated women's snowboardcross athlete to ever do it and will look to see if she can make her 60th World Cup podium Sunday in Canada. Gulini was just off the podium in fourth place with a time of 1:03.00, 0.69 seconds behind Jacobellis. Gaskill did not advance to the semifinals and settled with a 12th place. 

On the men's side, three American men advanced into the 1/8th final from qualifiers the day before. After qualifying into the quarterfinals in second place in his heat, Senna Leith was unable to advance into the semifinals. Leith's day ended with another top 10 finish in ninth place. Fellow teammate Jake Vedder also advanced to the quarterfinal after finishing second in his heat, but did not qualify further, which placed him in 13th overall.

The top American finisher for the day was Hagen Kearney who had a stellar day, advancing as the top finisher in both the 1/8th and quarterfinal. However, when it came down to the semifinals, Kearney accidentally took the wrong line on one of the banks which set him back into last place. As it may not have been the results he wanted, he was still able to secure another top 10 finish in eighth place. 

The U.S Snowboard Team snowboardcross racers will look to finish off their competition season with another race tomorrow in Mont-Sainte-Anne. 

Results

Men's Results

Women's Results 

Julia Marino of the U.S. Snowboard Team slopestyle and big air team wrapped up her 2022-23 season in style, winning her third slopestyle event of the season in Silvaplana, Switzerland. This win today secured her 12th career podium and eighth World Cup victory. She also received her first ever slopestyle Crystal Globe as a result of her accumulated FIS points from the season. The Crystal Globe is a coveted award that signifies the best athletes in the world for that season. Marino is the true definition of what that means. 

On March 25th, Marino rode her heart out as the only American competitor during the Silvaplana World Cup, where conditions were not ideal. Winds continued to pick up throughout the day, and the light stayed flat for the entirety of the event. However, this did not seem to affect her as she was able to lace both of her runs, ultimately scoring the top spot with an 87.25.

After having back-to-back Slopestyle wins this season, Marino speaks on what it meant for her to clinch the Crystal Globe, “It has been a really fun season honestly. There has been a lot going on but I was really happy to come here and finish off the season with this competition. The course is probably the best course I’ve hit all season. It was a great way to end it off here with all the girls and with a great course.” 

As the season comes to an end for Marino, we take a moment to look back at the amazing accomplishments she had this season. Starting off strong at Mammoth Mountain, California in February, Marino executed a flawless run to place her on top of the podium with a score of 78.59. Following her victory in Mammoth, Marino flew up north to Calgary, Canada where she once again dominated the field to take home another win with a score of 78.36. To end the season off with yet again another win was huge, but to also clinch the slopestyle Crystal Globe was just the cherry on top for Marino. 

When asked what’s next for Marino she mentioned, “I will probably get up to some more shredding since spring is right around the corner. Spring is my favorite time to ride. I have to go to France for a few days, so I might just end up coming back here (Silvaplana) to ride for a few days before heading back home.” 

Results 

Women's slopestyle results
 

Crystal Globe 

Women's standings 

The future of mogul skiing looks bright following a strong showing from up-and-coming athletes at the FIS Junior World Ski Championships in Chiesa in Valmalenco, Italy, March 23-25.

Newly crowned FIS Rookie of the Year skier Alli Macuga became a double Junior World Champion, winning the Team Dual Moguls with teammate Asher Michel and Dual Moguls events Friday and Saturday. 

“It was a very fun weekend with a tough course, with it being the end of the year it’s been a bit of a battle,” said Macuga. “I’m happy with the past few days and my results. I was really just trying to push after singles day to my best. Since it’s the end of the season I wanted to go out with a bang. Thanks to my family and my team and my sponsors again.”

Athletes competed in three events in three days. Friday was the single moguls event, where Macuga was the top American finisher, just off the podium in fourth. Kasey Hogg took fifth, Kylie Kariotis sixth, and Skylar Slettene 17th. On the men’s side Asher Michel took bronze, Jack Petrone finished 11th, Charlie Mickel 12th and Peyton Billeisen 15th. 

The Team Dual Moguls event ran Saturday with Macgua and Michel representing Team USA. The pair won gold, beating Team Canada in the Big Final. 

