Resnick Leads U.S. in Fourth at YOG Giant Slalom

Under sunshine and blue skies with excellent conditions, Emma Resnick (Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) led two Americans into the top 10 at the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games' giant slalom on Sunday. 

Emma almost pulled off the move of the day in the style of her family friend, double-Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin. Twelfth after the first run of the day, the 16-year-old tore down the slope in the afternoon, winning the second run by three tenths and finishing with a time of 1:02.79, just 0.33 seconds outside the medals in fourth at Sunday's Youth Olympic Games giant slalom in Lausanne, Switzerland. Nicola Rountree-Williams (Edwards, Colo.; Independent/Private) was eighth.

Alpine Development Director Chip Knight said that "it's a long giant slalom course with terrain, and the hill preparation is absolutely top-notch. Both Nicola and Emma skied solidly first run. The plan was to attack the upper 3/4 of the hill and then ski tactically smart through the rolls at the bottom, and they both did that well." 

Chip said that Dan Stripp, women's program director at Ski and Snowboard Club Vail (SSCV) and Emma's coach set the second run, using the terrain at the top more creatively, which added another important element to the hill. "Emma attacked the second run, skiing on the edge and looking for speed through the terrain. She made time the whole way and was especially fast over the tunnel and through the compression at the bottom. Nicola skied aggressively and well too, but she scrubbed speed through the terrain at the top and bottom that cost her time. " 

In the end, both women grabbed promising results that bode well for the future of the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in women's giant slalom. 

"This is a really high-quality field at the top end, with 15-20 really good skiers in the race," added Chip. "And the Youth Olympic Games stage adds another level to the environment. It’s encouraging to see our athletes compete as well as they did today, and have strong finishes in the top 10. Now they know they can ski with anyone in the race, and they will have confidence moving forward into the slalom and the team event."

Up next is men’s giant slalom, on Monday. Daniel Gillis (Guilford, Conn.; Burke Mountain Academy; 2002), Maxx Parys (Bethel, Maine; Gould Academy; 2002), and Trent Pennington (Shalimar, Fla.; Ski and Snowboard Club Vail; 2002) will start for Team USA. 

RESULTS
Women's giant slalom

START LIST
Men’s giant slalom

SCHEDULE
(All times EST)
January 13 – Men's Giant Slalom – 4:00 a.m.
January 14 – Women's and Men's Slalom – 3:00 a.m.
January 15 – Parallel Mixed Team Slalom – 5:00 a.m.

HOW TO WATCH
Live stream of the Olympic Channel will be up in the U.S. at TeamUSA.org/Lausanne2020, and can be found on OlympicChannel.com – free of charge with no log-in needed.