Beaming with confidence and skiing with power, Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) produced a dominating performance to win her 79th career FIS Ski World Cup race and secure her Olympic Team selection in Saturday’s downhill at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Jackie Wiles (Aurora, Ore.) finished third and also punched her ticket to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

“I was definitely disappointed with my result yesterday with that big mistake, but today was a great run - clean, solid,” said Vonn, who won by 0.92-seconds over Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein. “I’m very happy with my skiing and it gives me a lot of confidence going forward into the Olympics.”

Wiles was skiing just off Vonn’s pace at the top intervals but nearly overcooked a turn after catching a rut. But she made a strong recovery and built speed toward the bottom of the course to grab her second career World Cup downhill podium.

“I had a lot of fun,” Wiles said. “A little scary at the bottom, but I kept is rolling and it came together. “

“It was a great day having Jackie on the podium,” added Vonn, who has been a mentor for Wiles and provided financial assistance for her early in her career through the Lindsey Vonn Foundation. “I’m really, really proud of her!”

 “She has done a lot to help me get to this point,” Wiles said of Vonn. “She’s a great friend and role model, and I’m super thrilled to be on the podium with her.”

It was a banner day for U.S. Ski Team with seven athletes finishing in the top 30, including Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) in seventh; Breezy Johnson (Victor, Idaho) in 11th; Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) 16th; Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, Calif.) in 25th; and Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.) in 26th.

Shiffrin leads the overall World Cup standings by a massive 907 points over Italy’s Sofia Goggia.  She also leads the overall World Cup slalom and giant slalom standings and is third in the downhill standings behind Goggia and Weirather.

Up next, the women compete in super-G Saturday in Cortina. 

“I’m excited,” Vonn said of Sunday’s super-G. “I think I’m skiing better super-G than downhill. I have a lot of confidence from today and yesterday, so I’ll attack as always and see how it goes.”

RESULTS
Women’s downhill

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Friday, Jan. 19
4:00 p.m. - Men’s super-G; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Saturday, Jan. 20
3:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel – NBC (same day broadcast)
11:00 p.m. - Women’s downhill; Cortina – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)
12:00 a.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Sunday, Jan. 21
5:30 a.m. - Women’s super-G; Cortina – Olympic Channel TV
7:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom; Kitzbuehel – Olympic Channel TV
9:00 p.m. - Women’s super-G; Cortina – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)
10:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Tuesday, Jan. 23
6:30 a.m. - Women’s giant slalom; Kronplatz – Olympic Channel TV
2:30 p.m. - Men’s slalom; Schladming – Olympic Channel TV
12:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom; Schladming – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)
 

On a night when it really counted, Brita Sigourney (Carmel, Calif.) came through with a Toyota U.S. Grand Prix win in the Visa freeski halfpipe presented by The North Face at Mammoth Mountain and a ticket to PyeongChang. California crowd favorite Kyle Smaine (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.), the 2015 World Champion, finally nailed his run on the third try to take the victory for the men.

Sigourney, who stepped it up last weekend at Aspen-Snowmass to finish second, was strong and consistent all night, putting down a 91.20 on her second run for the victory over Olympic champion Maddie Bowman (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.) and Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.). All three qualified objectively for PyeongChang. It will be a repeat Olympics for Sigourney, who was sixth in Sochi. Bowman won gold in Sochi while Logan won silver in Slopestyle. It will be Logan's first Olympic halfpipe appearance.

“I don’t know, I just have been feeling really good,” said Sigourney, looking back on her last two weekends of qualifying. “I think it’s all just confidence. I got a couple good results and I think it goes a long ways.”

Sigourney joins a very strong team anchored by Bowman, who won gold four years ago. “I am so stoked on our team that qualified,” she said. “Devin and Maddie are my best friends, so couldn’t be happier to be going with them.”

Smaine came through on his third and final run to lay down a 92.20, winning over Alex Ferreira (Aspen, Colo.) and Torin Yater-Wallace (Aspen, Colo.). All three had their podium performances on the third run. Ferreira and Yater-Wallace will join Olympic champion David Wise to the Olympics, qualifying objectively. It will be Ferreira’s first Olympics. He set himself up well with a win in the Dew Tour a month ago. Yater-Wallace will be going back for his second Olympics.

