Reigning Aerials World Champion, Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, Va.) lead the U.S. Aerial Ski Team with a fifth-place finish at the 2019 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships, presented by Toyota, held at Deer Valley Resort Wednesday. Chris Lillis (Pittsford, N.Y.) led the men, placing seventh.

Russia's Maxim Burov topped the podium as the new men’s World Champion, with Oleksandr Abramenko of Ukraine coming in second and Noe Roth from Switzerland in third. Aliaksandra Ramanouskaya of Belarus was crowned the new women’s World Champion, with Russia's Liubov Nikitina coming in second and China's Xu Mengtao in third.

“If it wasn’t me or one of my teammates on the top of the podium, I wanted to it to be Aliaksandra so I’m excited for her,” said Caldwell.

Coming back from a shoulder injury, Caldwell was just six months post-op with only a handful of triple jumps under her belt as she came into the World Champs finals. One of the few women on the World Cup circuit to perform triples, Caldwell is known for not backing down when it comes to challenging herself and pushing the sport of aerials forward. 

“I’m proud of my performance even though I didn’t come home with a medal," Caldwell said. "I think I could have. It was there for me, I just didn’t have the practice under my belt. It was a push for me to get to Worlds at all. I’m really happy that I came here and did triples and stayed true to my ethos, even though it was the hardest event for me to stay true to that in my whole career.

“As a winter sports athlete, the Olympics is what we push for. And if you're not pushing for the Olympics, you’re pushing for World Championships," she said. "And if you’re not pushing for World Championships, you’re pushing for the events in your backyard. And Deer Valley is our backyard, it’s our home field and to have World Championships here and to have Jon [Lillis] and I be reigning World Champions was a huge push this year. I had a rough Olympics and a rough season afterward so the inspiration of the Deer Valley crowd is definitely what pushed me to go out there and do the triples today.”

The U.S. had two World Championship athlete debuts at Wednesday’s event: Christopher Lillis and Morgan Northrop (Haymarket, Va.). Northrop finished 12th overall.

Christopher Lillis made an impressive show at his first FIS World Championships. “I mean I couldn’t imagine a better place to start off my World Championships career! I am the youngest man on our team and have definitely been playing that on our team for the last few years. To come back from ACL surgery and compete here in front of the Deer Valley crowd was just amazing,” he said.

Alex Bowen (Springville, N.Y.), the silver medalist at the 2015 World Championships, had some strong training jumps but finished 12th overall in the men’s competition. Bowen has hinted that this event is likely his last. “I’m thinking it’s true that this was my last show. This is what I wanted. I wanted to come to Deer Valley, qualify for World Champs, compete under the lights and I feel pretty good about it. The day could have gone better, I could have jumped better, but overall I’m really content right now and happy with my choices.”

Aerials continue with the Team event on Feb. 7, under the lights at Deer Valley Resort. This is the first time Team Aerials will be competed during World Championships, ahead of its Olympic debut in Beijing in 2022. "There's still time to become a World Champion, we have a team event which I'll be competing in tomorrow. We're very excited to hopefully kick that off with a bang and take home our gold for the USA," said Lillis.

Results
Women’s aerials
Men’s aerials

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast

Thursday, Feb. 7
12:00 a.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s aerials - Deer Valley Resort, Utah - NBCSN*
9:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s team aerials - Deer Valley Resort, Utah - NBCSN, NBC Sports Gold

Visa Remains Committed to Supporting the Winter Olympic Games and the Athletes Who Inspire Millions to Reach for their Dreams

PARK CITY, UTAH  – Visa (NYSE: V) and U.S. Ski & Snowboard today announced an eight-year sponsorship extension through 2026, including support of U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. The agreement also establishes U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the Olympic National Governing Body (NGB) of ski and snowboard sports in the USA, as Visa’s only NGB sponsorship.

Through the partnership, Visa is the title sponsor and preferred way to pay at both the online U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team Shop and the on-site merchandise experiences. When fans purchase team gear, whether shopping online or at domestic competition events, proceeds of each transaction will go towards supporting the team. Visa allows fans to complete seamless and secure payment transactions while supporting the dreams of U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes.

