In the ultimate display of true grit, Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) bridged a 10-second gap to overtake Krista Parmakoski of Finland on the flanks of Alpe Cermis to become the first American to finish on the podium in the Tour de Ski, taking third. Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) capped a stellar nine days on the Tour finishing ninth - the first time two Americans have cracked the top 10.

"What a day!" Diggins said. "I’m so happy with this Tour de Ski, and so proud of our team for all the hard work our techs and coaches have put into each and every race, and so proud of my teammates for racing so hard. That’s one grueling race series!"

Heidi Weng of Norway, on the heels of a strong classic race a day earlier, overtook her teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg on the steep upper section of Alpe Cermis to claim her second straight Tour de Ski title by 48.5 seconds. Diggins was two minutes, 23 seconds back and put 34 seconds on Parmakoski.

It was a day of many storylines for the American women, who just eight years ago weren't even competing in the Tour de Ski. It was a best-ever individual finish with Diggins' podium, besting the mark of fifth set by both Diggins in 2017 and Liz Stephen (E. Montpelier, Vt.) in 2015. Bjornsen's career-best Tour in ninth put two Americans into the top 10, matching Norway and Finland. Stephen put in the fifth fastest time to climb all the way up to 16th. It was also a career-best finish for Rosie Brennan (Park City, Utah) in 24th.

In Saturday's classic mass start, Diggins had dropped one spot in the Tour rankings and was starting 10 seconds back from Parmakoski. On the opening flats, Diggins kept an even pace maintaining the gap distance and keeping the Finn in her sights. As they neared the start of the climb, Diggins began to close the gap quickly coming even with Parmakoski as they began the ascent of Alpe Cermis.

Ahead of them, Weng was doing the same with her teammate Østberg, skiing side by side up the alpine ski area slopes. As they reached the steepest portion, Weng attacked and starting building a gap as Østberg dropped back. As Diggins approached a similar spot, she, too attacked and starting building seconds on Parmakoski. As she wound her way around the switchbacks she continued to build. And when she hit the straighter sections near the top she built more and more margin to solidify her podium position.

"I caught Krista maybe a third of the way on the flats and we traded leads, working together to go faster," Diggins said. "My strategy was just to keep the tempo high, keep my body upright and leaning into the climb, and just keep moving. But on the flat sections where we were weaving around gates, I noticed I was starting to pull away just a little bit, so I would push extra hard each turn and just keep my tempo up, and that’s how I gradually pulled away."

Bjornsen had planned to chase down Anastasia Sedova just ahead of her and then climb together with Sedova and Nathalie von Siebenthal of Switzerland. But the two took off quickly on the wall and Bjornsen skied to the finish on her own, defending her top-10 ranking. 

"Wow, it feels incredible to finish that tour," said Bjornsen, who is having a strong and consistent season, scoring her first ever top 10 in a major stage race. "It feels so good to accomplish the goal I set for myself before the season started! The Tour is such a tough event because you are racing day after day, and you have those amazing, and disappointing races throughout the event. But you just have to stay positive and keep fighting for every second."

Tour skiing is challenging - not just from the arduous physical exertion, but the mental toll. "This tour feels like I had more swings than normal, but my highs were higher than normal so I am happy! I hope to come back one day and fight for the podium like Jessie did this year. She is a true inspiration and makes me believe it can be possible. The feeling of achievement as I cross the line in that final hill climb is like no other feeling in the world. It feels like I have conquered the world."

Brennan is also having a strong season and wrapped up the Tour with the 16th fastest stage time.

“This was a tough tour for me and certainly not what I had hoped for, but I managed to bookend it well,” said Brennan, who did record her best Tour ever. “I am really happy with my opening sprint and with my climb today, the rest was a challenge.” 

As arduous as it is up Alpe Cermis, Brennan looked forward to the hill climb finale. “It is a very nerve-racking race because you just never know what is going to happen out there,” she said. “But I love climbing and I love the feeling of reaching the top.”