“I can not believe it, I seriously can not believe it,” said a jubilant Ferreira, who narrowly missed out on the 2014 team. “I am the happiest human in all the land and so happy to be here and along for the ride.” 

What made it even sweeter for Ferreira was that his longtime Aspen friend Yater-Wallace was coming along too. “It’s really special to be going with Alex to the Olympics,” said Yater-Wallace. “Unfortunately last time around he was skiing insanely well, but so was the rest of the field. Being his first Olympics, it’s just an unreal feeling, I am just really proud of him, it’s been a long time in the making of Alex really blowing up in the scene and he’s capitalizing now. He’s proved that he has at the top level and he’s been getting podiums.”

Yater-Wallace had a lot to reflect on himself with the medical challenges he has endured over the last few years. 

“It’s a very special night locking in my confirmation to the Olympics team,” he said. “It’s really an honor to get one of the first three spots this time around vs a discretionary position like Sochi. That was one of the big things in my head was to actually prove that I could ski and get there. For myself, it’s been kind of a tough year, there was a lot of pressure being as I won the first selection event, and since we have had a lot of strange halfpipes working against us with the lack of snow along with a slight foot injury that I have been working on, I am just so glad it all came together and couldn’t be more thankful. I am really happy to be feeling better and skiing like myself again.”

Logan came away from Sochi with slopestyle silver, but had really wanted to double up in halfpipe,. “It’s definitely a relief,” said Logan. “Four years a go I didn’t make the pipe team and I was so close and really wanted it. Now I’ve come out four years later and will be headed to the Olympics for pipe. Slope is still undecided, but this is definitely weight off the shoulders, I am feeling confident and hopefully get another spot and go for two.”

She was optimistic about the upcoming Olympics, with the opening ceremonies just three weeks away. “I am so excited to go back to Korea – the people, the culture, it’s all amazing there,” she said. “It was the best pipe I have ever ridden, and last year I got 2nd in the test event. Hopefully I can take this confidence into the Olympics and keep it all rolling.”

A possible fourth spot for men or women may be announced next week. On the men’s side, the competition was fierce and deep with both 2014 Olympian Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.) and Youth Olympics Games medalist Birk Irving (Winter Park, Colo.) made strong bids.

The Toyota U.S. Grand Prix continues Saturday with a busy day of Slopestyle for both skiing and snowboarding, plus the final snowboarding halfpipe of the Olympic qualifying period.

Trick List

Men
Kyle Smaine:left down the pipe double flat spin 9 japan, right 10 tail, switch left 7 screaming seamen mute, right 9 seatbelt japan, left double 12 mute

Alex Ferreira: right double 12 mute, left 7 tail, switch right 7 japan, left 9 tail, right down the pipe double flat spin 9 japan

Torin Yater-Wallace: right double 12 mute, left 7 safety, switch right 7 safety, right alley oop dub 9 japan, right down the pipe double 9 japan

Women
Brita Sigourney: straight air mute, alley oop japan, left 9 tail, left alley oop 5, left 5 safety, right 7 safety

Maddie Bowman: straight air mute, left 7 tail, right 7 mute, switch left 7, right 5 safety, left 9 tail, air to dakine japan

Devin Logan: straight air japan, straight air mute, right 5 japan, left 5 tail, alley oop critical, left 7 tail, switch left alley oop 5 safety 

RESULTS
Men’s Halfpipe Skiing
Women’s Halfpipe Skiing

 

The U.S. aerials squad put on a good show for a hometown crowd Friday on the first night of the Putnam Investments Freestyle Cup. Morgan Northrop (Haymarket, Va.), Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, Va.), Mac Bohonnon (Madison, Conn.), Jon Lillis (Rochester, N.Y.) and Alex Bowen (Springville, N.Y.) advanced to finals, but all failed to make the super finals. Northrop was the top finisher, posted her best result of the season in seventh place.

