Dr. J. Richard Steadman, famed orthopedic surgeon from the Vail Valley and founder and champion of U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s medical program, passed away on Friday, Jan. 20 at age 85.

One of the most talented surgeons in sports medicine history, many U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team athletes throughout the years owe their careers to Steadman. He was an award-winning innovator in his field and became a legend for his pioneering approach that got world class athletes back on snow ready to perform at their best. 

“Dr. Steadman has been revolutionary in the sports of skiing and snowboarding, and has left a lasting impression on the sports and athletes he cared for throughout his career,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard President & CEO Sophie Goldschmidt. “U.S. Ski & Snowboard has been partnered with the Steadman Clinic and the Steadman Philippon Research Institute for decades, which has allowed our athletes to maximize their careers and do what they love at the highest level.”

Steadman earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas in 1963 and went on to work in South Lake Tahoe, California as an orthopedic surgeon at Barton Memorial Hospital. When he volunteered his services at an Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in Heavenly Valley in 1973, a long and successful relationship with the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team began. 

Steadman pioneered significant improvements in post-surgical rehabilitation developing novel exercise protocols that shook the foundations of sports medicine. In 1974, U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team Olympic medalist alpine skier Cindy Nelson became the first elite skier to be treated by Dr. Steadman. Nelson would undergo 11 surgeries in her 14-year career, without ever missing a full season. Legions of U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team athletes coursed through Tahoe over the next decades before Nelson, working as Vail’s Director of Skiing, and former Vail Associates owner George Gillett persuaded Steadman to leave Lake Tahoe in 1990 with the promise of expanded research, treatment and training facilities in Vail.

Steadman treated well over 22,000 patients during the course of his 40-year career in Tahoe and Vail. In addition to members of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team, the list includes such legendary athletes as tennis greats Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles and Billie Jean King, NFL Hall of Famers Dan Marino and Bruce Smith, musicians Judy Collins and Rod Stewart and global soccer sensations Cristiano Ronaldo and Lothar Matthaeus. Steadman became a consultant to the Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies while serving as U.S. Alpine Chief Physician at nine consecutive Olympic Winter Games from 1976 through 2006.

Steadman championed U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Sports Medicine program, chairing U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Medical Committee and working alongside the first medical director Melinda Roalstad, MS, PAC. Dr. Steadman was a constant source of support for the department providing consultation, mentorship and guidance at every turn. 

“Dr. Steadman affected every aspect of U.S. Ski & Snowboard throughout his career—from his world-renowned medical care to forging our medical program and chairing our medical committee, to helping formulate our foundational sports medicine policies and procedures,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Director of High Performance Gillian Bower. “His vision of athlete health and wellbeing will continue to have broad impact on both the athletes and our Sports Medicine Department. His generosity with his talents, time and passion for our sports will live on within our organization in perpetuity.”  

Steadman’s internationally renowned advanced surgical protocols and innovations include: Microfracture, a procedure that repairs the damaged joint and encourages the regrowth of articular cartilage; Healing Response, an arthroscopic alternative to full knee reconstruction; and The Package, a collection of arthroscopic procedures performed in a single operation, for which Steadman received a research award in 2012.

Today, the Steadman Philippon Research Institute (SPRI) in collaboration with the doctors of the Steadman Clinic, is known worldwide for its unprecedented clinical database and research into orthopedic injuries of the knee, hip, shoulder, ankle and spine.

Dr. Steadman’s pioneering spirit, surgical prowess, revolutionary advancements and uncommon devotion to treating the whole patient leaves a distinctive and lasting impact in the field of sports medicine, in the lives of everyday people and across many pro sports, particularly the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced 22 athletes to represent the United States at the FIS Junior & U23 World Cross Country Championships from Jan. 28 through Feb. 4 in Whistler, British Columbia.

The following athletes have been selected to represent the United States at the upcoming FIS U23 and Junior World Nordic Championships.

