Sunday, Jan. 28, marked the final day of the 2024 Winter X Games in Aspen, featuring the final four events of the jam-packed weekend: men’s snowboard slopestyle, women’s freeski slopestyle, men’s freeski superpipe and women’s snowboard big air. With warmer temperatures in the forecast and exciting events, an impressive number of spectators came out for the final day of competition that featured some of the best athletes X Games has to offer.

Men's Snowboard Slopestyle

Olympic gold medalist and Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team members Red Gerard, Judd Henkes and X Games medalist Chris Corning were set to take on the highly anticipated men’s snowboard slopestyle competition, featuring the king of X Games slope himself, two-time defending champion Mark McMorris. McMorris is synonymous with the event, having won 13 medals in 15 X Games slopestyle appearances and was the clear favorite heading into the first run of the morning. Gerard, having won almost every other major slopestyle competition, was determined to win the elusive X Games gold he’s been eyeing throughout his career. With multiple family members watching from the corral, Gerard put down all three of his runs, scoring nothing lower than a 93 and besting the legend McMorris, to secure his well-deserved and long overdue X Games gold. McMorris took second, tying him with Shaun White and Andy Macdonald for third on the all time X Games medals list with 23. Mons Røisland of Norway rounded out the podium in third. American Chris Corning, who took fourth in Saturday’s big air, finished seventh and Judd Henkes took ninth.

Women's Freeski Big Air

Having medaled in two events on Saturday, Stifel U.S. Ski Team’s own Rell Harwood continued her impressive X Games rookie year in the women’s freeski big air competition. With innovative lines and the style to back it up, Harwood proved she is one of the most exciting athletes to watch in the discipline and capped off her X Games debut with a solid fourth place. “My first time at X Games was an amazing and surreal week,” said Harwood. "It's so much fun skiing with all my friends, we had great weather, and I’m excited to hopefully come back!”

Men's Freeski SuperPipe

All eyes turned to the halfpipe as the Stifel U.S. Ski Team dominated the start list for the men’s freeski superpipe competition. Aspen native and two-time X Games superpipe gold medalist Alex Ferreira was joined by teammates and previous superpipe gold medalists David Wise and Aaron Blunk, along with Hunter Hess and Nick Goepper, the four-time slopestyle X Games gold medalist making his first appearance in the X Games superpipe.

Coming off back-to-back World Cup victories, Ferierra dropped in with confidence and nailed his first run, getting the crowd fired up with his signature pole swing in the finish. His run one score of 93.33 ended up holding the top spot throughout the entire competition and landed Ferierra back on top of the superpipe podium. Geopper, rocking a pair of jeans as a tribute to his fellow skiers in the midwest who can’t necessarily afford the fanciest gear, was a crowd favorite in the X Games superpipe for the first time in his career and finishing the night in an impressive fourth place. He was edged out of podium contention by teammate Hess, who was overcome with emotion after securing his first X Games medal with a third place finish. Blunck ended the night in sixth and defending X Games superpipe gold medalist Wise finished seventh.

Women's Snowboard Big Air

Although no Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team athletes started in the women’s big air competition, it was still one for the history books and a display of the trick progression happening in the women’s field. Japan’s Kokomo Murase became the first woman to land a frontside 1440 and simultaneously became the first woman to win three snowboard medals at the same X Games since 1997. Japan’s Reira Iwabuchi took silver and Austria’s Anna Gasser the bronze.

After a successful showing at the 2024 X Games, the Stifel U.S. Ski Team and the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team return to World Cup competition with the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain this week, with qualifications scheduled to start on Wednesday.

(PARK CITY, UT / DENVER, CO - Jan. 29, 2024) - The Alterra Mountain Company Community Foundation announced a $1 million commitment to U.S. Ski & Snowboard to support athlete mental health services and return-to-performance programming. 

Alterra Mountain Company Community Foundation (AMCCF) is a public charity established to provide support to communities in which Alterra operates, including Park City, Utah — home of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team. This new collaboration enhances a longstanding partnership between U.S. Ski & Snowboard and Alterra Mountain Company and highlights a notable shift towards embracing mental health and encouraging outreach for services among elite athletes. 