“We’re thrilled to renew our sponsorship deal with Visa,” said Dan Barnett, chief marketing officer, U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “Having a prestigious, global brand like Visa support our organization makes it possible for our athletes to achieve excellence in their sports and continue to fight to be Best In The World. Visa continues to be a champion of the global Olympic movement and we are excited that their commitment for the next eight years will have such a positive, direct impact on our athletes.”

Visa first became the preferred payment partner and proud sponsor of U.S. Ski & Snowboard in 1986, the same year it became one of the founding members of The Olympic Partners (TOP) program, a worldwide committee managed by the IOC.

“We are proud to extend our sponsorship of U.S. Ski & Snowboard through the 2026 Olympic Winter Games,” said Chris Curtin, chief brand and innovation marketing officer, Visa. “Being on the front lines of helping these exceptional athletes fulfill their Olympic dreams is so important to our entire organization. We look forward to supporting U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s athletes on Team Visa.”

In addition to U.S. Ski & Snowboard being the only U.S. NGB that Visa sponsors, the agreement also extends into supporting major events that showcase U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes in the run-up to the Winter Olympic Games.

“We are excited to see the extensive work of our teams come to fruition,” U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Dan Barnett continued. “We are working closely with Visa to help boost the overall awareness of the sponsorship as well as the outstanding athletes competing for podiums. Our goal is to not only feature the exciting events of our sport but boost the overall popularity of winter sports by attracting a broader audience both domestically and internationally.”

Visa will also support athletes at all Toyota U.S. Grand Prix events. Athletes are currently participating in U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s hometown 2019 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships presented by Toyota. The Championships are being held February 1 -10, 2019, at Solitude Mountain Resort, Deer Valley Resort, and Park City Mountain.

A suite of inspirational digital assets will also be co-produced by Visa and U.S. Ski & Snowboard and launched throughout the season. Each digital series will take fans behind the scenes with U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes and into their lives both in and out of competition as they journey across the world in pursuit of reaching the podium. This content will feature the dynamic athletes of U.S. Ski & Snowboard as well as Team Visa athletes who are on the road to Tokyo 2020.

Since 2000, Visa has been committed to the development and support of athletes worldwide when it founded the Team Visa program. To date, more than 400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes have taken advantage of tools, resources, and support needed to help them achieve their dreams.

For more information about Visa’s support of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, contact U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Marketing & Communications Director, Tom Webb, at tom.webb@usskiandsnowboard.org.

###

About Visa
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit usa.visa.com/aboutvisa.

About U.S. Ski & Snowboard
U.S. Ski & Snowboard is an Olympic sports organization providing leadership and direction for tens of thousands of young skiers and snowboarders, encouraging and supporting them in achieving excellence. By empowering national teams, clubs, coached, parents, officials, volunteers and fans, U.S. Ski & Snowboard is committed to the progression of its sports, athlete success and the value of team. Established in 1905, U.S. Ski & Snowboard receives no direct government support, operating solely through private donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations to fund athletic programs to assist athletes in reaching their dreams. The organization is based in Park City, UT. For more information, visit www.usskiandsnowboard.org

Two-time Olympic medalist Nick Goepper (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) added a second World Championship medal to his collection, grabbing the slopestyle bronze medal in Park City, Utah, Wednesday, at the 2019 Snowboard, Freeski and Freestyle World Championships, presented by Toyota.

Goepper, who also claimed the slopestyle bronze at the 2013 World Championships, stepped up to the challenge of a stacked field, variable snow conditions and fading afternoon flat light, to post his best score on his third and final run to seal the podium finish.

“It was great to have my my sister, my fiancé, and my friends out here along with some family watching at home," said Goepper. "It’s been a great experience here in Park City. There were some positive emotions and some negative emotions today, but we were able to get the contest off. In this type of weather it’s about competing and not necessarily the skiing. There’s a lot of strategy involved. If you going forward or switch, because you tend to get more speed forward. I’m one of the veterans out here and I think experience really helps. It's about picking those tricks that allow you to dial in your landing and carry speed into a tuck and get through the next feature. That was my play today.”