Australia’s Lydia Lassila took the win for the women, performing a double full, full and scoring a 99.75. Lassila’s teammate Laura Peel joined her on the podium in third place, with Belarusian Hanna Huskova in second. Caldwell performed a full, full, full in finals and was clean in her execution, but missed her landing, finishing in ninth place.

On the men’s side, China’s Zongyang Jia stomped his full, double full, full to score a 126.99 and the win. Ukraine’s Oleksandr Abramenko was second and Canada’s Oliver Rochon third. U.S. jumpers Bowen, Lillis, Bohonnon and Nick Novak (Prince William, Va.) finishes tenth, 11th, 12th and 13th respectively.

Aerials action continues Saturday night with the second World Cup competition of the weekend. Finals will begin at 8 p.m. EST.

RESULTS
Men’s Aerials
Women’s Aerials

The Visa freeski halfpipe finals presented by The North Face are scheduled to go off Friday evening—the last Olympic halfpipe qualifiers of the season.

The U.S. men and women dominated the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix freeski halfpipe qualifiers on Wednesday, with the men sweeping all finals spots, led by Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, Colo), and the women grabbing five of the eight spots, led by Maddie Bowman (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.).

David Wise (Reno, Nev.) and Bowman have already clinched their spots to defend their respective 2014 Olympic gold medals, but two more objective spots are on the line for both men and women. 

Both Alex Ferreira (Aspen, Colo.) and Torin Yater-Wallace (Basalt, Colo.) would confirm their spots with a win, while on the women’s side, Brita Sigourney (Carmel, Calif.) and Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.) would confirm with a first or second place.

Live stream the halfpipe finals at 9:20 p.m. ET, or watch the broadcast at 1:00 a.m. ET on NBCSN.

The U.S. Freeski Team halfpipe Olympic team nominations presented by Visa will occur Saturday night.

START LISTS
Women's halfpipe start list
Men's halfpipe start list

Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, N.Y.) was the top American finisher in 24th in Friday’s weather-shortened FIS Ski World Cup super-G in Kitzbuehel, Austria.

Norway went 1-2 with Aksel Lund Svindal taking the win ahead of teammate Kjetil Jansrud. Austria’s Matthias Mayer was third.

Heavy snow forced race officials to move the start lower and push back the start time to allow crews to clear the course. Tommy Biesemeyer (Keene, N.Y.) finished 26th; Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) was 27th; Maple Wiley (Aspen, Colo.) was 29th; and Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah) was 32nd. Both Biesemeyer and Weibrecht clinched Olympic spots.

Up next, the men race downhill on the Hahnenkamm track Saturday.

RESULTS
Men’s super-G

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Friday, Jan. 19
4:00 p.m. - Men’s super-G; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Saturday, Jan. 20
4:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill; Cortina – Olympic Channel TV
5:30 a.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel – Olympic Channel TV
3:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel – NBC (same day broadcast)
11:00 p.m. - Women’s downhill; Cortina – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)
12:00 a.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Sunday, Jan. 21
5:30 a.m. - Women’s super-G; Cortina – Olympic Channel TV
7:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom; Kitzbuehel – Olympic Channel TV
9:00 p.m. - Women’s super-G; Cortina – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)
10:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Tuesday, Jan. 23
6:30 a.m. - Women’s giant slalom; Kronplatz – Olympic Channel TV
2:30 p.m. - Men’s slalom; Schladming – Olympic Channel TV
12:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom; Schladming – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) was one slight mistake away from the top step of the podium but still managed to salvage a second-place finish in front of teammate Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) in Friday’s FIS Ski World Cup downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. It was an outstanding day for the U.S. women with six athletes finishing in the top 20.

Sofia Goggia of Italy won her second-straight downhill as Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, Calif.) wrapped up a storied 18-year career with her final race, after announcing her retirement prior to Friday’s downhill.

Vonn was clearly in the driver’s seat to achieve her 79th career World Cup victory on one of her favorite downhill tracks. However, she got caught up in a rut two-thirds of the way through her run and pulled out a dramatic one-ski recovery to not only remain upright but also hold her speed and push to the finish.

“I caught my edge, the light was flat and that happens,” Vonn said. “I’m happy that I kept fighting to the end. I was hoping that I didn’t lose too much time, but unfortunately, it was enough to lose the win.

