Diggins Ninth in 20k Classic Mass Start

Coming off a victory in the 10k and a fourth in the skate sprint, Jessie Diggins rounds out the Cross Country World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway with a ninth place in today's 20k classic mass start and teammate Gus Schumacher skied a smart race and ended the weekend with a 17th place finish. 

Diggins started the race in the lead pack and promptly finished in the lead pack, only 5.5 seconds back from the winner, Frida Karlsson of Sweden. In typical mass start fashion, it was chaos from the start, as over 57 racers descend onto the 3.3k lap course. "It was pretty clear it was a chaotic day out there, " Diggins said while laughing. "It is the kind of course that keeps things together. There were a number of attempts to break it up, but everyone just kept coming back together on that long winding downhill." 

On the six-lap course, with spectators cheering at every corner, the women skied a fast and technical race. The Americans again had fast skis, evidenced by the lack of slipping on the steep uphills and gliding on the flats and downhills. 

"Overall, I am happy with where my body is at and where my fitness is at, there are always things I want to work on and there are always learning opportunities out there. I definitely took some lessons away from this race that I want to apply forward to the next classic race," said Diggins. 

Teammates Alayna Sonnesyn finished 36th, Sophia Laukli 39th and Julia Kern 44th, all scoring World Cup points for their top 50 finishes. 

Schumacher Top 20 in Lillehammer

Gus Schumacher had a great day on the course, skiing with the pack and finishing in 17th place. Throughout the laps, Schumacher steadily chipped away and had energy until he crossed the line. 

"It's been a while since I was stringing together good races, so to be getting better and better every time I put a bib on is huge for me," said Gus Schumacher. "Today in particular was a chaotic race, with no big operating features on the course, so the pack stayed together the whole race. Even so, the feeling of being able to be proactive closer to the front and reactive near the back was a good feeling and is a product of feeling good and having good skis. So, I'm stoked about it!"

Schumacher was only 6.6 seconds behind the winner, Paal Goldberg of Norway. Teammates Hunter Wonders was 31st, Zak Ketterson 26th, and Ben Ogden 46th, all scoring World Cup Points. Scott Patterson was 57th. 

The next set of races will be in Beitostolen, Norway where the team will race a classic sprint, a 10k classic and a 4.5k classic/freestyle team sprint. 

RESULTS 

Women's 20k Classic

Men's 20k Classic

The men’s Xfinity Birds of Prey downhill went off Saturday thanks to the help of the hundreds of volunteers and course workers. The workers helped to prepare the hill after the day's previous snow storm that brought 14 inches to the course hill. 

Aleksander Kilde of Norway won the run for his second downhill Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup win of the season. Right behind him is another top skier, Marco Odermatt. On the U.S. side, Stifel U.S. Alpine team member Ryan Cochran-Siegle finished in seventh place, his second top 10 result of the season. 

“It was obviously not the same snow we were hoping for. But I think it was a fairly fair race,” said Cochran-Siegle. “I think today I had just a couple little things here and there that pushed me off of that top three. You’ve got to ski with a lot of intensity and I think today was a good step.”

The men’s team described the conditions today as tough with varying light, inconsistent with the previous day's training runs. “It was really tough, the conditions were really dark,” said Travis Ganong. 

The speed men will now look to the men’s super-G on Sunday. 

Watch here. 

The U.S. Freestyle Moguls Team had six athletes in the top 10 at the debut World Cup of the season in Ruka, Finland. 

Olivia Giaccio led the women's team in fourth, with teammate Jaelin Kauf right behind in fifth place. Elizabeth Lemley, an up-and-coming talent on the team, finished in seventh. 

For the men, Nick Page led the way with a fourth-place finish with teammates Dylan Walczyk and Cole McDonald in seventh and eighth. 

RESULTS

Women's Moguls

Men's Moguls 

Jessie Diggins finished fourth to lead four U.S. Ski Team athletes into the top 10 in the FIS Cross Country World Cup freestyle sprint in Lillehammer, Norway, on Saturday. Ben Ogden posted a career-best World Cup result, finishing seventh, and Julia Kern and JC Schoonmaker each finished eighth. 

“We had some awesome skis out there,” Diggins said, once again praising the effort of the U.S. service techs. “It was so cool seeing the U.S. Team as a whole having such a great day.”

Diggins posted the fifth-fastest qualifying time and advanced to the finals after finishing second in the opening quarterfinal heat. She then advanced as the Lucky Loser in the semifinal heat. 