Her strong climb came a day after a blood sugar crash left her a bit unsure of herself going into the final stage. “I felt so much better and am really happy with the way I skied today,” she said. “Now, it is time to rest and absorb all the intensity we have had during the Tour.”

“The Tour de Ski has been a great way for me to race into shape for the season,” said Stephen.  “I feel that it has worked that way again this year, as my body seems to be feeling better and better each race. This year’s result in the climb was not what I was gunning for but for where I am at this season, I have to be satisfied with today’s result.”

There was a great sense of pride permeating the entire U.S. Ski Team as athletes gathered at the team's wax truck after the race.

"I’m proud of our team, and honestly every person that finished this event," said Bjornsen. "It’s a tough one, but one of the more rewarding feelings I believe you can find."

As one of the Team’s longtime Tour leaders, Stephen takes pride in where the Team has come. “I am extremely proud of Jessie, as she had her work cut out for her today to get an overall podium and that is something that I know she has wanted to achieve,” she said. “So it was amazing to watch her stand up there today. 

“Sadie skied an incredibly strong Tour too, and I really could not be more proud of the team we had standing on the top of the mountain today. When I retire one of these years in the near future, I will miss these Tour de Ski moments, with our tight little team and the small Tour de Ski World Cup field. It is in these intimate moments with people I care about that are what makes sport so important in my life.”

The Tour de Ski marked the final distance events in the Olympic selection period. Diggins, Bjornsen and Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.) had already qualified via a top eight World Cup finish in an Olympic discipline. Qualifying for the Olympic Team via a top 50 distance World Cup ranking are Kikkan Randall (Anchorage), Brennan and Stephen. It will be the fifth Olympics for Randall, third for Stephen and first for Brennan.

The World Cup tour now heads to Dresden, Germany for a freestyle sprint and team sprint next weekend. Diggins and Bjornsen will sit it out to rest.

RESULTS
Men's 9k Freestyle Pursuit 
Women's 9k Freestyle Pursuit

Men's Tour de Ski Final Standings 
Women's Tour de Ski Final Standings 

Winner of the Day (fastest times)
 

Freestyle skier Kiley McKinnon (Madison, Conn.) became the first freestyle aerialist to achieve objective Olympic selection criteria. McKinnon won Saturday in Moscow for her second top three World Cup finish in designated selection events. McKinnon was second in aerials at Deer Valley last February.

With no remaining giant slaloms in the selection period, Ted Ligety, Tommy Ford and Megan McJames have clinched Olympic Team spots. Ligety has a top five, Tommy Ford a top 10 and McJames the next-best World Cup ranked athlete behind Mikaela Shiffrin.

Olympic Selection Update - Jan. 6, 2018

Selection Notes
This update is as of the noted date and subject to change through the selection period. Update includes only those athletes who have achieved the top levels of objective selection criteria, which does not guarantee a spot on the team. Final team announcements will be made the week of Jan. 22, subject to USOC approval.
 
Alpine (selection period runs through Jan. 22)
Stacey Cook (top 10 downhill) *
Tommy Ford (World Cup ranking GS) ^
Breezy Johnson (top 10 downhill) *
Ted Ligety (top 5 giant slalom) ^
Megan McJames (World Cup ranking GS) ^
Laurenne Ross (top 10 super G) *
Mikaela Shiffrin (top 3 downhill, top 5 super G, top 3 giant slalom, top 3 slalom) ^
Lindsey Vonn (top 3 super G) *
Jackie Wiles (top 5 downhill) *
^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team
* Achieved objective qualification criteria

Cross Country (selection period runs through Jan. 15)
Erik Bjornsen (top 50 World Cup ranking in distance, sprint) *
Sadie Bjornsen (top 8 in designated selection event) ^
Rosie Brennan (top 50 World Cup ranking in distance, sprint) *
Sophie Caldwell (top 8 in designated selection event) ^
Jessie Diggins (top 8 in designated selection event) ^
Simi Hamilton (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint) *
Andy Newell (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint) *
Kikkan Randall (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint, distance) *
Ida Sargent (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint) *
^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team
* Achieved objective qualification criteria as of rankings on Jan. 6 (rankings subject to change through Jan. 15)
 