U23 World Championship Team
Women

• Sophia Laukli - Yarmouth, ME; University of Utah/U.S. Cross Country Ski Team
• Novie McCabe - Winthrop, WA; University of Utah/U.S. Cross Country Ski Team
• Sydney Palmer-Leger - Park City, UT; University of Utah/U.S. Cross Country Ski Team
• Anabel Needham - Houghton, MI; Michigan Tech University
• Kate Oldham - Aspen, CO; Montana State University

Men

• JC Schoonmaker - Tahoe City, CA; Sugar Bowl Academy/U.S. Cross Country Ski Team 
• Gus Schumacher - Anchorage, AK; Alaska Winter Stars/U.S. Cross Country Ski Team 
• Luke Jager - Anchorage, AK; University of Utah/U.S. Cross Country Ski Team 
• Zanden McMullen - Anchorage, AK; APU Nordic Ski Center/U.S. Cross Country Ski Team
• John Steel Hagenbuch - Ketchum, ID; Dartmouth College/U.S. Cross Country Ski Team 

Junior World Championship Team
Women

• Samantha Smith - Sun Valley, ID; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation/U.S. Cross Country Ski Team 
• Nina Schamberger - Leadville, CO; Summit Nordic Ski Club 
• Haley Brewster - Avon, CO; University of Vermont 
• Ava Thurston - Waterbury, VT; Dartmouth College 
• Rose Horning - Leadville, CO; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail 
• Hattie Barker - Underhill, VT; University of New Hampshire 

Men

• Adrik Kraftson - Minneapolis, MN; Northern Michigan University 
• Anders Weiss - Aspen, CO; Montana State University 
• Max Kluck - Butte, Montana; Bridger Ski Foundation 
• Jack Lange - Putney, VT; Dartmouth College 
• Jack Conde - Bend, Oregon; Montana State University 
• Luka Riley - Boulder, CO; University of Colorado

Le Relais set the stage for another successful event for the aerial skiers of the U.S. Ski Team. Ashley Caldwell added number 19 to her career World Cup podiums with a second place finish. Chris Lillis earned his sixth career World Cup podium with a third place finish. 

“Today was good," said Caldwell, post competition. "I’m excited, I just felt super comfortable. I think after having a challenging year it’s nice to come out and just enjoy cheering everybody on and the new venue. I’m excited to be on the podium with another American man."

“I’m Happy with the day for sure and with the entire season as a whole," said Lillis. "Now I’m building up, this was probably the last competition I won’t throw a quint in a Supers. With that in mind, I'm happy with performance aspects of today and looking forward to throwing that quint on the home site [at Deer Valley]."

All four American women who competed qualified for finals: Caldwell, Dani Loeb, Kaila Kuhn and Winter Vinecki. 

Caldwell qualified in third for finals with a Full Full and stomped another one to qualify in second for the super round. She carried the momentum of the weekend into her final jump, a Full Double-Full to earn a score of 93.06 and landing in second place for the second time this weekend. Australia’s Laura Peel won for the women and Ukraine’s Anastasiya Novosad came in third.  

Loeb qualified for finals in seventh and took the opportunity to make her first super finals appearance. She finished in fifth, a career-best World Cup result. Kuhn qualified in fourth for finals and third for supers with her Full Full. She finished the day in sixth. Vinecki qualified in 11th for finals and finished the day in 10th. 

Lillis had a strong showing all day, qualifying in third for finals and fourth for the super final round. He threw a Double-Full Full Full to earn a score of 118.55, securing the third-place podium spot.

Dehlinger qualified in third with a Full Double-Full Full. He was in the hunt to add another podium to the weekend but didn’t quite nail the landing in his final jump and ultimately finished the day in 10th.

Park City Ski & Snowboard’s Ashton Salwan made his World Cup debut, finishing the day in 14th. Park City Ski & Snowboard’s Ian Schoenwald finished 15th. 

"I Could’t be happier with how our team performed as a whole", said Lillis. "We jump together as a team. To see Ashley get back to back this weekend and watch Quinn win, and for me to get on the podium today, gives us a lot of confidence heading into Deer Valley.