Mac Forehand (Winhall, Vt.) performed very well in tough conditions as well as through some equipment malfunctions and finished just outside the podium in fourth. Forehand broke his skis in practice and had to pivot to find a solution right before the competition. It came down to the wire as organizers were forced to adjust his start position to accommodate the situation. In true World Championship spirit, a French coach offered up his skis for Forehand's first run, which happen to be identical.

"I broke my skis in practice," said Forehand. "I ended up not having any skis for finals, but the French coach offered his skis for my first run. For my second run, my mom actually ran to where we were staying and picked up my other pair and brought them up to the top of the course for me. Shout out to all moms out there, especially my mom for making it happen."

Great Britain’s James Woods took home the UK’s first gold medal in World Championship freeski competition. Norway’s Birk Ruud was second. McRae Williams (Park City, Utah) finished seventh.

"The Park City crowd today was bumping," said Woods. "It's pretty cold and since it has been dumping, there have been plenty of skiing opportunities. It's nice everyone came out and supported freeskiing. I appreciate that a lot."

RESULTS
Men’s slopestyle

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

FREESKI
Saturday, Feb. 9
1:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s halfpipe - Park City Mountain, Utah - NBC

FREESTYLE
Wednesday, Feb. 6
9:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s aerials - Deer Valley Resort, Utah - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Thursday, Feb. 7
12:00 a.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s aerials - Deer Valley Resort, Utah - NBCSN*
9:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s team aerials - Deer Valley Resort, Utah - NBCSN, NBC Sports Gold

Friday, Feb. 8
9:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s moguls - Deer Valley Resort, Utah - NBCSN, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Feb. 9
9:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s dual moguls - Deer Valley Resort, Utah - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb. 10
2:00 a.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s dual moguls - Deer Valley Resort, Utah - NBCSN*

SNOWBOARDING
Friday, Feb. 8
1:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s halfpipe - Park City Mountain, Utah - NBCSN & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Feb. 9
4:00 a.m. - Men and women’s snowboardcross - Feldberg, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
1:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s halfpipe - Park City Mountain, Utah - NBC*

Sunday, Feb. 10
4:00 a.m. - Men and women’s team snowboardcross - Feldberg, GER - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
1:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s slopestyle - Park City Mountain, Utah - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
4:30 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s slopestyle - Park City Mountain, Utah - NBC*

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold andOlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah) is starting to feel a lot more like himself these days, except a bit faster! On Wednesday, he posted a career-best FIS World Alpine Ski Championships super-G result, finishing in a three-way tie for eighth in Are, Sweden.

“I’ve been feeling really rusty since Wengen and banging my head,” said Nyman, who suffered a concussion in downhill training run crash last month. “I was going through the concussion protocol, and my body just hasn’t felt that great. But when I got on this snow and I started, I was like ‘Wow! This feels awesome!’”

The 36-year-old veteran, Nyman’s previous best super-G result was ninth in a FIS Ski World Cup race in Val Gardena, Italy, 13 years ago. But this season, he has shown a steady progression in super-G.

“This year, super-G has been quite good for me. I’ve been starting in the back. Starting in the 60s every race, and knocking it into the top 30 in pretty much every race except for one, and even one time 17th,” he said. “So I know I’ve got the speed, especially since starting in the back, but my vision and my ability to really attack lately hasn’t been that great because of hitting my head, and just like a little fear is inside of me. But I just said, ‘respect the course, this is something you’re good at!’”

An indeed he was good on Wednesday, except for just one small mistake that kept him from a top-five, or possibly even a podium result.

“Into the kind of like halfpipe turn, I came in too direct two turns before that and I had to throw is sideways and I lost a lot of speed,” Nyman said. “But other than that I executed quite well and I’m happy. This is actually my second top 10 ever in super-G.”

Italy’s Dominik Paris took the gold in Wednesday’s race, edging out France’s Johan Clarey by a mere .09-seconds. Vincent Kriechmayr of Austria took the bronze. Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, Vt.) posted another impressive super-G result, finishing a career-best 11th. Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) was 23rd from bib 50, skiing the best super-G he has skied since the Santa Caterina World Cup in 2016, coming into the finish corral with a big smile on his face and excitement for the upcoming downhill. Alpine Director Jesse Hunt commented after the race that today’s results for the men are a great start to World Championships, and a good step in the right direction heading into the next two weeks.