Freeski (selection period runs through Jan. 21)
None have met objective criteria yet
 
Freestyle (selection period runs through Jan. 21)
Jaelin Kauf (2 top 3 moguls) *
Kiley McKinnon (2 top 3 aerials) *
* Achieved objective qualification criteria
 
Nordic Combined (selection period runs through Jan. 22)
Bryan Fletcher (winner Olympic Trials) ^
^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team
 
Ski Jumping (selection period runs through Jan. 21)
Mike Glasder (winner Olympic Trials) ^
Sarah Hendrickson (winner Olympic Trials) ^
^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team
 
Snowboard (qualifying through Jan. 21)
Jamie Anderson (mathematically clinched qualifying series points in slopestyle) ^
Jonathan Cheever (top 3 in designated snowboardcross selection event; leading selection points) *
Chris Corning (mathematically clinched qualifying series points in slopestyle) ^
Faye Gulini (top 3 in designated snowboardcross selection event) ^
Chloe Kim (mathematically clinched qualifying series points in slopestyle) ^
Lindsey Jacobellis (top 3 in designated snowboardcross selection event) ^
^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team
* Achieved objective qualification criteria
 

The U.S. Ski Team qualified six athletes into finals at Saturday’s moguls competition in Calgary, with Morgan Schild (Rochester, N.Y.) and Brad Wilson (Butte, Mont.) posting the top results, both finishing sixth.

Schild made it to her first super final of the season after finishing ninth in Friday’s qualifying rounds and sixth in the final. A few mistakes after the top air in her super final run landed Schild a score of 77.17 and her best World Cup finish of the season so far. Tess Johnson (Vail, Colo.), Olivia Giaccio (Redding, Conn.) and Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.) all made it through to the finals, finishing ninth, 11th and 16th respectively. Australia’s Britteny Cox claimed her second victory of the season followed by France’s Perrine Laffont in second and Canada’s Justine Dufour-LaPointe in third.

It was also Wilson’s first super final of the season. His qualifying runs were strong, but Wilson was unable to put down a clean run and land a podium spot against a stacked field in the men’s super final. In his first World Cup appearance, Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s Casey Andringa was the only other U.S. man to make the finals and skied to an impressive 7th place finish right behind Wilson. Mikael Kingsbury landed the win on home turf. Kazaksan’s Dmitriy Reikherd was second and Australia’s Matt Graham third.

The U.S. Ski Team will be back on home soil next week when the FIS Freestyle World Cup tour makes a stop at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah. The Visa Freestyle International will feature two single moguls competitions on January 10 and 11 followed by aerials on January 12.

RESULTS
Men’s moguls
Women’s moguls

With just one skier advancing to the super finals, the U.S. aerials squad ended up with plenty to celebrate when Kiley McKinnon (Madison, Conn.) stomped her super final jump to take home her first career World Cup win in Moscow Saturday. McKinnon has now met objective Olympic selection criteria and is looking good to land a spot on the team headed to PyeongChang in just over a month.

Variable weather conditions made it difficult for athletes to dial in the speed for their jumps on the scaffolding site Saturday night. McKinnon’s first jump - a full, full - qualified her in the seventh position going into finals. She barely made it in to the super finals after scoring an 80.46 on the same trick in finals. But everything came together for McKinnon’s final jump, a triple-twisting double flip called a full, double full. The high degree of difficulty and McKinnon’s flawless execution scored her a 95.52 and the win.

"My strategy was to go out and have confidence in my jumping," said McKinnon. "I have been struggling with that recently and I wanted to prove to myself that I could put a solid jump down. The weather was pretty crazy today with rain and snow, but luckily that cleared for the final rounds. No matter if the weather is good or bad, I always know that my coaches are doing everything they can to dial in the speed for us and they nailed it tonight!