Aerials competes next under the lights on home snow at the Intermountain Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort Feb. 3.Head Coach Vladimir Lebedev reports the whole team is looking strong and is eager to put on a show for the hometown crowd. “I have good momentum going into Deer Valley,” said Caldwell. Hopefully I can show the crowd the same results.”
 

RESULTS

Women’s 

Men’s 

Dusty Henricksen started off the FIS Snowboard World Cup season strong with a second-place finish on the slopestyle course at the Laax Open.

After being postponed for a day due to inclement weather, the snowboard slopestyle finals at the Laax Open finally went down, and what a show the riders put on!  

Dusty Henricksen came out strong with a smooth run that put him in fourth place. To get into a podium position, however, Henricksen knew he would need to improve on his first run, and he proceeded to do just that. Henricksen stomped a cab 1260 nose grab, frontside 1440 Japan, and backside triple cork 1440 weddle on his final run moving him into second place. 

When asked how it felt to land on the podium at the esteemed Laax Open, Henricksen exclaimed, “I’m so stoked! Super fun week riding with everyone and so glad we were able to run a final with the tough weather all week!”

But Henkricksen wasn’t the only one throwing down in Laax. His teammates Luke Winkelmann and Judd Henkes both landed clean runs to finish sixth and seventh, respectively. Norway’s Marcus Kleveland took home the win and Sweden’s Sven Thorgren rounded off the podium in third.

On the women’s side, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott of New Zealand won her first Laax Open. Coming in second and claiming her first World Cup podium was one of the newest additions to the World Cup circuit, 16-year-old Mia Brookes of Great Britain. Austria’s Anna Gasser claimed third and U.S. Snowboard Team athlete Hailey Langland finished eighth. 

Next up, Henricksen will join his teammates Red Gerard, Sean Fitzsimons, and Chris Corning at the X Games before the snowboard slopestyle team heads to the U.S. Toyota Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain on Feb. 1-4.
 

Results

Men

Women

Alex Hall battled through tough conditions today to take second place at the Laax Open, marking his first World Cup podium finish of the season.

While the Laax Open has long been a prestigious and popular contest in the world of snowboarding, this year the event welcomed freeskiers for the very first time. Conditions were challenging, with low visibility and heavy snow that picked up during the second run of finals. Despite the weather, Hall was able to put down a clean and stylish run in classic A-Hall fashion. Hall showed off his technicality and creativity on the rail section before stomping a left double cork 1260, switch right double cork 1080, and switch left double cork 1440. Joining A-Hall on the podium was Switzerland’s Andri Ragettli in first and Birk Ruud of Norway in third. 

Cody LaPlante was able to put down two solid runs, the second of which featured a right double cork 1440 and left double cork 1260, to earn sixth place. Colby Stevenson finished in tenth and Mac Forehand in eleventh.

Unfortunately, the women’s finals were canceled due to unfavorable weather and heavy snow, so the results from qualifications stand. Noway’s Johanne Killi took first, her second World Cup win of the season, while Switzerland’s Sarah Hoefflin was second and France’s Tess LeDeaux third,  respectively. U.S. athlete Grace Henderson, who claimed her first World Cup podium finish earlier this season, took fifth. Rell Harwood was 11th.

The U.S. Freeski Slopestyle Team now heads back to the States, where Mac Forehand, Colby Stevenson, Alex Hall, and Maggie Voisin will compete in the 2023 X Games in Aspen, Colo.. The rest of the team will gear up for the 2023 Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain on February 1-4. 

Results

Men

Women

On Sunday’s Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup super-G in Cortina, Italy, Mikaela Shiffrin led the way for the Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team women with a seventh-place finish.

It was another beautiful day on the gorgeous Cortina track for Norway's Ragnhild Mowinkel to take her third career victory. Austria’s Cornelia Huetter was second and Italian skier Marta Bassino third.

Shiffrin was on pace for a podium much of the race until she got late and veered off line toward the end of her run.

“I made a little error with my timing on the last turn on the course,” Shiffrin said. “And of course, it’s quite flat down here so you lose some speed. But it was quite a strong run.”

Sofia Goggia of Italy and Corinne Suter of Switzerland did not start the day’s race due to crashes the day previous. 

Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team athletes Breezy Johnson, Keely Cashman and Lauren Macuga also raced landing in 29th, 37th and 43rd respectively. Bella Wright did not finish.

Shiffrin continues the hunt for her 83rd record-breaking victory. Her next chance will come in two giant slaloms at the Kronplatz resort in nearby San Vigilio di Marebbe on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In Kitzbuehel, the men raced slalom. Daniel Yule of Switzerland took the win on the Ganslern course. Dave Ryding of Great Britain was second overall after finishing 16th first run. Half his podium finishes have been in Kitzbuehel. Lucas Braathen of Norway was third. 

Ben Ritchie, Jett Seymour and Luke Winters raced for the Stifel U.S. Alpine Team. Ritchie did not qualify for a second run and Seymour and Winters did not finish first run.

Next the men head to the famous night slalom in Schladming, Austria on Tuesday and a night giant slalom, replacing the Garmisch GS, on Wednesday. 

RESULTS
Women's super-G
Men's slalom

Rosie Brennan and Julia Kern teamed up to finish third in Sunday’s FIS Cross Country World Cup team sprint in Livigno, Italy.

The U.S. advanced three teams to the team sprint finals with Lauren Jortberg and Alayna Sonnesyn finishing 11th and Kevin Bolger and Will Koch finishing 12th.

In the women’s finals, Brennan skied the first of six laps in the 7.5k race, almost missing the first tag to Kern mid-pack as the race unfolded on the wide-open track. "I messed up our first tag as I confused the other USA team for my team, leaving Julia in the back of the pack," Brennan said. "We slowly clawed our way back up and Julia made a strong effort on her second leg to tag me in a place where I had the space I needed to do some work."

On the final exchange, Brennan sat fourth in the lead pack of four and tagged off to Kern, who passed Germany’s Laura Gimmler on the long uphill drag to the finish to grab the final podium spot. "I was able to close the gap to the leaders and tag Julia at the rear of the lead pack for her last leg," Brennan added. "She skied so well and stayed patient as long as she could before unleashing an absolutely epic finish to nab us the last podium spot."

Sweden took the top two spots on the podium with Linn Svahn and Maja Dahlqvist taking the victory, and Emma Ribom and Jonna Sundling in second.

The FIS Cross Country World Cup season continues Friday with a 10k individual start freestyle, followed by a classic sprint Saturday, and a 20k classic mass start on Sunday, Jan. 29 in Les Rousses, France.

RESULTS
Women’s Team Sprint
Men’s Team Sprint

Alex Ferreira and Birk Irving went one-two to close out the back-to-back freeski halfpipe contests in Calgary, Canada. 

Ferreira added another first-place podium result to his resume and was seen twirling his pole, in classic fashion, to celebrate being back on top. Right beside him is Irving, who proved his result by stringing together enough technical, consistent and unique tricks to land second among the strong field of competitors at the Calgary Rodeo. 

After his second run, which ultimately landed him atop the podium, Ferreria was yelling to the crowd, "Thank you so much, I am so grateful! Let's go!" In his second run, dropping into the pipe switch, Ferreira put together a cork-10, double-cork-12 and a massive double-cork and set the bar nearly out of reach for the other competitors. But, then came Irving.

Irving, now the overall leader in the FIS World Cup standings, was firing on all cylinders. With 27 FIS World Cup starts under his belt and four podiums, Irving knows what it takes to break into the top three. His second run of the event is what led him to second place, when he confidently landed a left-side-cork-10, double-cork straight into a double-flat-spin and a massive double-cork - he had just enough to edge out third-place finisher Noah Bowman of Canada. 

David Wise, who challenged the podium through the entire contest was fifth. Tristan Feinberg who landed three double corks in one single run was ninth and Cameron Brodrick, who was in his first finals of the week in Calgary, was 10th.

On the women's side, Hanna Faulhaber, who was third in the first contest of the week, led the charge for the U.S. team and finished in fourth. Now, Faulhaber will return back to the States for her "favorite event ever" the 2023 Aspen X Games.