All people face challenges throughout their lives and world-class athletes are no different. As the National Governing Body for ten ski and snowboard sports, U.S. Ski & Snowboard is committed to offering comprehensive mental health services and education to athletes at every level. The Community Foundation’s investment in mental health and performance recovery resources is unprecedented for U.S. Ski & Snowboard and its impact on the more than 240 athletes named to the national team will be significant. 

“The Alterra Mountain Company Community Foundation is proud to support the dedicated work that U.S. Ski & Snowboard is providing toward mental health initiatives for their athletes,” said Meegan Moszynski, AMCCF’s Executive Director. “This aspect of the sport is such a crucial component of success before, during and after competition, and we are grateful for the partnership in this space.”

This $1 million commitment will markedly increase the scope of services provided by U.S. Ski & Snowboard, including specialized sports psychology and wellness programming, athlete mental health and performance training, and return-to-sport performance programming for athletes who are recovering from injury. 

“As someone who has benefitted from existing mental health resources at U.S. Ski & Snowboard, this commitment from AMCCF makes me incredibly excited,” said Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Alice Merryweather. “It’s a big step forward for current and future athletes to have access to a more robust set of mental health and wellness resources for all stages of their careers.”

“We are extremely grateful for this Alterra Mountain Company Community Foundation commitment, which was spearheaded by Rusty Gregory, Vice Chairman, partner and former Chief Executive Officer of Alterra Mountain Company and a U.S. Ski & Snowboard Trustee,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, President and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “This helps to further bolster our organization’s commitment to making a lasting impact on the lives of our athletes, fostering a culture of well-being, resilience and high performance. We are now able to increase our investment in mental health services and return-to-performance programs, to continue to help our athletes holistically.” 

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About U.S. Ski & Snowboard
U.S. Ski & Snowboard is the Olympic and Paralympic 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 competing on 10 teams: alpine, cross country, freestyle moguls, freestyle aerials, snowboard, freeski, nordic combined, ski jumping, Para alpine and Para snowboard. In addition to 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.

About Alterra Mountain Company Community Foundation
The Alterra Mountain Company Community Foundation is a public charity created to provide financial support to members of the communities in which Alterra operates. Founded in 2020, the Community Foundation started by providing emergency relief and hardship assistance grants to those in need within the communities surrounding Alterra’s North American destinations. Grants are available to individuals who live or work in any of Alterra’s communities, and to local community foundations. Moving forward, the Community Foundation is expanding its programming to include support for mental health initiatives in our mountain communities. This work includes initiatives to reduce the stigma around mental health; providing specialized psychotherapies for first responders; and establishing a platform to convene mental health leaders in mountain communities to foster collaboration toward long-term strategic planning and holistic solutions.

Tabor Greenberg of Green Mountain Valley School (GMVS) took home the first cross country medal at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games, with a bronze medal in yesterday's skate sprint. 

Greenberg, who is representing the United States of America in Gangwon, South Korea, is making quite the impression in the first cross country competition of the Youth Olympic Games.

Vermont native, Greenberg is a three-time Junior National Champion and is ranked among the top U18 and U20 skiers in the country.

During the 2022-23 season, Greenberg qualified to represent Team USA at the World Junior Championships, Nordic Nations Cup (U18) and Youth Olympic Games, ultimately taking the Youth Olympic Games route. 

In the Youth Olympic Games skate sprint, Greenberg skied the qualification round, posting the 13th fastest time of the day, easily qualifying within the top-30 to advance through to the heats. Into the heats, where an athlete has to be within the top two of their heat to advance, or one of two lucky losers, Greenberg handidly won his quarterfinal heat alongside Maans Ravald of Sweden. 

On the semifinal start line, he again needed to be within the top two, or third fastest time, to advance to the sprint finals. Onto the course, Greenberg skied a strong race on the Gangwon course. Into the finish, he crossed the line third, putting up a fast enough time to advance through as lucky loser. 

As the young American stood on the final start line of the day, he was joined by Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Italy. Greenberg ultimately finished the day in third, right behind Jakob Elias Moch of Germany and Federico Pozzi of Italy. This is Greenberg's first Youth Olympic Games medal and the first cross country medal won by Team USA in the cross country discipline. 