Up next at the World Championships, the men compete in downhill Saturday, and Nyman is fired up to race and imagining the possibility of making a childhood dream come true.

“It would be an absolute dream come true to win a medal, and win the World Championships,” Nyman said. “It is something I have dreamt of as a kid - my entire life. For some reason, the World Championships mean more to me than the Olympics. It is something that has inspired me, watching (Daron) Rahlves (the 2001 super-G World Champion), and watching just amazing performances from the Norwegians in the past. (Kjetil André) Aamodt was a hero of mine. It’s something that sounds cool - the World Champion!”

“I felt comfortable on this hill back in 2007, and obviously I feel comfortable now, so hopefully things can come together,” he added, reflecting back to the 2007 World Championships in Are where he finished 21st in the downhill.

RESULTS
Men’s World Championship super-G

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Friday, Feb. 8
5:00 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships women’s alpine combined downhill, Are, SWE - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:00 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships women’s alpine combined downhill, Are, SWE - NBCSN*
10:00 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships women’s alpine combined slalom, Are, SWE - NBCSN, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Feb. 9
6:30 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships men’s downhill - Are, SWE - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
3:30 p.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships men’s downhill - Are, SWE - NBC*
6:30 p.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships men’s downhill - Are, SWE - NBCSN*

Sunday, Feb. 10
6:30 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships women’s downhill - Are, SWE - Olympic Channel-TV, NBCSN, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
3:30 p.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships women’s downhill - Are, SWE - NBC*
10:30 p.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships women’s downhill - Are, SWE - NBCSN*

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold andOlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.
 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the Olympic National Governing Body (NGB) of ski & snowboard sports in the USA, announced today a multi-year partnership with Pacifico®, making the adventurous, Pilsner-style lager the official beer partner of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team.

“It’s exciting to bring a new brand into the U.S. Ski & Snowboard family. Our fans are spirited, and we are excited for them to engage with the Pacifico brand at our many dynamic venues at our domestic events over the next four years.” U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Chief Marketing Officer Dan Barnett

As part of the partnership, Pacifico will receive title sponsor rights to the snowboard events during the 2019 World Championships in Utah Feb. 1-10. These rights will include prominent Pacifico branding for snowboard halfpipe, snowboardcross, slopestyle, and big air events, as well as activation space in the vendor villages for experiential marketing opportunities.

In addition, Pacifico will be the founding partner for the highly anticipated City Big Air Series, premiering in 2019 and running annually for three years. The City Big Air series will be held in a different major metropolitan area each year and announcements for the showcased venues will be forthcoming.

To build on Pacifico’s connection with action sports and competitions, the U.S. Ski & Snowboard sponsorship will run through 2022 and the next Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. Pacifico will engage and activate with fans, as well as receive branding rights, at all domestic World Cup events hosted by U.S. Ski & Snowboard for the next four years, including alpine, cross country, freeski, freestyle and snowboard events. Pacifico will also establish an athlete ambassador program, highlighting high profile, legal drinking age athletes as they train and compete towards reaching podiums.

“On behalf of the Pacifico brand, we are very excited to be the Official Beer Partner of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard team. Pacifico is brewed for those who follow their own path, and this team is made up of athletes that are pioneers in their sport.  We look forward to sharing Pacifico’s independent spirit with their fans.” Pacifico’s Senior Director Matt Escalante.

For more information about U.S. Ski & Snowboard and Pacifico’s partnership, contact U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Director of Marketing and Communications, Tom Webb, at tom.webb@usskiandsnowboard.org.
 

After much careful consideration, the organizers of the 2019 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships have taken the decision to cancel the snowboard big air competition, based on the weather forecast and with the best interests of the athletes in mind, and the remaining events scheduled to take place.
   