I have been dreaming of a World Cup win for a few years now and, although I have come close a couple times, I had never gotten there. To be able to do it during the Olympic season is really the icing on the cake!"

Belarus’s Aliaksandra Ramanouskaya and Russia’s Alexandra Orlova joined McKinnon on the podium in second and third. World Champion Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, Va.) competed a triple flip in qualifications, but was unable to land cleanly, finishing 13th and missing out on finals by one spot. Madison Olsen (Park City, Utah) was 20th and Morgan Northrop (Haymarket, Va.) 22nd.

On the men’s side, Nik Seemann (Winter Park, Colo.) was the lone U.S. man to advance into finals. He carried too much speed into his triple-twisting triple flip - a full, double full, full - slapping back on the landing and missing the super finals, finishing 10th. 2014 Olympic Champion Anon Kushnir of Belarus took the win, followed by Russia’s Ilia Burov and Stanislav Nikitin in second and third.

The U.S. Ski Team will be back on home soil next week when the FIS Freestyle World Cup tour makes a stop at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah. The Visa Freestyle International will feature two single moguls competitions on January 10 and 11 followed by aerials on January 12.

RESULTS
Women’s Aerials
Men’s Aerials

Americans Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) and Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) continued a strong U.S. Ski Team performance on the Tour de Ski Saturday, setting themselves up for landmark finishes in the prestigious stage race that ends on Sunday. A stage six assault by defending Tour de Ski champion Heidi Weng of Norway also narrowed the gap on tour leader Ingvild Flugstad Østberg who kept the leader’s bib but saw her nearly one minute lead disintegrate to just 1.8 seconds in the 10k classic mass start, setting up a thrilling finale for Sunday’s climb up Alpe Cermis. 

Diggins finished fourth and now stands fourth in the Tour de Ski after six of seven stages, 10 seconds behind Finland’s Krista Parmakoski, who finished second. Bjornsen was 10th and stands eighth. She is 46 seconds ahead of Austrian Theresa Stadlober, who was third.

She went out strong, holding her own against the powerful Norwegian duo of Weng and Østberg, even holding the lead for a time in the first few kilometers. She remained strong in a five-skier lead pack before Weng made a move around 7k. The remaining chase pack of four began to splinter around 8k with Finland’s Krista Parmakoski and Austria’s Theresa Stadlober moving up. Diggins passed Østberg and held on to finish fourth.

“I was really happy with my race today,” said Diggins. “It was so much fun to be in the lead pack for so long in a classic race and to be feeling this good after so much racing in the tour.”

The U.S. Ski Team wax truck once again produced fast skis for Diggins and the team. “I have to give props to our techs for working so hard throughout this entire tour and getting up to the venue hours ahead of the race over and over again to help us out.” 

Diggins’ strategy was to stay near the front of the mass start and out of trouble, especially after breaking two poles in the Lenzerheide sprint a week earlier. ”I faded slightly in that last lap and could’t go with Krista and Teresa but it was so fun to see exactly where the podium was since it’s mass start - seeing where I can improve a little bit for the next time. Always learning and taking notes.”

Bjornsen had a good race but still one that left her wanting for a bit more. “After falling in the last race, I was determined to make up some time that I had lost in my overall tour position. I have been feeling really great on my classic skis and felt like I had some power left in my legs this morning. So my goal was to just go with the leaders as long as possible.”

Unfortunately Bjornsen had a few tactical errors at the start that left her far back in the pack on the first lap.

“Once I was finally finding position again, I got trampled over and fell,” she said. “Once again, I fought my way back to the front after getting stuck behind some traffic, but just burned a few too many jets getting yo-yo'd around today.”

