US Athletes Chase Olympic Dreams This Weekend

By Published On: January 18th, 2018Comments Off on US Athletes Chase Olympic Dreams This Weekend

It’s the final weekend of Olympic qualifying events, and athletes will be putting it all on the line to prior next week’s team announcements.

Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy
Current overall, slalom and giant slalom leader Mikaela Shiffrin 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, Laurenne Ross, Julia Mancuso 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 0.03 seconds off of the super-G podium under the sunshine in beautiful Cortina d’Ampezzo 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.

Kitzbuehel, Austria
Veterans Steven Nyman and Andrew Weibrecht return to competition to lead the American Downhillers down the Streif in the ski racing Mecca known as Kitzbuehel, Austria. Bryce Bennett and Jared Goldberg, 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  and Nolan Kasper will headline the roster for the Americans.

Some U.S. athletes have already qualified for the Olympic team based on their performances so far this season. They include:
Bryce Bennett (top 10 alpine combined) ^
Ryan Cochran-Siegle (World Cup ranking alpine combined) ^
Stacey Cook (top 10 downhill) *
Tommy Ford (World Cup ranking GS) ^
Breezy Johnson (top 10 downhill) *
Ted Ligety (top 5 giant slalom) ^
Megan McJames (World Cup ranking GS) ^
Laurenne Ross (top 10 super G) *
Mikaela Shiffrin (top 3 downhill, top 5 super G, top 3 giant slalom, top 3 slalom) ^
Resi Stiegler (World Cup ranking SL) ^
Lindsey Vonn (top 3 super G) *
Jackie Wiles (top 5 downhill) *
^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team
* Achieved objective qualification criteria

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST (subject to change)
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)

Release courtesy of U.S. Ski & Snowboard

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About the Author: SR Staff Report