U.S. U16s Claim Six Medals at FESA Games

The group of U.S. U16 alpine racers sent to the FESA Games posted strong results among its international competitors. The group was led by Katie Rowekamp who won two golds, one in super-G and one in giant slalom along with Charles Lemerond who won gold in slalom and bronze in giant slalom. Additional medalists included Mari Renick who won silver in super-G and Kira Hiebert who won bronze in the slalom. 

“This is a very promising group of U16 athletes, and they produced outstanding race results against top-level age group competition from across central Europe,” said Director of Alpine Development Chip Knight. “Nationally selected teams from France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, Spain, Andorra and the Czech Republic were all in attendance.”  

The FESA games (Federation of European Ski Associations) is an annual component of the National Development program that brings together the best U16s from around the world. This year the event was held at Les Menuires in France. The U.S. selects the best-performing U16s from the National Performance Series held at Burke Mountain in January.  Exposing the young athletes to the European racing environment is key in their development and success in alpine racing. The opportunity to race amongst their age group internationally also a huge stepping stone in their careers. 

“The FESA Games is a great event, and the French federation and Les Menuires were amazing hosts this year.  Each of the different venues – super-G, giant slalom, and slalom – provided challenging terrain and snow surfaces that pushed our athletes to raise their skill levels.  It was impressive to see them rise to the occasion.  I’m looking forward to seeing them continue to develop in the years ahead,” said Knight. 

 Current Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete River Radamus and his ARCO foundation along with World Cup Dreams Foundation generously helped fund athlete costs for the project – recognizing the importance of this series.