Olympic Qualifying Concludes at Mammoth Mountain
U.S. Snowboard Team and U.S. Freeski Team athletes who have not yet qualified for their respective Olympic teams will have one more chance to do so this week at the final Toyota U.S. Grand Prix of the season at Mammoth Mountain, California. Finals for halfpipe and slopestyle skiing and snowboarding will take place Jan. 19-21, with Olympic team naming celebrations taking place Saturday and Sunday.
After last week’s Grand Prix at Snowmass, Colorado, halfpipe athletes Shaun White (Carlsbad, Calif.), Ben Ferguson (Bend, Ore.), Jake Pates (Eagle, Colo.), David Wise (Reno, Nev.) and Maddie Bowman (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.) have all clinched their spots on the U.S. Olympic Team. The week was highlighted by White’s final run in the halfpipe, where he scored a perfect 100.
Notable names who’ll be looking to clinch Olympic spots in the final halfpipe events on Saturday, Jan. 20 include Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.), Alex Ferreira (Aspen, Colo.), Torin Yater-Wallace (Basalt, Colo.), Maddie Mastro (Wrightwood, Calif.) and Kelly Clark (Mammoth, Calif.). Halfpipe athletes who’ve secured their nominations to the U.S. Olympic team will be named Saturday night.
"I couldn't be more excited that Mammoth Mountain is going to host the last Olympic qualifier and the naming of the 2018 Olympic team,” said Clark “I always love getting to compete in my home halfpipe, and it would be a dream to qualify for my fifth Olympic team in front of my hometown crowd."
On the slopestyle side of things, Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, Mont.) and Red Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo.) were the only two athletes to clinch spots in Snowmass, so the field is still pretty open for athletes to claim spots. Chandler Hunt (Park City, Utah), Ryan Stassel (Anchorage, Alaska), Julia Marino (Westport, Conn.), Jessika Jenson (Rigby, Idaho) and Hailey Langland are the top snowboard athletes who still have to clinch their spots.
Top slopestyle skiing athletes looking to clinch include Nick Goepper (Lawrence, Ind.), McRae Williams (Park City, Utah), Darian Stevens (Missoula, Mont.), Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.) and Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, Colo), who is coming off of a win in Snowmass. Athletes who’ve secured their nominations to the women’s U.S. Olympic slopestyle skiing team qualified will be named on Saturday night. The men’s freeski athletes will have two competitions, one Saturday and one Sunday, before their team is named on Sunday.
“The entire Mammoth Mountain crew couldn’t be more proud and excited to host the final Olympic qualifier here in Main Park,” said Lauren Burke, public relations and social media manager for Mammoth Mountain. “It’s truly been an all-hands-on-deck effort and we’re excited to watch some of the best freeskiing and snowboarding in the world go down over the next couple days. It’s even more exciting to have so many Mammoth Team Athletes like Chloe Kim, Maddie Mastro, Judd Henkes, Brock Crouch Carly Margulies and others battling it out for a spot on Team USA.”
NBC Sports Group will feature coverage of the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain with shows airing on NBC and NBC Sports Network, with a select streaming package on nbcsports.com. For additional event information, visit usskiandsnowboard.org/grandprix.
TOYOTA U.S. GRAND PRIX - MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN
U.S. Ski & Snowboard Olympic Selection Update (as of 1/14/18)
Current Freeski Olympic Selection Rankings
Current Snowboard Olympic Selection Rankings
Event Schedule
*subject to change
Jan. 18: Halfpipe skiing + slopestyle snowboarding qualifications
Jan. 19: Halfpipe snowboarding + slopestyle skiing qualifications; halfpipe skiing finals
Jan. 20: Slopestyle skiing + slopestyle snowboarding + halfpipe snowboarding finals
Jan. 21: Men’s slopestyle skiing finals (non-World Cup) AFP Platinum
HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*subject to change
Jan. 19
12:15 p.m – Halfpipe skiing finals – nbcsports.com
5:00 p.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals – NBCSN (same day coverage)
Jan. 20
1:00 a.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals – NBCSN (next day coverage)
4:00 p.m. – Slopestyle skiing + snowboarding finals – NBC (same day coverage)
Jan. 21
5:00 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – NBC (next day coverage)