Kern was 20th in qualifying and came out swinging when she skied away from the field to take the opening-round win in the fifth heat. In the semifinals, Kern was locked in on the second Lucky Loser position, only to watch it slip away when Norway’s Lotta Udnes Weng crashed in front of her in the closing 200 meters. 

“I was able to react pretty quickly and get around her,“ Kern said. “And I felt really strong coming into the finish, but that little blip and hiccup cost me. But that’s sprint racing.”

In the finals, Diggins was well-positioned on the first of two laps, but racing up the final climb into the finish, the Swedish duo of Emma Ribom and Maja Dahlquist put the hammer down and finished 1-2 with Norway’s Tiril Udnes Weng in third.

“I had the skis, I just didn’t have the gas and the sharp race form feeling in that final, but that’s OK. I’m really happy with the day and the performance,” Diggins said. 

In an impressive showing for the young U.S. men’s team, three qualified for the heats, including Ogden, Schoonmaker, and Luke Jager, who posted a career-best World Cup freestyle sprint result, finishing 25th.

“Ben and JC and Luke, they skied so well,” Diggins added. “I was really, really impressed. They were (so close) to getting into the final too. It was cool to feel that energy as a team out there today.”

Ogden and Schoonmaker, who qualified 20th and 24th respectively, each won their opening quarterfinal heats to advance. Racing in the second semifinal heat, both were in the mix heading in the final 200 meters but came up short with overall World Cup leader Paal Goldberg of Norway leading countryman Ansger Evensen across the line to finish 1-2. 

In the men’s finals, Norway’s Johannes Kleabo put on another sprint show, skiing to his 55th World Cup victory. Italy’s Frederico Pellegrino was second, and Norway’s Evan Northug was third.

World Cup racing wraps up Sunday in Lillehammer with a 20k classic mass start.

RESULTS
Women’s freestyle sprint
Men’s freestyle sprint

Jessie Diggins skied to her 13th individual World Cup win - tying her former teammate Kikkan Randall for the most U.S. World Cup Cross Country victories - in Friday's opening 10k individual start in Lillehammer, Norway.

"First and foremost, I want to say thanks to the wax techs and the team. I am really proud of their effort because my skis were so awesome out there," said Jessie Diggins in a post-race reflection. "I went into the race with the plan of trying to ski really smooth, pace it evenly, work the transitions and the corners and push hard into the downhills and maximize every second that I could." 

On a fast, 3.3k loop course lined by numerous American fans, fast skis, high tempo, and quick transitions made all the difference for Diggins. Germany's Katharina Hennig was sitting comfortably in the hot seat until Diggins skied through every time check with positive splits. Hennig held on for second, 3.8 seconds back, with Heidi Weng of Norway rounding out the podium in third. 

"My fitness and brain were in a really good place and today I felt like when I asked my body to go deep into the pain cave, it responded," said Diggins. 

Julia Kern and Sophia Laukli also posted top 30 results, finishing 25th and 29th respectively. Alayna Sonnesyn was 32nd, and Lauren Jortberg was 48th in her first World Cup distance race.

With the win, Diggins has racked up 250 World Cup starts, 41 podiums and 15 overall World Cup wins, including a U.S. Team Sprint win in Quebec in 2012, and a Mixed Team victory in Falun, Sweden, last season.

In the men's 10k, Zak Ketterson led the U.S. Ski Team, finishing 26th. Gus Schumacher was 32nd, Scott Patterson 40th, Hunter Wonders was 45th, and Ben Ogden was 56th.

"The fans were pretty fun," Ketterson said. "I actually noticed the cheering the most while I was skiing around the course on my warmup. Tons of American and Norwegian fans cheering for me and asking me silly questions. Can always rely on Norway to provide an awesome World Cup experience."

Racing continues in Lillehammer Saturday with a freestyle sprint, followed by a 20k classic mass start on Sunday. All events are streamed LIVE on skiandsnowboardlive.com.

RESULTS
Women's 10k freestyle individual start
Men's 10k freestyle individual start
 

Release courtesy of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee

U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced today it is honoring the University of Utah as the winner of its 2022 U.S. Ski & Snowboard Collegiate Impact Award, which honors the top-contributing school on the 2022 U.S. Olympic skiing and snowboarding teams in Beijing. As part of the recognition, Mark Harlan, director of athletics at Utah, will be honored during the Team USA Collegiate Recognition Awards that will run in conjunction with the National Football Foundation’s 64th Annual Awards celebration on Dec. 6, 2022, in Las Vegas.