“I still got second place, which is pretty outstanding, all things considered,” Vonn added. “I know I have the speed and I’m skiing well, so tomorrow is another opportunity and hopefully I won’t be caught in that rut tomorrow.”

Friday’s downhill was a makeup race from the event canceled in Val d’Isere, France last month. The ladies will race another downhill on Saturday, followed by super-G on Sunday.

Shiffrin, meanwhile, added to her overall World Cup lead and is second in the overall World Cup downhill standings as she continues to make huge strides in mastering the speed events with her second downhill podium finish of the season.

“I learned a lot in the first training run, the second training run and then for the race today I was aggressive,” Shiffrin said. “For tomorrow, I can build on that.”

Jackie Wiles (Aurora, Ore.) put down another top-10 World Cup result Friday, finishing seventh. Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) was 11th; Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.) finished 17th; and Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, Calif.) was 20th.

After announcing her retirement prior to the race, Mancuso donned a Super Women outfit for her final World Cup race and received a Champagne shower from her teammates after crossing the finish line one final time.

“For me it’s been an emotional ride, not having a body that can perform how you want,” Mancuso said of her recovery and working so hard to come back this season to try an qualify for her fifth Olympic team. “So mentally, it’s been really tough, but on the bittersweet side, I feel so incredibly grateful to have had such an amazing career. Especially growing up with Lindsey, and pushing each other and being able to be part of such a great team.

“Looking back I have no regrets,” she added. “I’m just thankful for the journey and really thankful to have had the opportunity to get healthy enough to make it down a World Cup run and feel awesome, and dress up and add that to the list of experiences.”

RESULTS
Women’s downhill

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Friday, Jan. 19
4:00 p.m. - Men’s super-G; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Saturday, Jan. 20
4:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill; Cortina – Olympic Channel TV
5:30 a.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel – Olympic Channel TV
3:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel – NBC (same day broadcast)
11:00 p.m. - Women’s downhill; Cortina – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)
12:00 a.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Sunday, Jan. 21
5:30 a.m. - Women’s super-G; Cortina – Olympic Channel TV
7:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom; Kitzbuehel – Olympic Channel TV
9:00 p.m. - Women’s super-G; Cortina – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)
10:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Tuesday, Jan. 23
6:30 a.m. - Women’s giant slalom; Kronplatz – Olympic Channel TV
2:30 p.m. - Men’s slalom; Schladming – Olympic Channel TV
12:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom; Schladming – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)
 

All eyes on the biggest stage of the FIS Ski World Cup circuit this weekend in Kitzbuehel, Austria and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. It’s difficult to explain just how special both Kitzbuehel and Cortina are on the World Cup circuit. The adrenaline rush of the Hahnenkamm and the extreme beauty and perfect snow on the Olympia delle Tofane slope are unmatched. In the final weekend of Olympic qualifying events, the athletes will be putting it all on the line to prior next week’s U.S. Ski & Snowboard's team announcements.

Veterans Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah) and Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY) return to competition to lead the American Downhillers down the Streif in the ski racing Mecca known as Kitzbuehel, Austria. Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) and Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah), who has also been showing great consistency, will compete in the super-G and downhill events on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Nyman was second in the first downhill training run Tuesday and Goldberg posted the fourth-fastest time on Thursday.

The weekend will culminate with slalom Sunday, where David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, Colo.) and Nolan Kasper (Warren, Vt.) will headline the roster for the Americans. Kasper led the way in his first World Cup slalom race in nearly three years, earning a top 20 result in Wengen, Switzerland last weekend.

Over in Cortina, the current overall, slalom and giant slalom leader Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) returns to the World Cup circuit this weekend for a chance to extend her already sizable 800-plus-point lead. Shiffrin joins teammates Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.), Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.), Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, Calif.) and more for a pair of downhills and a super-G Jan. 19-21.