Still poised for her best Tour de Ski finish, Bjornsen has learned a lot about the mental side of the stage race. “When things go great, you can convince yourself you are invincible. When you get rattled a bit, it takes an extra amount of mental power to fight back to where you want. I think that is what got me today.“

If Diggins and Bjornsen remain in the top 10, it will be the first time in history two Americans have finished that high. The American benchmark in the Tour de Ski is fifth, which was achieved by Diggins a year ago and Liz Stephen (E. Montpelier, Vt.) in 2015.

“I’m really happy with my overall tour placing,” said Diggins. “To be starting 10 seconds behind Krista is awesome and I’ve been racing better than any other year, for sure. It’s fun to feel strong in sprint and distance, classic and skate. My goal for years has been to become a true all-rounder. It’s fun to finally be getting there!”
 
Diggins knows going into the Alpe Cermis hill climb finale that she’s not a natural-born climber. “But I know how to be a fighter and I know to suffer,” she said. “I’m going to go give that climb everything I’ve got left.”

“Considering the swings of this Tour de Ski, I am thrilled to be fighting for top 10,” said Bjornsen. “I have never done that in a Tour event, so it is a good goal for me when I am pushing myself up that mountain tomorrow with every last bit of energy I have tomorrow.”

Diggins now stands fifth in the overall World Cup standings with Bjornsen eighth.

In the men's field, Paddy Caldwell (Peru, Vt.) was 48th - the lone American man still in the Tour. Erik Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.) and Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, Vt.) withdrew.

The Tour de Ski is set up for a dramatic finale with the 9k freestyle pursuit up the face of Alpe Cermis. Live coverage of the women’s final stage will be live streamed beginning at 5:30 a.m. EST with broadcast coverage at 7:30 a.m. on NBCSN. The men’s stage will stream live at 8:30 a.m. EST and broadcast on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA TV at 1:00 p.m. EST.

RESULTS
Men’s 15k Classic Mass Start
Women’s 10k Classic Mass Start

Men’s Tour de Ski Standings (after 6 of 7 stages)
Women’s Tour de Ski Standings (after 6 of 7 stages) 
 

Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.) muscled out his second points-scoring finish of the season to lead the U.S. Ski Team in 21st in Saturday's FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom in Adelboden.

Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) looked to be back to form, finishing eighth in the first run, however, he got caught up in the tricky, tight second run set and did not finish.

In front of 20,000 screaming Swiss fans, Marcel Hirscher of Austria took his 51st FIS Ski World Cup win - his sixth victory this season. Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway was second and Frenchman Alexis Pinturault was third with the fastest second run.

After almost two seasons away from the World Cup tour due to injury, Ligety - the two-time Olympic giant slalom champion - has yet to podium. But his eyes are firmly planted on PyeongChang and the U.S. Ski Team coaches say he is steadily building toward February.

Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.) also made the second run, but skied out partway through the course.

Next up, the men race slalom in Adelboden on Sunday.

RESULTS
Men’s giant slalom

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Jan. 7
4:30 a.m. – Men’s slalom, run 1; Adelboden – olympicchannel.com
7:30 a.m. – Men’s slalom, run 2; Adelboden – olympicchannel.com

World Cup victory No. 39 wasn’t an easy one for Mikaela Shiffrin.

Feeling a bit under the weather and racing through light rain on a rough, straight-set course, Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) took the first run lead and held on to win her eighth FIS Ski World Cup race this season Saturday in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. Tessa Worley of France was second, and Sofia Goggia of Italy picked up her fourth World Cup podium of the season in third.

“I’ve been a little bit sick the past couple days,” Shiffrin said following her victory. “A lot of the girls have been sick, so I didn’t feel like it was an excuse for today, and I wanted to come out and charge. Luckily it wasn’t a very long GS today, so I just felt like ‘OK, I just need two minutes of energy, and if I can do that, I’ll be fine.’”