USA's Landon Wyatt and Ben Barbier also qualified through to the heats, both ending their day within the top 30, with Wyatt in 25th and Barbier in 26th. For the women, there were three in the world's top 30, including Neve Gerard in 17th, Rose Horning 18th and Sydney Drevlow in 26th. 

Next, the cross country team will race the 7.5k classic individual start on Jan. 30th. 

RESULTS
Men

It was a jam-packed second day of competition at the 2024 Winter X Games in Aspen with top results across the board from several U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes. 

Men's Freeski Big Air

Mac Forehand came in with a chip on his shoulder after a fifth place finish in last night’s big air and put on a show in his second run, scoring a massive 94.33 and catapulting him to the top spot. After an impressive rail section on run two, an unfortunate fall on the first of two jumps forced Hall to put all pressure on his third and final run to grab a spot on the podium. Showing no signs of pressure, Hall strung together an effortlessly clean top-to-bottom run to best teammate Forehand and grab his second silver of the weekend. Norway’s Birk Rudd was the only competitor able to best the two Americans and added another X-Games gold to his resume. Stifel U.S. Ski Team member Colby Stevenson made an impressive return to competition, just missing the podium and placing fourth overall.

Women’s Snowboard Knuckle Huck

Aspen 2024 marked the X Games discipline debut of the women’s snowboard knuckle huck, and although pulling out of competition, knuckle huck legend and Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team Jaime Anderson, who competed alongside the men in 2021, was on the sidelines to support. Wowing both spectators and judges with her trick innovation and signature steeze, It was Japan’s Kokomo Murase who made history, winning the first-ever X Games gold in the discipline.

Women’s Freeski Knuckle Huck

It was then time for the X Games debut of Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete Rell Harwood and the freeski women’s knuckle huck. The field of competitors included athletes who are not typically seen on the traditional competition circuit, including American Taylor Lundquist who is widely considered a street skiing pioneer. Rell showed off her style and deep bag of tricks, earning her first X Games silver medal.

Men’s & Women’s Snowboard Street Style

Although not a medal-winning discipline, attention shifted to the park for the men’s and women’s snowboard street style competition, where Luke Winkelmann represented the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team in a field of legends of the street scene. Winkelmann proved he’s becoming a staple in the rail game, hanging with the likes of Zak Hale, Darcy Sharpe, Zeb Powell and Pat Fava. Winkelmann’s teammate and former X Games medalist Dusty Henricksen served as a guest judge and ultimately helped crown Fava as the winner. Winkelmann’s teammate Judd Henkes was set to compete but instead turned his focus towards tomorrow’s slopestyle competition.

Women’s Freeski SuperPipe

It was back to the SuperPipe to watch Stifel U.S. Ski Team members Svea Irving and Riley Jacobs drop in. Irving, the 2023 X Games bronze medalist in this event, and Jacobs, an X Games rookie, had their work cut out for them competing against the most highly anticipated skier of the weekend, China’s Eileen Gu. Gu, the three-time X Games medalist, was injured during Thursday’s SuperPipe practice causing her to withdraw from slopestyle, but showed no signs of injury as she continued the longest consecutive win streak in women’s halfpipe history, grabbing the X Games Gold. Zoe Atkin from Great Britain took silver and Canada’s Amy Fraser third, barely edging out Irving in the last run. 

Irving ultimately ended the day in fourth, with Jacobs in sixth. 

Women’s Freeski Big Air

Stifel U.S. Freeski Team athlete Rell Harwood was back in action for her second X Games event of the day, the women’s ski Big Air and ultimately took home her second X Games medal in the process, finishing the big air contest in third. 

This is Harwood’s second medal of X Games in her debut appearance in Aspen, putting her name at the top of the list and solidifying herself as one of the dominant athletes at this year’s event. 

Men’s Snowboard Big Air

Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team athlete and previous X Games bronze medalist Chris Corning represented the team in the men’s snowboard big air competition. With three-time defending X Games champion Marcus Kleveland of Norway out with a concussion and unable to contend for the four-peat, it was anyone’s game in the field of eight riders. Japanese rider Taiga Hasegawa won his first X Games gold medal, throwing a switch backside 1980 on his final run and securing his place at the top of the big air podium. Corning was edged out of podium contention by Norway’s Mons Røisland, finishing the day in fourth.