Vonn, who is searching for that 79th career victory, grabbed her first podium in Cortina and has won a staggering 11 times in Cortina, and Shiffrin was just .03 seconds off the super-G podium under the sunshine in beautiful Cortina in 2017. Vonn’s first podium was in Cortina in January of 2004 – a third place in the downhill. Cortina was also the location for Mancuso’s first and second podiums – a second in the super-G followed by a second in the downhill in January of 2006.

The first downhill is scheduled for Jan. 19 and is a make-up race from the canceled event in Val d’Isere, France. Vonn won Wednesday’s and Thursday’s downhill training runs by almost a second, with Jackie Wiles (Aurora, Ore.) third both days, Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) fourth on Wednesday and Shiffrin fifth on Thursday.

Steve Schlanger and U.S. Ski Team alumnus Steve Porino will call the action in the coming week. See who to watch and where to catch all the action below.

WOMEN’S STARTERS
Cortina, ITA

Super-G and Downhill

• Stacey Cook
• Breezy Johnson
• Julia Mancuso
• Alice McKennis
• Alice Merryweather
• Laurenne Ross
• Mikaela Shiffrin
• Lindsey Vonn
• Jackie Wiles

MEN’S STARTERS
Kitzbuehel, AUT/Schladming, AUT

Super-G and Downhill

• Bryce Bennett
• Tommy Biesemeyer
• Jared Goldberg
• Wiley Maple
• Steven Nyman
• Andrew Weibrecht

Slalom

• David Chodounsky
• Mark Engel
• AJ Ginnis
• Nolan Kasper
• Robby Kelley
• Hig Roberts

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Friday, Jan. 19
4:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill; Cortina – Olympic Channel TV
5:30 a.m. - Men’s super-G; Kitzbuehel – Olympic Channel TV
4:00 p.m. - Men’s super-G; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Saturday, Jan. 20
4:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill; Cortina – Olympic Channel TV
5:30 a.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel – Olympic Channel TV
3:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel – NBC (same day broadcast)
11:00 p.m. - Women’s downhill; Cortina – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)
12:00 a.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Sunday, Jan. 21
5:30 a.m. - Women’s super-G; Cortina – Olympic Channel TV
7:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom; Kitzbuehel – Olympic Channel TV
9:00 p.m. - Women’s super-G; Cortina – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)
10:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Tuesday, Jan. 23
6:30 a.m. - Women’s giant slalom; Kronplatz – Olympic Channel TV
2:30 p.m. - Men’s slalom; Schladming – Olympic Channel TV
12:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom; Schladming – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

RESULTS
Men’s Training Run 1
Men’s Training Run 2
Women's Training Run 1
Women’s Training Run 2

START LISTS
Women’s Downhill
Men’s Super-G

Olympic Qualification Update

Some U.S. athletes have already qualified for the Olympic team based on their performances so far this season. They include:
Bryce Bennett (top 10 alpine combined) ^
Ryan Cochran-Siegle (World Cup ranking alpine combined) ^
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) ^
Resi Stiegler (World Cup ranking SL) ^
Lindsey Vonn (top 3 super G) *
Jackie Wiles (top 5 downhill) *
^ Qualified for U.S. Olympic Team
* Achieved objective qualification criteria

After a storied 18-year career, Olympic champion Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, Calif.) will hang up her tiara and take a victory lap on Friday, January 19th in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy – which happens to be the first track she podiumed on in January of 2006. Mancuso will move on to the next chapter of her career in PyeongChang, South Korea – this time not on the mountain, but with the NBC Olympics team in PyeongChang.

As a junior ski racer, Mancuso came blazing on to the scene – grabbing an American record eight Junior World Championship medals. A four-event athlete from the beginning, Mancuso started World Cup racing and was a NorAm champion at 16, competed in the Olympics at 17, set a U.S. record for Junior World Championships medals before she was out of her teens, and then started her twenties by capturing two World Championships medals.

Mancuso’s first FIS Ski World Cup was in 1999, and her first World Cup podium was a super-G silver in Cortina. Known for her renegade style and her ability to perform on the big stage, Mancuso donned a tiara on the podium in 2006 and 2010 when she won Olympic gold and silver.