“It was a very fun team event and to ski with Asher, stoked for him,” Macuga said. “Having a partner was fun, he’s a very fast skier. I was happy to be at the top of the box with him.”

Sunday the American women went 1-4 in Dual Moguls. Macuga took gold, Slettene silver, Kariotis bronze and Hogg fourth. Petrone was the top American finisher for the men in fifth, Michel took 10th, Mickel 14th and Billeisen 29th. 

RESULTS
Women’s Moguls
Men’s Moguls
Team Dual Moguls
Women’s Dual Moguls
Men’s Dual Moguls

It was quite the day to wrap up the final sprint of the 2022-23 season in Lahti, Finland. The U.S. Cross Country Ski Team sent five athletes to the top-30, with Julia Kern and Ben Ogden leading the team in 15th and 13th, respectively. 

The conditions were anything but easy, with many athletes struggling to find the best line with the snow getting worse through the afternoon. Lahti is known for its sprint course - the steep uphill to the infamous right hand 180 degree turn into the long, working downhill. It's not easy and even the best in the world struggled, with many falls and broken poles as the day went on. 

With the overall sprint crystal globes on the line, the tensions were high across the board with highly contested races between athletes of several nations.

For the men, Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo ended the season right where he started it, in first. Crossing the sprint line for the last time this season ahead of the entire field, Klaebo clinched another sprint globe. For the women, Sweden's Maja Dahlqvist secured the overall sprint globe in dramatic fashion. In the quarterfinal heat, she needed to get first or second to secure a spot in the semifinals and this was made possible by a move from her teammate Moa Ilar. In the finishing stretch, Dahlqvist broke a pole and her sites of the crystal globe were diminishing right before her eyes, that was until her teammate completely stopped her momentum and let Dahlqvist pass so she could move onto the semis by crossing the line in second. "Teammate of the year" was heard throughout the stadium. With that move, Dahlqvist moved on to the semis, then advanced to the finals and finished the sprint in fourth, enough to clinch the 2023 FIS Overall Sprint crystal globe. 

Kern, Diggins and Brennan all advanced easily to the heats, with Diggins qualifying in 10th, Kern in 21st and Brennan in 23rd. In the heats, no U.S. women advanced to the semifinals, with Kern missing the lucky loser spot by less than a second. Diggins was fourth and Brennan was sixth in their heats.

"For me personally, I knew I had a lot in me," said Kern. "In the quarterfinal, I gave it what I had and was getting stuck in places and not quite finding the gears or windows I needed to find. But, I was proud with how I finished. I gave it what I had out there today and I am looking forward to tomorrow, the last race of the season!"

In the end, Diggins was 15th, Kern 16th and Brennan 29th. The winner of the day was Kristine Skistad of Norway who again shocked the cross country world again and won the classic sprint. 

"It was an exciting day! I was really happy with my qualifier," said Diggins. "It's fun to feel that I have decent energy at the end of the year because when it comes down to the end of the season, what you have is what you have! I went for it today and proud of how I skied on this course with tricky conditions. Huge thanks for the techs for working so hard and for everyone working on this course, the staff and the support team. I am really grateful for all the work they put in and am super excited to finish this season with one last race and give it my all."

On the men's side, Ogden and Ketterson advanced to the heats with their fast qualifying times, Ogden was 7th and Ketterson was 27th. Ogden once again dawned the U23 green bib, an indicator that he is currently the fastest U23 athlete on the World Cup circuit; Ogden has been wearing the bib the majority of the season. Through the heats, Ketterson did not advance after an unfortunate broken pole and Ogden was in a similar situation. He narrowly avoided a massive crash, catapulting him to the front of the heat, yet he finished fourth in his heat, not moving on to the semifinals. Ogden finished the day in 13th, Ketterson was 28th. 

For the season overall, Kern finished within the top-10 in the overall sprint rankings, marking herself as one of the fastest and most consistent sprinters in the world, in seventh. Along with Kern, Ogden showed his consistency by finishing the sprinting season in tenth - a jump from last season where he finished 30th. 

Tomorrow the team will compete in the last World Cup race of the season, the 20k classic. 

RESULTS
Women's
Men's

SPRINT OVERALL
Women's
Men's