With the victory, Shiffrin moved back into the FIS Ski World Cup overall giant slalom standings. Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg held a narrow advantage over Shiffrin in the overall standings heading into Saturday’s race, but she faltered in the challenging conditions, and finished 11th, falling to third in the GS standings. Shiffrin, who has totaled 1,181 World Cup points so far this season, now leads the overall World Cup standings by 647 points over Rebensburg. Shiffrin also leads the overall downhill and slalom World Cup standings.

Starting fourth in the first run, Shiffrin built a 0.86-second lead – the largest first run giant slalom lead of her career – and challenged the rough second run head-on.

“Certainly a little bit bumpier and a little bit wild in the second run,” Shiffrin said. “I was trying to be aggressive, but I also didn’t want to risk everything, so some turns I was really aggressive, and some turns I was like ‘Whoa, stay on the course at least!”’

Saturday’s race was scheduled for Maribor, Slovenia, but was moved to Kranjska Gora due to snow conditions. It was the first time the women have raced in Kranjska Gora since 2012.

Seventeen-year-old AJ Hurt made her third World Cup start, finishing 45th in the first run. Foreste Peterson, who skis for Dartmouth College, also made her second World Cup start, finishing 53rd in the first run.

Up next, the women race slalom Sunday in Kranjska Gora.

RESULTS
Women’s slalom

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*schedules subject to change

ALPINE
Jan. 7
3:30 a.m. – Women’s slalom, run 1; Kranjska Gora – olympicchannel.com
6:00 a.m. – Women’s slalom, run 2; Kranjska Gora – NBCSN
 

Olympic ski and snowboard spots will be on the line this weekend as the close of Olympic selection is just two weeks away. The Games begin in PyeongChang in just 34 days on Feb. 9.
 
Three skiers earned spots on the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team over New Year's Weekend at the U.S. Olympic Trials for Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined at the Utah Olympic Park.

Bryan Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) earned a spot on his second Olympic Team with a win in nordic combined. Mike Glasder (Cary, Ill.) clinched his first Olympic berth with a ski jumping victory while Sarah Hendrickson (Park City, Utah) claimed a return trip with her women's ski jumping win.
 
Freestyle World Cups this weekend in Moscow and Calgary could impact Olympic selection for aerials and moguls. Aerialist Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, Va.) and moguls skier Troy Murphy (Bethel, Maine)  are each looking for their second podium to achieve objective criteria.
 
In cross country, there are no more selection events to achieve a top-eight finish to lock in a spot. But athletes can still move up into the top 50 in World Cup distance or sprint rankings. Liz Stephen (E. Montpelier, Vt.) is expected to make a move in the final two events of the Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy. Spots via domestic races are also on the line at the L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage.
 
Final team selections for all ski and snowboard Olympic teams will be announced by U.S. Ski & Snowboard the week of Jan. 22. The United States Olympic Committee will formally name Team USA in late January. The Olympic Winter Games are set for Feb. 8-25 in PyeongChang, South Korea. U.S. Ski & Snowboard anticipates a total team size of over 100 athletes across all ski and snowboard sports.
 
All selections to the U.S. Olympic Team are subject to approval by the USOC.
 
SELECTION UPDATE - Jan. 5, 2018
This update as of the noted date and subject to change through selection period. Update includes only those athletes who have achieved the top levels of objective selection criteria, which does not guarantee a spot on the team. Final team announcements will be made the week of Jan. 22, subject to USOC approval.
 
Alpine (selection period runs through Jan. 22)
Stacey Cook (top 10 downhill) *
Breezy Johnson (top 10 downhill) *
Ted Ligety (top 5 giant slalom) *
Laurenne Ross (top 10 super G) *
Mikaela Shiffrin (top 3 downhill, top 5 super G, top 3 giant slalom, top 3 slalom) ^
Lindsey Vonn (top 3 super G) *
Jackie Wiles (top 5 downhill) *
 