Right with Faulhaber was teammate Svea Irving, who was fifth. Irving, throughout her three runs in finals, threw down serious amplitude and clean, technical tricks. Eileen Gu of China was back on top of the podium for the second time this week, winning the contest to close out another Calgary Rodeo. 

Now, the U.S. Freeski Team resets before the last stop on the domestic World Cup circuit, the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain from Feb. 2-4. 

The Americans returned to Aerials FIS World Cup competition in force with Quinn Dehlinger winning his first World Cup and Ashley Caldwell claiming her 18th career World Cup podium with a second place. A prime jump site and enthusiastic crowd proved just what the U.S. Aerial Freestyle team needed at the Le Relais, Canada event. 

“It honestly feels unbelievable and it is still settling in,” Dehlinger said from the finish area of his first World Cup victory. “It is so rewarding to have all the hard work and training finally pay off - and it paid off big. I had the mindset to do what I need to do, just think about the beginning of the jump first and the rest will come.” 

“Big thanks goes out to my mom and dad for this,” he added. 

“The site here is so wonderful, the people are incredible,” reflected Caldwell of how the day went for her. “Such a great event. We had a really excited crowd. People are passionate about aerials and you can tell. I had a pretty tough summer and fall and so to have something nice and brought to have happen feels really good.”

I am so proud of Quinn,” she added. “He’s been jumping incredibly and totally earned this win. I’m proud of the younger athletes being able to  do high quality jumps to land on top of the podium.” 

Dehlinger was on fire all day, stomping his Full Double-Full Fulls to qualify for finals in second and supers in third. His super’s round Double-Full Full Full earned a score of 122.62 to beat out the rest of the field. Not only was this Dehlinger’s first World Cup win, it marks his first World Cup podium and first World Cup super finals appearance. 

Chris Lillis qualified for finals, and performed a high-scoring Full Full Double-Full Full to qualify in first going into the super round. Lillis threw a Double-Full Full Full in supers, earning a score of 118.55 and just missing the podium in fourth place. 

Switzerland’s Noe Roth came in second and Ukraine’s Dmytro Kotovskyi came in third. Park City Ski & Snowboard’s Ian Schoenwald tied his career-best result with 13th, just missing the cutoff for the finals round. 

Le Relais marked Caldwell’s first World Cup competition of the 2022-23 season after a tough summer and fall training period. She had strong jumps all day long, qualifying in fourth for finals and supers with a Full Full. Her super round Full Double-Full earned 92 points, landing her in second place. Caldwell shared the podium with Canada’s Marion Thenault (first) and Ukraine’s Anastasiya Novosad (third). 

Kaila Kuhn, Winter Vinecki and Dani Loeb all qualified for finals. Vinecki finished seventh, Loeb finished twelfth. Kuhn made a strong showing in the first round of finals with her Full Full but finished the day in sixth with her Lay Full in supers. 

Aerials competes again Sunday in Le Relais. Dehlinger is hoping for another great day. “I’m going to start with the basics and try and replicate [today].” 

Results
Women’s Aerials
Men’s Aerials 

Due to unfavorable weather in Switzerland, the finals snowboard halfpipe contest was canceled and the semi-final results stand. In qualifiers, Mastro qualified for the final for the women and Chase Josey, Chase Blackwell and Ryan Wachendorfer for the men - ultimately their qualifier results became their final results. 

With a solid run through the pipe two days prior, Mastro found herself back on the podium in the Laax Open, which is one of the biggest and most competitive contests of the World Cup circuit. 

For Mastro, this is her first World Cup of 2023 and her best result at the Laax Open, where last year she was ninth. Now, Mastro is slated to travel back to the States and compete at X Games in the SuperPipe contest at Aspen Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colo.

For the men, Josey was ninth, Blackwell tenth, and Wachendorfer 12th, respectively, in the qualifiers, which landed them in the top 15 for finals with the cancelation. This is Wachendorfer's best finals result in the Laax Open. 

Now, the team will rest, travel back to the States and get ready for the last domestic World Cup, the 2023 Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain

RESULTS

Men

Women