The snowboard big air finals were due to take place at Park City Mountain's Canyons Village from 7pm on Tuesday 5 February. Having taken into account all relevant factors, including the weather forecast for the next 24 hours in Park City, Utah, the organizing committee, comprising U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the International Ski Federation, Park City Mountain Resort and a number of related agencies, took the regrettable decision to cancel the event.
   
"There is an awful lot of snow coming in to Park City in the next 24 hours, and the temperatures are dropping fast" said Calum Clark, Chair of the the 2019 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships Organizing Committee. "This means that we have had to take the toughest of decisions, cancelling one of the headline events of these World Championships. We looked in detail at every option open to us, but the Organizing Committee agreed unanimously that the safety of the athletes taking part in the competition is our primary concern, as is the smooth running of the rest of the schedule. Despite this news, we have five more days of incredible action to look forward to, and many more World Champions to crown."
   
Also announced today was a change to the schedule for Wednesday February 6, with the freeski slopestyle finals moved from 11am to 2pm, still at Park City Mountain Resort. This change also takes into account the postponement of freeski slopestyle qualifiers on Tuesday February 5, allowing the qualifiers to take place from 9.15am on Wednesday February 6 at Park City Mountain. For full schedule details please go to https://2019worldchamps.com/schedule/.

Robert Burns (Mount Shasta, Calif.) battled snowy conditions and raced his way into finals Tuesday at the 2019 FIS Alpine Snowboard World Championships at Park City Mountain, Utah. In the first round of the parallel slalom finals, he faced a very worthy competitor in the 2019 parallel giant slalom World Champion, Dmitry Loginov of Russia. In what was a very close race from the start, Loginov bested Burns by only .62 seconds.

“It’s so much fun,” said Burns. “Honestly, it’s just an honor to be out here with some of my best buds on snowboards. I’ve been out training in Steamboat Springs, Colo, and it’s been a crazy year. I’ve been working a lot and training as much as possible, so getting to come out here and represent the U.S. is a huge honor. Head to head I have never had to race Loginov before, but I know he is such a talented kid. He won yesterday and he’s already the champion of the world in PGS, so anytime you’re up against someone like that, you have to bring your best. It’s been truly amazing to compete in Park City on home soil at the World Champs in front of a great crowd. It just makes my heart happy. Also, it’s rare to have my family here, so it’s a very special moment.”

Loginov went on to earn his second FIS World Championship gold medal of the week in parallel slalom, carving his way through the bracket to take the victory. Burns finished 15th overall on the day. Although he did not reach the podium, he represented his country and snowboarding in fine fashion at the 2019 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships, presented by Toyota.

Tune in to NBC for five more days of World Championships action.

RESULTS
Men’s parallel slalom
Women’s parallel slalom

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

FREESKI
Wednesday, Feb. 6
1:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s slopestyle - Park City Mountain, Utah - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s slopestyle - Park City Mountain, Utah - NBCSN*

Saturday, Feb. 9
1:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s halfpipe - Park City Mountain, Utah - NBC

FREESTYLE
Wednesday, Feb. 6
9:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s aerials - Deer Valley Resort, Utah - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Thursday, Feb. 7
12:00 a.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s aerials - Deer Valley Resort, Utah - NBCSN*
9:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s team aerials - Deer Valley Resort, Utah - NBCSN, NBC Sports Gold

Friday, Feb. 8
9:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s moguls - Deer Valley Resort, Utah - NBCSN, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Feb. 9
9:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s dual moguls - Deer Valley Resort, Utah - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb. 10
2:00 a.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s dual moguls - Deer Valley Resort, Utah - NBCSN*

SNOWBOARDING
Tuesday, Feb. 5
9:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s snowboardcross re-air - Park City Mountain Resort, Utah - NBCSN & NBC Sports Gold

Friday, Feb. 8
1:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s halfpipe - Park City Mountain, Utah - NBCSN & NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Feb. 9
1:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s halfpipe - Park City Mountain, Utah - NBC*

Sunday, Feb. 10
1:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s slopestyle - Park City Mountain, Utah - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
4:30 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s slopestyle - Park City Mountain, Utah - NBC*

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold and OlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.
 

Mikaela Shiffrin (Avon, Colo.) took some calculated risks and squeaked out her first gold medal of the 2019 FIS World Alpine Ski Championships, winning the super-G Tuesday in Are, Sweden.

