Weekly Highlights

Winning is tough. Winning consistently over time is even tougher. It was a best in the world weekend for U.S. athletes around the globe. And what made it even sweeter was the depth beyond the stars.

To Lindsey Vonn, winning 50 World Cups was almost inconceivable. But Saturday at Garmisch, she did it – matching the great Alberto Tomba and moving ever closer to Vreni Schneider (55) and Annemarie Moeser Proell (62) on the all time women’s win list. A day later, it was Julia Mancuso’s turn to win, taking her first super G victory in five years.

A few thousand miles to the east, Kikkan Randall remained in the FIS Cross Country World Cup sprint lead and fourth in the overall. But the story in Moscow and Rybinsk wasn’t just Randall, it was 21-year-old rookie Jessie Diggins (now with just seven individual World Cup starts) who scored a series of personal bests including a match of a U.S. best finish in a distance event in fifth.

Back in the USA, Hannah Kearney kept her 14 win streak going – but barely! Her challenge came from none other than teammate Heather McPhie who pushed Kearney to the limit twice.

When you’re best in the world, you’re going to face challenges. It’s nice when those challenges come from within.

Weekly Highlights – February 7, 2012

Alpine – Lindsey Vonn won a historic 50th World Cup with a downhill victory in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Twenty four hours later, Julia Mancuso won a super G to take her first win of the season and complete an American title sweep. Bode Miller was second by one-hundredth of a second in a downhill held in Chamonix, France. The men's World Cup moves to Sochi for test events on the 2014 Winter Olympic venue.

Cross Country – Rookie Jessie Diggins, on her first World Cup tour, led the USA in each of three Russian World Cups including a career best 6th in Moscow sprints plus best-ever U.S. women's distance finish 5th in Rybinsk. Kikkan Randall retained her World Cup sprint lead and fourth in overall. The team is off to Czech Republic this week.

Freeskiing – Dew Tour Snowbasin takes place this weekend with Tom Wallisch looking for a hat trick in men's slopestyle and the overall Dew Tour champion title. Canyons Resort will be hosting the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix this weekend where, for the first time, skicross will be a featured event.

Freestyle – Hannah Kearney notched her 13th and 14th consecutive FIS World Cup wins this week at the Visa Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort. Heather McPhie challenged Kearney in both events, earning second in individual moguls and third in duals, while Dylan Ferguson scored a career first podium in aerials. Both teams head to China today for their next World Cup.

Nordic Combined – Billy Demong finished third in an individual Gundersen Sunday in Val di Fiemme - first podium since winning gold at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and first World Cup podium since winning in Val di Fiemme in Jan. 2010. The team takes a week break, then heads to Klingenthal, Germany Feb 18-19.

Ski Jumping – Sarah Hendrickson was 2nd twice this weekend holding her World Cup lead by over 100 points despite a pair of wins by Austria's Daniela Iraschko. Lindsey Van was 3rd. The tour heads to Slovenia this week.

Snowboarding – Chas Guldemond and Jamie Anderson took slopestyle wins at the Burton Canadian Open. Justin Morgan and Brandon Reis took second and third for the men, while Gretchen Bleiler and Ellery Hollingsworth took second and third in halfpipe. Jamie Anderson took first in women's slopestyle at the Canadian Open. This weekend athletes take on slopestyle and halfpipe at the Dew Tour finals in Snowbasin. Canyons Resort will play host to the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix where snowboardcross athlete Jonathan Cheever will be looking to hold on to his U.S. Champion title. You can watch live streaming of the event at ussnowboarding.com.

USSA Team Shops
Followers and fans of the U.S. Ski Team, U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing can get the latest in fan gear from the Teams' new online shop. Launched as a part of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association's new USSA Digital Network, the online shop features exclusive offers on gear from brand partners and official suppliers including Spyder, Neve Designs, Huge Sportswear, SmartWool, High Sierra and other major brands. Support the athletes by using your Visa card for all official team gear. Visa. Proud sponsor of the U.S. Ski Team, U.S. Snowboarding and U.S.
Freeskiing. More people go with Visa.

Universal Sports
Are you missing Universal Sports coverage in your market? While Universal Sports remains available on DirecTV, much of the cable distribution changed as of Jan. 1. Fans can help Universal Sports by voicing their concern to their local cable company. Simply call 1-888-55-GET-US or click on the link below to let your local cable provider know that you want this service!

http://www.universalsports.com/iwantuniversalsports/iwantuniversalsports_datacollection.html

Fans can still watch live and on-demand coverage from all 33 stops of the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup online. Simply follow the link to subscribe to the Universal Sports package. http://www.universalsports.com/alpine-skiing/viewers-guide/index.html

TV TUNE-IN
2/11 Visa Freestyle International - Deer Valley, UT, 1 p.m. ET, NBC
2/12 Sprint U.S. Grand Prix live streaming at ussnowboarding.com, Canyons, UT, 12 p.m. ET
2/12 Visa International - Moguls, Deer Valley, UT, 4 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
2/12 Visa International - Aerials, Deer Valley, UT, 5 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
2/18 Sprint U.S. Grand Prix - Snowboardcross, Canyons, UT, 3 p.m. ET, NBC
2/19 Visa International - Dual Moguls, Deer Valley, UT, 2 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network

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