YOG: USA Eighth in Team Event
LILLEHAMMER, Norway (Feb. 13, 2016) – The world’s top youth snowboardcross and skicross athletes teamed together at the Youth Olympic Games on Tuesday to compete in the team ski-snowboardcross competition. The American team of skiers Russell Malm (Mammoth Lakes, CA, 17, Carrabassett Valley Academy) and Abigail Zagnoli (Kingfield, ME, 17, Carrabassett Valley Academy) and snowboarders Shannon Maguire (Scituate, MA, Gould Academy) and Jake Vedder (Pinckney, MI, International Snowboard Training Center) placed eighth.
In an event that combines the teams by legs (skier vs. skier, snowboarder vs. snowboarder), Germany was victorious for the gold medal win, while Switzerland earned silver and a mixed team (Ukraine, Bulgaria and Sweden) took bronze.
Vedder, the top junior snowboarder on the Nor-Am Cup circuit in 2015, was the dominant gold medal winner of the men’s snowboardcross competition on Monday. Teammate Maguire is an 18-year-old snowboarder from Massachusetts and the Youth Olympic Games marked her first appearance on the international stage. Maguire placed ninth in the individual women’s competition on Monday.
Zagnoli, a product of Maine's Carrabassett Valley Academy, was ninth in the individual competition on Monday. She has a couple of podiums at the NorAm Cup level and spends time volunteering with Maine Handicap Skiing. Teammate Malm was 14th in the individual skicross competition on Monday. Malm hails from outside Mammoth Lakes, CA, where he attends Mammoth High School. He was the 2014 national skicross champion in his age group.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The USA ski-snowboardcross team earned eighth place at the Youth Olympic Games.
- The International Olympic Committee’s Youth Olympic Games offers a competitive venue for young athletes to not only compete, but also participate in a Learn & Share program designed to inspire and empower youth.