Julia Mancuso Career Highlights

• Most decorated big event American female athlete (nine medals: four Olympics, five World Championships)
• Most Olympic medals for an American female ski or snowboard athlete (four)
• Medals in three consecutive Olympic Games
  • Gold, giant slalom, Torino, ITA, 2006
  • Silver, downhill, Vancouver, CAN, 2010
  • Silver, super combined, Vancouver, CAN, 2010
  • Bronze, super combined, Sochi, RUS, 2014
• Four Olympic Teams
• Seven World Cup victories across four disciplines (city event, downhill, super-G, alpine combined)
• 36 World Cup podiums
• 399 World Cup starts
• First World Cup start November 20, 1999 – Copper Mountain, Colo.

Nicknamed “Super Jules” and often sporting superhero attire, Mancuso led a fun-focused, unconventional career, splitting her time between surfing in Maui and traveling the world chasing snow in the winter. In between, she captured more major event medals than any other American woman with nine – four Olympic and five World Championship medals.

For Mancuso, it wasn’t just about fun on piste, though. In 2010, Mancuso proved to the snowsports world that she was one of the most well-rounded and gifted skiers, grabbing a third in the Extreme Verbier Freeride event. Growing up in Squaw Valley, California, Mancuso was always inspired by the mountain and had a love for freeskiing too.

Mancuso’s passion for the remoteness of backcountry slopes and deep powder were a big reason she participated in friend and Austrian freeskier Sandra Lahnsteiner’s production Shades of Winter: BETWEEN. During the filming of the all-women ski film, she was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of skiing in Hawaii on Mauna Kea.

Since she was 18 years old, though, Mancuso battled issues with her hip. Hip surgery after the 2014-15 season had Mancuso sidelined from World Cup competition for two full seasons, but with an extreme fighter mentality, she made her return to competition in St. Moritz, Switzerland in December of 2017.

“It has been an epic battle with my hip injury, and the past three years I have put everything into returning to competition at the highest level and the goal to reach my fifth Olympic Games,” reflected Mancuso. “There have been really promising days during this challenging process, and I have kept my spirits up despite many who questioned or doubted me. Sadly, I haven’t found the progression to compete with the best in the world again, but I’m proud to have fought until the very end. It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to ski racing, but I do so with a full heart.”

Mancuso looks forward to the next chapter of her career, where she will join the NBC Olympics team in PyeongChang. Mancuso will contribute features on a variety of platforms including The Olympic Zone – a nightly 30-minute show that airs on NBC affiliates – and will also serve as a reporter, covering venues and locations throughout the Games. Mancuso worked for NBC in a similar capacity at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

QUOTES
Julia Mancuso
It has been an epic battle with my hip injury, and the past three years I have put everything into returning to competition at the highest level and the goal to reach my fifth Olympic Games. There have been really promising days during this challenging process, and I have kept my spirits up despite many who questioned or doubted me. Sadly, I haven’t found the progression to compete with the best in the world again, but I’m proud to have fought until the very end. It is with a heavy heart that I say goodbye to ski racing, but I do so with a full heart.

I am so grateful for all the incredible opportunities I’ve been provided and the amazing friendships I’ve made along the way. I’d like to thank the U.S. Ski Team, GoPro, KT Tape, POC, Spyder, Squaw Valley, Stoeckli, and Swix for their unwavering support during the past few seasons. I’d also like to thank my family, sponsors, and my team for believing in me, my doctors and fans, and especially my husband who has supported me through these difficult times. I am happy that I get to ski my last race here in Cortina – one of my favorite stops on the tour. I had my first podium here, and now I get to say farewell. I’m excited to see where skiing and life’s adventure will take me next!
 

The U.S. Freestyle Ski Team will compete in its final World Cups and selection events this weekend before U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Olympic teams are named next week. Moguls athletes will compete Jan. 20 in Mont Tremblant, Quebec while aerials athletes will jump in two events at the Putnam Investments Freestyle Cup Jan. 19-20 at the Olympic Jumping Complex in Lake Placid, New York.