Men’s Freeski Knucklehuck

In the final event of the evening, the corral was packed with fans to watch the men’s freeski knuckle huck event, a contest that showcases a unique style of skiing - where athletes launch themselves off the knuckle of the big air jump. Throughout the event, each athlete threw down, showcasing their style on one of the sport’s biggest stages. At the end of the night, it was Stifel U.S. Freeski Team athlete and Olympic medalist Colby Stevenson who took home the X Games gold medal. Stevenson just returned from injury last weekend in the Laax Open in Laax, Switzerland, and only a handful of days later, he’s now an X Games knuckle huck champ. Alongside Stevenson was teammate Cody LaPlante who finished within the top five in fifth and X Games legend Alex Hall in seventh. 

The Stifel U.S. Ski Team alpine men had a strong day in the Garmisch super-G with two in the top 10 and five in the top 30. River Radamus scored his best super-G result with an eighth place and his teammate Ryan Cochran-Siegle continued his streak of top 10 results in 10th position.

“The surface changed a lot today but I think today I was driving strong and had a good technical foundation all the way through,” said Cochran-Siegle. “Super-G has been a process for me this year and I am happy with today,” said Radamus.

The weather Sunday was opposite of the day prior, starting out with crystal clear skies and a stronger surface underfoot. The top skiers all pushed hard on the super-G track knowing that it was just one of the last speed races of the season. This after hearing the news that the Chamonix speed series, slated for the coming week, got canceled because of poor snow conditions

“We were all looking forward to Chamonix. I've yet to race that downhill and I think finding out late notice it was a bit of a ‘what are we doing now’,” said Cochran-Siegle. 

The sport’s top male skiers pushed hard to find their way on the top of the result sheet again. The overall, downhill, super-G and giant slalom leader, Marco Odermatt, skied with fire to take the win ahead of Austrian Raphael Haaser and young swiss skier Franjo Von Allmen. Cochran-Siegle skied a very solid line to land 10th. This is his fifth top 10 result of the season. Radamus coming from behind in bib 34 had very fast splits all the way down to find his way into the eighth spot. His career best super-G result.

“I know with my best run I could have finished higher both days but I am psyched with where the skiing is at and ready to close out a busy January,” said Radamus who just wrapped up 10 races in the month of January alone. 

It was also a day of success for the rest of the Stifel U.S. Ski Team. Sam Morse, or as his teammates call him “Moose” blasted up from bib 54 to the 23rd position. Veterans Jared Goldberg and Bryce Bennett cracked the top 30 in 28th and 29th place. Jack Smith made his World Cup debut in Garmisch and skied into 43rd place. Kyle Negomir, Wiley Maple and Isaiah Nelson landed in 36th, 37th and 42nd place. 

While there will not be another speed race for a little bit longer than usual, the men’s speed team is feeling the momentum building with solid results all season long. The squad is ready to rest and ramp up for the final speed series before the World Cup finals in Kvitfjell, Norway February 17-18.  It will be one super-G and one downhill race. 

RESULTS
men's super-G

Both Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team pro team rider Rebecca Flynn and Oliver Martin of Ski & Snowboard Club Vail stepped on the Youth Olympic Games podium in Gangwon, South Korea, taking the silver medal in big air.

"I’m happy to get on the podium for this because that was my goal," said Flynn. “I just wanted to land two clean runs and I think I put that down.” 

Flynn finished behind Yura Murase of Japan, who won gold. Lucia Georgalli of New Zealand was third for the bronze medal.

Martin, who hails from Colorado, was also stoked about his medal. “Today was amazing for me. I had a good sleep and everything kind of faded out,” he said. “It all went my way today, so I am really happy about that. It is super awesome. I know I could have done better, but it’s really awesome to get on the podium.”

Eli Bouchard of Canada won the gold for the men with Campbell Melville Ives bronze.

Rounding out Team USA, Brooklyn DePriest of the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team was eighth for the men and Olivia Lisle, also of Ski & Snowboard Club Vail, was 19th.

RESULTS
Women
Men

The Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team showcased an impressive performance in Goms, Switzerland, during the final race of the series. Jessie Diggins secured an incredible victory in the 20k skate, with Sophia Laukli and Rosie Brennan rounding out the top 10, finishing fifth and seventh, respectively.