At the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, 16 U.S. Olympians on the alpine and cross country ski teams competed collegiately. Utah had six current student-athletes representing Team USA in Beijing – more than any other school on U.S. Ski & Snowboard – and the Utes are being recognized with the 2022 U.S. Ski & Snowboard Collegiate Impact Award for this contribution. The athletes that competed for both U.S. Ski & Snowboard and University of Utah at the Games include Keely Cashman (alpine), Kevin Bolger (cross country), Luke Jager (cross country), Mo Lebel (alpine), Novie McCabe (cross country) and Sophia Laukli (cross country).

“Being a collegiate athlete is an incredible feat. Athletes learn how to balance academics and sport while competing for their team, which are crucial skills to both the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team and Team USA,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt. “We are thrilled to present the University of Utah with the 2022 U.S. Ski & Snowboard Collegiate Impact Award, and thank them for being such an important part of our sports. We look forward to seeing what our mutual athletes can accomplish next!”

U.S. Ski & Snowboard joins seven other National Governing Bodies that will participate in this year’s Team USA Collegiate Recognition Awards—a celebration that will honor sport-specific contributors (NGB Collegiate Impact Awards) and overall Team USA contributors (Team USA Collegiate Impact Awards) to the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 and the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

More information about the Team USA Collegiate Recognition Awards and Team USA’s collegiate footprint in Beijing can be found online at TeamUSA.org/CollegiateImpact.

*NOTE: Student-athlete is defined by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee as any individual who is/was a member of a collegiate roster (varsity/club/other) and/or competed in outside competition for a university or college. Student-athletes impacted by transfer circumstances were included in the totals for each institution attended.

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A partnership with the U.S. Ski & Snowboard became official last May: the Omini brand will kit all sports for the next 10 years. 

Release courtesy of Kappa.

Torino, 29 November 2022 – After the announcement on May 10th of a 10-year partnership between Italian brand Kappa® and U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the first winter collection produced by Kappa®’s R&D center is now available online at Kappa.com and inside the main retail stores.

The first Kappa® US SKI & SNOWBOARD offer – activewear version of the racing clothes worn by the athletes on the U.S. team – includes: ski jacket and pants, fleece sweater, ultra-light down jacket, heat-sealed windproof, waterproof down jacket, cotton T-shirt, tracksuit (hoodie + pants), visor hat and a wool hat in dark navy blue with U.S. Ski & Snowboard team logos. There will also be, for a few exclusive items, in white and red, designed to represent colors of the Stars and Stripes.

Six young athletes from U.S. Ski & Snowboard are protagonist of the advertising campaign shot in Salt Lake City (Utah, USA) last October, including alpine skier Bella Wright, freestyle moguls skier Kai Owens, freeskier Jay Riccomini, cross country skier Luke Jager and up-and-coming athletes Izzy Worthington and Bo Giddings.

It is the first time that a single outerwear and racing suit brand appears on the uniforms of all the winter sports teams of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard: alpine ski, snowboard, freestyle, freeski and cross country.

The new Kappa® 4CENTO 400 KOMBAT SL 2022 US uniforms immediately conquered the first two podiums in the FIS Ski World Cup 2022-23 season with a double victory by Mikaela Shiffrin in Levi, Finland, on 19 and 20 November.

ABOUT KAPPA®

Kappa® is one of the brands owned by BasicNet SpA, an Italian company that also owns Robe di Kappa®, Jesus Jeans®, K-Way®, Superga®, Sabelt®, Briko® and Sebago®, leading clothing, footwear and accessories brands for sport and leisure. BasicNet operates worldwide through a network of entrepreneurs who, under license, produce or distribute products with the Group’s trademarks. BasicNet provides these companies with research and development, product industrialization and global marketing services. All business processes take place solely via the internet, which makes BasicNet a “fully web integrated company”. BasicNet, based in Turin, has been listed on the Italian Stock.

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 2022, competing in seven teams; alpine, cross country, freeski, freestyle, snowboard, nordic combined, and ski jumping. In addition to fully funding 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

PARK CITY, Utah - U.S. Ski & Snowboard today announced Brandon Gayle as its newest Board Director. Gayle’s experience includes positions across several industries including Facebook, Instagram, Groupon and Bain & Company. He is currently the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E), the parent company of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. Gayle also has notable board experience, including serving as a board member for the customer experience giant Zendesk and as Vice Chair of the private-public nonprofit greater:SATX Regional Economic Partnership. 

As COO of SS&E, Gayle currently leads the teams responsible for the organization’s operations across ticketing, premium seating, global partnerships, brand marketing, content and distribution, merchandising, as well as business communications. In addition to the NBA’s Spurs, the company’s portfolio includes the NBA G League Austin Spurs, the United Soccer League’s San Antonio FC, AT&T Center and Toyota Field. 