"This is crazy," a surprised Shiffrin said after winning her fourth career World Championships gold medal, just 0.02-seconds ahead of Italy's Sofia Goggia in second, and 0.04-seconds ahead of Switzerland's Corinne Suter in third. "It was a really tight race - seven-hundredths to fourth place, I mean, come, on."

It was a tough day for Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.), competing in the final super-G of her 18-year career when she crashed hard after putting her body through a panel on a gate and sliding into the safety nets. After a few minutes, Vonn was able to stand up and eventually skied to the bottom of the course where Shiffrin was waiting to give her a big hug.

Despite the victory, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Shiffrin though as she made a miraculous recovery towards the bottom of the course, just sneaking inside a gate at the last possible moment.

“I knew that everybody was pushing really hard, and the surface was amazing, so you could really go for it,” she said. “You had to have the balance between risk and also really nice turns. I was going really aggressive, and just the one spot towards the bottom where I had to fight to stay in the course, but otherwise it was all good and I was accelerating all the way.”

Alice Merryweather (Hingham, Mass.), competing in her first World Championship race, finished 22nd. Almost a one-third of the field didn’t finish Tuesday’s race, including Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.), who also went through a panel and slid into the safety net, but was OK and skied to the finish.

Tuesday victory was Shiffrin’s fourth World Championship gold medal to go along with her slalom titles from the 2017, 2015 and 2013 World Championships. With the first race of the World Championships in the win column, Shiffrin hasn’t ruled out competing in Friday’s alpine combined, or Sunday’s downhill, which is also expected to be Vonn’s final race.

“I’m going to take a minute tonight and talk with my coaches and see what we think we can do for the rest of these World Champs,” Shiffrin said.

Up next, the men compete in super-G at the World Championships Wednesday.

RESULTS
Women's super-G

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Wednesday, Feb. 6
6:25 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships men’s super-G, Are, SWE - NBCSN, NBC Sports Gold

Friday, Feb. 8
5:00 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships women’s super combined downhill, Are, SWE - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
9:00 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships women’s super combined downhill, Are, SWE - NBCSN*
10:00 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships women’s super combined slalom, Are, SWE - NBCSN, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Feb. 9
6:30 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships men’s downhill - Are, SWE - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
3:30 p.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships men’s downhill - Are, SWE - NBC*
6:30 p.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships men’s downhill - Are, SWE - NBCSN*

Sunday, Feb. 10
6:30 a.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships women’s downhill - Are, SWE - Olympic Channel-TV, NBCSN, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
3:30 p.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships women’s downhill - Are, SWE - NBC*
10:30 p.m. - FIS World Alpine Championships women’s downhill - Are, SWE - NBCSN*

All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold andOlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.

The U.S. Freeski Team is set to compete against an impressive international field on Tuesday with the beginning of the slopestyle program at the 2019 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships, presented by Toyota, in Park City, Utah.

The U.S. will be represented by four men and four women including defending world champion and Park City local McRae Williams (Park City, Utah), 2019 X Games gold medalist Alex Hall (Salt Lake City, Utah), and two-time Olympic medalist Nick Goepper (Lawrenceburg, Ind.). Mac Forehand, (Winhall, Vt.) and Willie Borm (Chaska, Minn.) will also compete.

“The course that the I Ride Park City crew put together for world champs is super fun to ride," said Williams. "There is a variety of creative rail options that flow nicely into the jumps, which is important to maintain speed on the relatively flat pitch of the slope they had to work with. The jumps themselves are very well shaped and the wide kickers make it super playful.”

For the women, Olympians Maggie Voisin (Whitefish, Mont.), Caroline Claire (Manchester Center, Vt.), and 2019 World Championships big air silver medalist Julia Krass (Hanover, N.H.) will compete. In addition, U.S. Freeski Rookie Team member Marin Hamill (Park City, Utah) will be in the running. 