The U.S. moguls team is coming off a string of top results at the Visa Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah. Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.) and Morgan Schild (Rochester, N.Y.) each podiumed twice, Kauf with a first and a second and Schild with two thirds, to clinch their Olympic team spots. Brad Wilson (Butte, Mont.) landed his first podium of the season, a third place finish, to put him one step closer to making the Olympic team. Troy Murphy (Bethel, Maine) is the only other moguls athlete who has one of two podiums needed to objectively qualify for the team. A strong performance in Mont Tremblant would help Murphy and other top moguls athletes make their case to be named to the team headed to PyeongChang.

The U.S. aerials team has historically performed well on the aerials site in Lake Placid. Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, Va.) and Mac Bohonnon (Madison, Conn.) will be looking to defend their podium finishes here from last year. Jon Lillis (Rochester, N.Y.), who landed a nearly perfect triple-twisting triple flip last week, along with Maddy Olsen (Park City, Utah) and Madie Varmette (Stafford, Va.) are carrying momentum into Lake Placid after some of their best World Cup finishes in Deer Valley. With two events Friday and Saturday, athletes who haven’t podiumed so far this season could clinch their Olympic spots with two top-three finishes.

Read on to see who to watch and where to watch all the freestyle action this weekend. Live scoring will be available via FIS Freestyle.

LAKE PLACID AERIALS
Men’s Starters
Mac Bohonnon
Alex Bowen
Jon Lillis
Eric Loughran
Patrick O’Flynn
Nick Novak
Nik Seemann
Zach Surdell

Women’s Starters
Ashley Caldwell
Kiley McKinnon
Morgan Northrop
Megan Nick
Madison Olsen
Madie Varmette
 

MONT TREMBLANT MOGULS
Men’s Starters
Casey Andringa
Joel Hedrick
Troy Murphy
Emerson Smith
Troy Tully
Brad Wilson

Women’s Starters
Olivia Giaccio
Tess Johnson
Jaelin Kauf
Mikaela Matthews
Keaton McCargo
Morgan Schild

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Jan. 20
3:30 p.m. – Men’s and women’s moguls; Mont Tremblant – Olympic Channel TV

Jan. 21
8:00 p.m. – Men’s and women’s aerials; Lake Placid – NBCSN (next day delay)

It’s the final weekend of Olympic qualifying events and athletes will be putting it all on the line to prior next week’s U.S. Ski & Snowboard's team announcements.

FIS Ski Women’s World Cup - Cortina, ITA
Current overall, slalom and giant slalom leader Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) returns to the World Cup circuit this weekend for a chance to extend her already sizable 800-plus-point lead. Shiffrin joins teammates Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.), Laurenne Ross (Bend, Ore.), Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, Calif.) and more for a pair of downhills and a super-G Jan. 19-21. Vonn has won a staggering 11 times in Cortina, and Shiffrin was just .03 seconds off of the super-G podium under the sunshine in beautiful Cortina in 2017. The first downhill is scheduled for Jan. 19 and is a make-up race from the canceled event in Val d’Isere, France. Vonn won Wednesday’s downhill training run, with Jackie Wiles (Aurora, Ore.) third and Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) fourth. Shiffrin was 13th.

FIS Ski Men’s World Cup - Kitzbuehel, AUT
Veterans Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah) and Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY) return to competition to lead the American Downhillers down the Streif in the ski racing Mecca known as Kitzbuehel, Austria. Bryce Bennett (Squaw Valley, Calif.) and Jared Goldberg (Holladay, Utah), who have also been showing great consistency, will also compete in the super-G and downhill events on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The weekend will culminate with slalom Sunday, where David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, Colo.) and Nolan Kasper (Warren, VT) will headline the roster for the Americans. Nyman was second in the first downhill training run Tuesday. Wednesday’s training run was canceled due to snow.

Toyota U.S. Grand Prix - Mammoth Mountain, Calif.
The Toyota U.S. Grand Prix moves to Mammoth Mountain, Calif., for the final Grand Prix event of the season with the remaining Olympic Team selections on the line in freeski and snowboard halfpipe and slopestyle. Who’s in the hunt? Check out the Mammoth Mountain preview to find out.