Prior to joining SS&E, Brandon spent more than six years in multiple roles with Facebook. As Director of Global Sports Partnerships & Solutions, his team was responsible for helping athletes and sports properties in North America create interactive content, including Instagram, Messenger and Oculus. Prior to this role, Brandon led global sports partnerships at Instagram, where his work ultimately led to Sports Business Journal naming him to their Forty Under 40 Class of 2018, as well as his selection to the Leaders Under 40 Awards Class of 2017 by Leaders and Aspire Academy. 

“We are very excited to have Brandon join our Board,” U.S. Ski & Snowboard Board of Directors Chair Kipp Nelson. “His experience across multiple companies will be invaluable. As we look to take our organization to the next stage, we will really benefit from his relevant knowledge in various areas.”

Gayle also served as Director of Strategic Partnerships at Groupon, as a consultant for Bain & Company and in a strategy and finance role with the New York Jets. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Economics from Harvard College.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the board and to be a part of a dynamic organization that is known for supporting their athletes and fans at the highest level,” said Gayle. “U.S. Ski & Snowboard has incredible commercial momentum and a strong brand identity. I can’t wait to get to work supporting the board, CEO Sophie Goldschmidt, her leadership team and the organization's talented athletes.” 

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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 2022, competing in seven teams; alpine, cross country, freeski, freestyle, snowboard, nordic combined, and ski jumping. In addition to the fully-funded 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.

In the men's Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup downhill at Lake Louise, Ryan Cochran-Siegle led the way in the men’s downhill race on Saturday, Nov., 26.

Cochran-Siegle posted the ninth fastest run on the hill, only 1.12 seconds back from the winner, Aleksander Kilde from Norway. 

"As a team we recognize today was a little bit of a letdown all said and done. I think we're definitely more capable than that," said Cochran-Siegle on the team's efforts. 

Other top American finishers included Travis Ganong in 13th place. 

“I'm feeling good about a solid 13th place today in the first downhill,” said Travis Ganong. “I just had fun with it today, I had really good sections and I felt really balanced and positive on my skis." 

The conditions were mostly solid with some soft snow in various places throughout the course. The race today (Nov., 26) was rescheduled from the canceled race the day previous when weather conditions were a challenge. Now, the men shift focus to the Super-G on Sunday, Nov., 27.

RESULTS

Men's Downhill

Super-G

In the first Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup super-G of the season, Marco Odermatt of Switzerland showed his dominance winning the race after a podium in the downhill the day prior. 

The Stifel U.S. Alpine speed men took to the course with Kyle Negomir landing in 23rd. This is also Negomir's first World Cup points in his career. Jared Goldberg was the next top finisher on the U.S. side, ending up in 32nd place. 

"That was the first time I've been in a World Cup in almost three years," said Negomir. "Definitely means a lot to be racing again. And to be back and be part of the team and healthy again. There are a lot of things I took for granted before that I can really appreciate now from a different perspective."

Organizers say that despite a snowy night, the slope was still great for racing. The course workers helped to prepare a solid race hill for the day. 

The speed men will now turn their attentions to the Xfinity Birds of Prey at Beaver Creek starting Dec. 2.

RESULTS

Men's Super-G

In the Heroic Killington Cup presented by Stifel, an Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, the Stifel U.S. Alpine Team women’s tech team showed great depth, placing four in the top 30. Mikaela Shiffrin was the top finisher, finishing in 13th.

It was a sunny and windy day in Vermont, but that did not stop the women from giving it their all on the track. Katie Hensien scored her first World Cup GS points in her career, finishing 27th.

“It feels really good, especially here in Killington with a home crowd," said Hensien. "I gave it my all first run and pretty much shocked myself."

Paula Moltzan and Nina O’Brien also scored points, finishing 18th and 23rd, respectively. The crowds did not disappoint either with 21,000 in attendance on Saturday, making it one of the most attended races in the event's history.

AJ Hurt, Allie Resnick and Ava Sunshine also started the giant slalom, but did not qualify for a second run. 

The women will be back in action for a slalom race on Sunday to wrap up one of the best weekends on the World Cup circuit.

RESULTS
Women's Giant Slalom

HOW TO WATCH
 

Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022

10:15 a.m. ET, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup, Women’s Slalom (Run 1) - Killington, Vermont, streaming on Outside

1:15 p.m. ET, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup, Women’s Slalom (Run 2) - Killington, Vermont, streaming on Outside // broadcast LIVE on NBC