Freeski slopestyle made its debut in the World Championships for the first time in 2011 at Park City Mountain’s famous Kings Crown run. Park City is home to some of America’s top slopestyle athletes and this week, they welcome the world to compete. With a beautifully built slopestyle course and a stacked U.S. roster, the World Championship slopestyle competition at Park City Mountain is one you will not want to miss. Tune in to NBC to catch all the action.

START LISTS
Men’s freeski slopestyle
Women’s freeski slopestyle

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast

FREESKI
Wednesday, Feb. 6
1:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s slopestyle - Park City Mountain, Utah - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
5:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s slopestyle - Park City Mountain, Utah - NBCSN*

Americans will face off against a strong international field this week in parallel giant slalom and parallel slalom at the 2019 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships, presented by Toyota, at Utah’s Park City Mountain. The U.S. will be represented by four women and four men. For the men, Ryan Rosencranz (Weston, Mass.), Cody Winters (Steamboat Springs, Colo.), Robert Burns (Mount Shasta, Calif.) and 2018 PyeongChang Olympian, and U.S Alpine Snowboard B Team member AJ Muss (Rumson, N.J.) will represent the U.S.

“At 24, I'm lucky enough to come back to the U.S. to participate in my third World Championships with my first being in Stoneham, Canada, and then two years ago in Sierra Nevada, Spain,” said Muss. “Coming home to compete on my home soil means alot since I have been training in Europe for so long! I’m super stoked to come back to Park City having not ridden here since Nastar Nationals years and years ago as a child. It always means alot to represent the U.S. whether it be the highest honor of representing Alpine Snowboarding at the Olympics last year in Korea or every time I pull out of gate on the World Cup Stage. The journey is not easy, but I am truly a proud American athlete striving to wins medals for myself and my country.“

For the ladies, Abby Champagne (Park CIty, Utah), Kaiya Kizuka (Sinking Spring, Penn.), Lynn Ott (Boston, Mass.) and Alexa Bullis (Slinger, Wisc.) are set to compete.

"I am beyond excited to be racing my first World Champs in my home town of Park City in front of my family and friends," said Champagne. "I am so thankful for the opportunity to represent the U.S. while racing with the best in the world. I have been fighting some injuries this season, but my goal for these World Champs is to come out strong and ride to the best of my abilities and of course to have fun and enjoy every bit of it."

Ott also shared her thoughts on being the veteran in the group. 

"I’m definitely not the youngest out here so when people fixate on me being older, I just think that it's just a number as not to let it get in my head," said Ott. My biggest accomplishment is living the dream for so long in the sport I love and getting to snowboard and enjoy life as much as I do. Snowboarding is my place of peace from working in the city."

The qualification round will be run on parallel courses. These courses are the same as, or similar to, the parallel finals courses, in terms of the number of gates, fall line, gate distance and angle of inclination. The qualification consists of two runs: the qualification run (first run) and the elimination run (second run). All qualified competitors (those with a valid time registered) from the qualification run start in the elimination run. They start on the opposite course in reverse order of their rank. The top 16 ranked competitors according to the combined time of the two runs qualify to the finals.

In the final round, two competitors ride side-by-side down the courses. The setting of the courses, configuration of the ground and preparation of the snow are to be as nearly identical as possible (vertical drop is 120-200 metres). Parallel finals heats consist of two runs. The competitors change courses for the second run ("Red" and "Blue" course). The loser of the first run starts with a time delay, which corresponds to his/her time behind from the first run. The delay is limited to a "penalty time" of 1.5 second). Finals heats consist of a direct knockout format: the best qualified competitor can choose his lane at start, the first to cross the finish line wins the heat and moves on to the next round.

The head-to-head direct knockout format will make for exciting competitions at Park City Mountain. Tune in on NBC to catch all the action.

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

SNOWBOARDING
Monday, Feb. 4
3:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s parallel giant slalom - Park City Mountain Resort, Utah - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
7:30 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s parallel giant slalom - Park City Mountain Resort, Utah - NBCSN*

Tuesday, Feb. 5
3:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s parallel slalom - Park City Mountain, Utah - NBCSN & NBC Sports Gold
9:00 p.m. - FIS World Championships men and women’s big air - Park City Mountain Resort, Utah - NBCSN & NBC Sports Gold