Cross Country (selection period runs through Jan. 15)
Erik Bjornsen (top 50 World Cup ranking in distance, sprint) *
Sadie Bjornsen (top 8 in designated selection event) ^
Rosie Brennan (top 50 World Cup ranking in distance, sprint) *
Sophie Caldwell (top 8 in designated selection event) ^
Jessie Diggins (top 8 in designated selection event) ^
Simi Hamilton (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint) *
Andy Newell (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint) *
Kikkan Randall (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint, distance) *
Ida Sargent (top 50 World Cup ranking in sprint) *
^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team
* Achieved objective qualification criteria as of rankings on Jan. 4 (rankings subject to change through Jan. 15)
 
Freeski (selection period runs through Jan. 21)
None have met objective criteria yet
 
Freestyle (selection period runs through Jan. 21)
Jaelin Kauf (2 top 3 moguls) *
* Achieved objective qualification criteria
 
Nordic Combined (selection period runs through Jan. 22)
Bryan Fletcher (winner Olympic Trials) ^
^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team
 
Ski Jumping (selection period runs through Jan. 21)
Mike Glasder (winner Olympic Trials) ^
Sarah Hendrickson (winner Olympic Trials) ^
^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team
 
Snowboard (qualifying through Jan. 21)
Jamie Anderson (mathematically clinched qualifying series points in slopestyle) ^
Jonathan Cheever (top 3 in designated snowboardcross selection event; leading selection points) *
Chris Corning (mathematically clinched qualifying series points in slopestyle) ^
Faye Gulini (top 3 in designated snowboardcross selection event) ^
Chloe Kim (mathematically clinched qualifying series points in slopestyle) ^
Lindsey Jacobellis (top 3 in designated snowboardcross selection event) ^
^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team
* Achieved objective qualification criteria
 
 

Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury, Vt./Craftsbury Green) carried momentum from her opening day gold to win a second Friday in the women's freestyle sprint. Reese Hanneman repeated his gold from last year in the men's race at the L.L.Bean U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage's Kincaid Park.

Patterson took the win over her teammate Kaitlynn Miller (Craftsbury Common, Vt./Craftsbury Green) with Hannah Halvorsen (Truckee, Calif./APU Nordic) picking up her first U.S. Championships medal with bronze.

Hanneman (Fairbanks, Alaska/APU Nordic) repeated as gold medalist outdistancing Kevin Bolger (Minocqua, Wis./Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) and Tyler Kornfield (Anchorage/APU Nordic).

“I used the first few heats to figure out how this course was skiing,” said Patterson, an Alaskan native and former member of the Alaska Winter Stars. “It’s fun to ski on a new course where none of know the tactics.”

Patterson learned the course quickly, using the downhills in each heat to build an advantage. In the finals, she started back in the pack and move up throughout the championship heat, skating ahead on the final climb to take the win.

“I was a little bit surprised with the win,” she said of her first U.S. title in the event. “With sprint you have less control because there’s so much stuff that happens out there. I took each heat as it came.”

In the men’s race, things were tighter in the finals heat. After climbing the small final hill and taking a tight corner into the stadium’s finish area, Reese Hanneman pulled away from Bolger as they raced to the line, winning by less than a tenth of a second.

“On that last corner, all six of us were close,” said Bolger. “Reese picked a really great line and I tucked in behind him. It came down to the last few meters and he just skied really well.”

For the gold medalist Hanneman, it was a special win coming at home.
 
“It's a dream to be able to win a national championship at home in front of all these people who I know and who have supported me and came out to cheer,” said Hanneman, who won his third U.S. sprint title. “And the Hannemans are three in a row, so that’s kinda cool to be able to continue that.”
 
It was a practically perfect day for sprint racing at Kincaid Park – temperatures in the teens; no wind, a rarity here; mostly sunny and bluebird skies, with an occasional ice fog appearance; and a fast-and-firm, technical-and-fast trail.
 
“It was awesome skiing, beautiful conditions,” Reese Hanneman said. “Everybody dreams about skiing on the snow out there today.”