As the picturesque scene unfolded on yet another sunny day in Switzerland, 58 women and 76 men set out on the crunchy cold snow and embarked on a fast-paced four-lap, 5k course from the mass start line.

Eli Brown, a wax technician for the U.S. team, captured the essence of the pre-race conditions, "we had a delightful ski in as the moon set and the sun rose. The mountains are simply beautiful; it's shaping up to be a fantastic day!"

In the women's race, Diggins dominated from the outset. Navigating the challenging course with steep uphills and winding downhills, she led the pack for the majority of the race, jumping from first to third with Germany's Victoria Carl and Sweden's Frida Karlsson; Brennan and Laukli were closely in tow.

Laukli, who was at the back of the pack at the start then faced more adversity after going down in an early crash, but quickly recovered and made her way to the front in seamless fashion, showcasing her ability to navigate a pack of skiers going top speed and to never give up. For Brennan, she maintained her position in the lead pack the entire race. 

"Today's race was hectic and stressful - this course is just so fast," said Brennan. "But, it was awesome to have three of us in the top 10, it really shows that we're coming back into form, and we just have a really strong skate squad, and it's exciting to carry this momentum as we go into the North American World Cups!"

As the athletes approached the final kilometer of the race, with the crowd's cheers echoing through Goms, Diggins put the hammer down in a thrilling neck-and-neck battle with Sweden's Karlsson. Looking back to her team sprint victory at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, Diggins once again was in the finishing stretch with a Swedish athlete, in a sprint finish that would decide who was first and second. In the last several hundred meters, "Here Comes Diggins" was ringing true, as Diggins outsprinted Karlsson and crossed the line, hands in the air, for her 19th World Cup victory.

Today, Diggins celebrated her 57th World Cup podium, alongside her teammates and support staff, who had a strong weekend of results across the board. 

"To be honest, I didn't have that much faith in my very top speed, so it was a cool surprise to be able to make my body work the way I wanted it to into the finish," said Diggins post race. "I was really happy to have been able to come out of that final corner, knowing that the last couple kilometers of that race, I had to go as hard as I could. I definitely had flooded legs, it was quite painful. But really, I am just really happy. This weekend was the first series of races since my crash in the Tour that my ribs haven't hurt. My energy was back and it was a relief! It's nice to not be in pain and I was just trying to enjoy it, ski smart and ski hard."

"This result really means a lot," said Laukli. "It’s hard to compare with the Tour de Ski stage win, but I would say this top five in a so-called “regular” World Cup race means more in my overall progression as a skier. It’s hugely motivating to know I can be so close to the top, especially in a mass start race like this. I’m certainly specializing more in skate, but today's race makes me very psyched to see what I can do in the rest of the distance races this year, so basically a huge confidence booster type of day!

In the men's race, it was a similar story, the course was fast, there was little room for movement and the pack stayed intact until the final lap. Leading for the Americans was Alaska's Gus Schumacher. Schumacher skied a tactical race, maintaining a good position within the lead pack and drafting behind the leaders. Notably, Schumacher was on the fourth lap, approaching the second bonus points, he made a move and found himself at the front of the pack, right behind the two leading Norwegians, sitting third. Into the final stretch of the course, Schumacher jumped around, comfortably navigating the technical course, and ultimately crossed the line in 14th, a solid result for the young American.

"My strategy was to try to relax in the pack as long as possible so I could have the energy to move up when it got hard," said Schumacher in post-race comments. "Also, I wanted to ski the downhills well to take places where it was a bit easier. Honestly, I struggled to maintain a good position in the first couple of laps, so that part didn’t go super well, but I had energy when it started to string out and made those said “money moves” into some bonus points on lap three. Right after that, the pace got real and I had to dig to keep skiing. Happy with it! Skis were good and my body was responsive for almost all the race and I’m stoked to be back in distance top 15."

Right alongside Schumacher was another Alaskan, Scott Patterson, who ended the day in 18th, after skiing a very similar race by sticking with the lead pack, making tactical and smart moves at the right times and never getting jostled up around the tight corners.

Now, the team will pack not only their bags, but their ski bags, and head straight to the airport to head back to North America for the North American World Cup tour, including a stop in Canmore and the highly-anticipated Stifel Loppet Cup in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

RESULTS 
Women
Men

Jaelin Kauf and Olivia Giaccio stepped on the podium in dual moguls to wrap up the weekend at the United Airlines Waterville Freestyle Cup presented by ID One USA at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire. Kauf was second and Giaccio third.

The Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team women stacked it into the finals again, showing their consistent dominance this season. Seven women headed into the quarterfinals, including Kauf, Giaccio, Tess Johnson, Alli Macuga, Hannah Soar and Kasey Hogg, and swept second place through seventh. Johnson finished fourth, Macuga fifth, Soar sixth and Hogg seventh.

Kauf scored her second podium in two days, knocking out opponent after opponent throughout the day. She just lost the finals matchup to Jakara Anthony of Australia by one point, who took her second win in two days and eighth win in a row.

The crowd showed up on Waterville's historic Lower Bobby’s Run, named after Robert F. Kennedy. Fans, friends and family were thrilled to see the best skiers from around the world, as the New Hampshire fans braved fog, snow and rain to watch the head-to-head races.

“I could hear the crowd and the announcer, which was really fun,” said Giaccio, who hails from Connecticut. “The east coast is always a huge community of bump skiers so it’s awesome to have some representation.”

Kauf echoed her teammate’s appreciation of the east coast fanbase. “It’s always been fun coming out here for U.S. nationals. They’ve put on such a great event in the past and really stepped it up for the World Cup too,” she said. “And here at the birthplace of freestyle skiing, they have that history and that’s really cool to be a part of and bring the World Cup back here. I’m stoked that we’re going to have it again next year and excited to come back.”

Rounding out the Americans, Lulu Shaffer was 22nd, Skylar Slettene 23rd, Olivia Maurais 24th and Kylie Kariotis 28th

On the men’s side, Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team development team athlete Landon Wendler was the top U.S. man in eighth—his second top 10 of the weekend. Cole McDonald was ninth and Nick Page 10th.

Mikael Kingsbury took the win, his 86 career victory, which tied him with alpine skier Ingemar Stenmark as the winningest male skier in history. Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Mikaela Shiffrin broke the record last season and is the winningest alpine skier in history. Ikuma Horishima of Japan was second and Walter Wallberg of Sweden was third.

The FIS freestyle World Cup tour heads next to Park City, Utah for the Intermountain Health Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort. 

RESULTS
Women
Men

HOW TO WATCH (times in ET)
Jan. 28
2:00 p.m. - men's and women's dual moguls, Waterville Valley, NH - CNBC (next day delay)

It was another bluebird day in Gangwon, South Korea at the Geongseon High 1 Ski Resort. It was the perfect conditions for Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team moguls athlete Elizabeth Lemley to clinch her second Youth Olympic Games gold medal in the same amount of days. Team USA dominated, with Lemley standing alongside Abby McLarnon of Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club with a bronze medal and Ski & Snowboard Club Vail's Porter Huff taking a silver.

Lemley wore bib one throughout the weekend and told an Olympics reporter, “I’ll bring home that I was bib one here and maintained my position, and I think I learned how to be at the top. I’m honored to have the first gold medals in dual moguls in the (Youth) Olympics. It’s a beautiful feeling.”

Lemley’s competitors understand the magnitude of her performances over the last two days. “I love Liz so much," said McLarnon. "She just knows how to do this. She is so good at finding the right things to do and when to do them."

McLarnon finished in third place, earning her second bronze medal of the weekend after winning in the small final against Manuela Passaretta of Italy. Huff, who took the top box alongside Lemley in yesterday’s team dual moguls, was on the podium again today, finishing in second place.

RESULTS
Women
Men

In one of the more demanding sprints on the 2023-24 World Cup circuit, three Americans landed in the top 15, led by JC Schoonmaker in seventh, achieving his career-best skate sprint in the process.

The rain stayed away and the sun was out for the late afternoon sprint in Goms, Switzerland. With hundreds of athletes on the start list, and thousands of fans corraled around the course, the sprint ahead was anything but easy.