The qualification rounds, which will be considered as a part of Olympic selection, were won by Logan Hanneman (Fairbanks, Alaska/APU Nordic), brother of race winner Reese, and Anne Hart (Stillwater, Minn./Stratton Mountain School) - both of whom missed the finals.

It was another good day for U23 and junior athletes, led by Halvorsen’s bronze.

“Hannah raced with experience above her age,” said Coach Bryan Fish. Halvorsen was a part of the medal-winning women’s relay team at Junior Worlds last year in Soldier Hollow. “It appeared she was changing her race tactics in the heats trying to find the best way for her to win - racing with confidence and dong the small things that are preparing her for success at Junior Worlds.

Four junior and six U23 men made it into the top 30, while five junior and six U23 women qualified into the heats (top-30). 

“This bodes very well for us for Junior Worlds in Goms, Switzerland and the U18 Nordic Nation’s Championships in Vuokatti, Finland later this month,” said Fish. Those teams will be named following this week’s Championships.
 
Leading the junior results was Hannah Halvorsen’s overall U.S. National Championship 3rd place performance.  Hannah raced with experience above her age.  It appeared she  was changing her race tactics in the heats trying to find the best way for her to win.  She is racing with confidence and doing the small things that are preparing her for success at Jr Worlds.   

Zak Ketterson (Bloomington, Minn./Loppet Nordic Racing) was the top U23 man in fourth. Alayna Sonnesyn (Plymouth, Minn./Univ. of Vermont) was the top U23 woman in eighth. Gus Schumacher (Anchorage/Alaska Winter Stars) was top U18 junior man in eighth.

Action continues in Anchorage Sunday with men's 30k classic mass start and women's 20k. All events are being streamed live on the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team Facebook channel, with Sunday's races scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. EST.

RESULTS
Men's Freestyle Sprint 
Women's Freestyle Sprint 
 

ZAGREB, Croatia (Jan. 4, 2018) – Mark Engel (Truckee, Calif.) matched a career-best FIS Ski World Cup slalom result in 24th on a soft, grooved and punchy course under the lights in the capital of Croatia Thursday night. But most importantly, he maintained a World Cup start position for USA.

Austria’s Marcel Hirscher came from behind in the second run to snatch victory away from his teammate Michael Matt, who finished second. Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen was third.

For Engel, finishing was not only important from a team standpoint, but from a vindication standpoint too. Last year on the same course he finished third in the first run, only to crash spectacularly near the finish of the second run.

“I felt the pressure to finish here today because our team is going to run out of World Cup spots unless we make up some points,” said Engel, who almost repeated last year’s incident near the finish of Thursday’s first run.

“I’m so happy I made it through,” he said after his first run. “I had really tired legs down here and I got a little back seat, but managed to pull it off.”

In the second run, Engel attacked the course. Following the flat middle section, he charged the bottom with a smile on his face. “I’m really happy that my best split was down the last pitch, which has troubled me before,” he added.

Up next, the men head to Adelboden, Switzerland for giant slalom and slalom events Jan. 6-7.

RESULTS
Men’s slalom

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Jan. 6
3:30 a.m. – Women’s giant slalom, run 1; Kranjska Gora – olympicchannel.com
4:30 a.m. – Men’s giant slalom, run 1; Adelboden – olympicchannel.com
6:00 a.m. – Women’s giant slalom, run 2; Kranjska Gora – NBCSN
7:30 a.m. – Men’s giant slalom, run 2; Adelboden – olympicchannel.com
10:00 a.m. – Men’s giant slalom, run 2; Adelboden – Olympic Channel TV (Same day coverage)

Jan. 7
3:30 a.m. – Women’s slalom, run 1; Kranjska Gora – olympicchannel.com
4:30 a.m. – Men’s slalom, run 1; Adelboden – olympicchannel.com
6:00 a.m. – Women’s slalom, run 2; Kranjska Gora – NBCSN
7:30 a.m. – Men’s slalom, run 2; Adelboden – olympicchannel.com