Steep uphills, tight corners and fast downhills – this course featured all the challenging aspects of a tough sprint. Paired with fast conditions and high altitude, there was carnage in nearly every heat: broken poles, crashes and one broken ski.

Moving into qualifications, where only the top 30 for both men and women advance, the Stifel U.S. Ski Team sent eight athletes through, led by Jessie Diggins qualifying in ninth and Ben Ogden qualifying in third.

Women's Sprint Heats

Entering the heats, in the second quarterfinal heat, Rosie Brennan did not advance but was still proud of her effort, ultimately ending the day in 17th.

"I'm really happy that I used what I had and skied the way I wanted to," said Brennan post-race. "This course was challenging, it was a big long climb and then a fast and sketchy downhill, followed by that all again. There was full contact out there today because there was not much room to spread out, but I am happy with the way I skied and am looking forward to the challenge tomorrow!”

For Sammy Smith, one of the youngest competitors on the World Cup circuit, it was another day to gain valuable World Cup experience. Easily advancing into the heats, Smith lined up on the quarterfinal start line alongside some of the sport's leading sprinters. Off the start, she skied a smart race, choosing the inside line on the long uphill, setting herself up nicely for the long downhill. An unfortunate crash ended her day early, yet she still finished the day in 21st.

For Diggins, she easily advanced through to the semifinals, winning her quarterfinal heat. In the semis, taking an similar inside line to the long hills as her teammates, Diggins was battling for position, ultimately getting bumped from advancing to the finals due to an unfortunate fall in the last turn. Diggins, however, ended the day with another top 15, in 11th, and continues her lead in the overall World Cup standings.

In the end, the Swedish women swept the podium led by Linn Svahn in first, Maja Dahlqvist in second and Jonna Sundling in third. 

Men's Sprint Heats

For the men, Ogden, Schoonmaker and Gus Schumacher represented the red, white and blue in the heats; Zak Ketterson was right out of the top 30 bubble, finishing his qualifier race in 31st. 

In Schoonmaker's quarterfinal heat, he skied a clean race but had to turn on the gas in the final stretch alongside Sweden's Johan Haeggstroem to advance. Crossing the line in a photo finish - ultimately called in Schoonmaker's favor - Schoonmaker clocked in one one-hundredth of a second faster than Haeggstroem and secured his spot in the semifinal round.

In the last quarterfinal of the day, Ogden and Schumacher had to finish in the top two to advance or have the third-fastest time in the heat. With both Americans taking the inside line on the first big climb, they were jockeying for position into the tight downhills. Into the last horseshoe turn going into the stadium, Ogden shot into first, crossing the line in first, with Schumacher finishing fourth - only Ogden advanced to the semis. 

"I was really happy with my qualifier today," said Ogden. "I am happy with the heats played out, I crashed but that happens - I step on people, people step on me, it happens!"

In the semis, Ogden and Schoonmaker represented the U.S. men.

For Schoonmaker and Ogden, lining up on the semifinal start line was familiar, as they did together earlier this season in Östersund, Sweden, when Schoonmaker clinched his career-first sprint podium. With things getting a bit messy with the choppier snow and the tactical challenges of getting pushed around, Ogden had an untimely crash, leaving him out of contention, but teammate Schoonmaker gave it everything in the final stretch and made moves to finish the day in seventh, just outside making finals.

The day ended with Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo back on top in first, France's Lucas Chanavat in second and Haavard Solaas Taugboel of Norway in third. 

"My strategy for this course was trying to make all of my moves on the second half," said Schoonmaker. "It was a really tough first hill, so I tried to save my legs there so I could ski the downhills and corners with some energy.”

With Schoonmaker's seventh-place result, he now bests his previous eighth-place skate sprint career best and continues to make an impression. 

"Today's result feels solid," he said. "I’m happy with it but am always going to want more. To be close to the final is bittersweet, but I also think it’s cool to realize that I’m at a point where getting knocked out in the semis comes with a little disappointment. Overall I’m just happy to feel like I’m skiing well again after a challenging last few weeks.”

Now, the team resets for tomorrow's 20k skate mass start. Watch LIVE on skiandsnowboard.live at 3:30 a.m. ET for the women and 7:30 a.m. ET for the men. 

RESULTS
Women
Men