FIS Freeski World Cup - Nakiska, CAN
A pair of World Cup skicross events are on tap for Jan. 19-20 with four athletes representing the U.S., including Tania Prymak (Goshen, N.Y.) Tyler Wallasch (Acton, Calif.), Brant Crossan (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and Mazie Hayden (Pittsfield, Vt.).

Putnam Investments Freestyle Cup - Lake Placid, New York
The U.S. Ski Team aerialists compete in their final two Olympic qualification contests this week at the Olympic Jumping Complex Jan. 19-20. Kiley McKinnon (Madison, Conn.) is the only U.S. athlete who has clinched her Olympic spot, so all eyes will be on Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn. Va.), Mac Bohonnon (Madison, Conn.), Jon Lillis (Rochester, N.Y.) and others as they look to land those coveted podium spots.

FIS Freestyle World Cup - Mont Tremblant, CAN
The FIS Freestyle moguls World Cup visits Mont Tremblant, Quebec this weekend for its final pre-Olympic event. The U.S. team will be laying it all on the line as athletes including Troy Murphy (Bethel, Maine), Brad Wilson (Butte, Mont.), Keaton McCargo (Telluride, Colo.) and Tess Johnson (Vail, Colo.) look to get themselves in the best position to be named to the Olympic team next week. Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.) and Morgan Schild (Rochester, N.Y.) clinched their Olympic spots last week with two podium results each at Deer Valley Resort, Utah.

FIS Cross Country World Cup - Planica, SLO
It’s a full-on classic weekend in Planica, Slovenia as the entire U.S. Ski Team comes back together. A host of athletes, including Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) and Sadie Bjornsen (Anchorage, Alaska), took last weekend off but will be back in the lineup for final Olympic preparation. World Cup selection for the Olympics has concluded with the full team announcement to come next week. A classic sprint is set for Saturday, followed by a 15k for men and 10k for women on Sunday. Each event will live streamed on OlympicChannel.com. Diggins is ranked third in the FIS World Cup overall rankings with Bjornsen seventh.

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup - Oberstdorf, GER and Zao, JPN
The men’s ski jumping team heads to Oberstdorf, Germany for the World Ski Flying Championships where Kevin Bickner will look to challenge the U.S. record of 244.5 meters he set last season. Olympic selection via the World Cup has concluded. The women’s World Cup heads to Zao, Japan for two events. Olympic selection is tight with only Sarah Hendrickson, the Olympic Trials winner, having secured a spot. Abby Ringquist’s 23rd-place finish boosted her to become the U.S. leader in World Cup rankings. Both the men’s and women’s Olympic Teams will be announced next week.

FIS Nordic Combined World Cup - Chaux-Neuve, FRA
The Olympic selection process for nordic combined will come right down to the wire. There is just one individual World Cup event remaining, this Saturday in Chaux-Neuve, France. Olympic Trials champion Bryan Fletcher (Steamboat, Colo.), the only athlete to secure a spot so far, has headed home to prepare for the Olympics in Utah. Brother Taylor Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) is skipping the World Cup to challenge for an Olympic spot through the Continental Cup with a pair of events in Rena, Norway. The final Olympic Team lineup will be announced next week. The World Cup team this weekend will include Ben Loomis, Jasper Good, Ben Berend and Stephen Schumann. The Continental Cup lineup will include Taylor Fletcher, Grant Andrews, Adam Loomis and Jared Schumate.

FIS Snowboardcross World Cup - Erzurum, TUR
With just one individual World Cup remaining, competition for spots on the men’s Olympic Team will be intense as the first races of the New Year will take place in Erzurum, which therefore becomes the first ever Turkish ski resort to host a SBX World Cup. Only one U.S. man, Jonathan Cheever, has achieved a podium in an Olympic selection event. A half dozen American men will be vying for one of the team spots in Saturday’s World Cup in Turkey. The women’s top spots have already been claimed by Lindsey Jacobellis and Faye Gulini. The snowboardcross squad will be announced with the full snowboard team next week.

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*subject to change

ALPINE
Jan. 19
4:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill; Cortina – Olympic Channel TV
5:30 a.m. - Men’s super-G; Kitzbuehel – Olympic Channel TV
4:00 p.m. - Men’s super-G; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Jan. 20
4:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill; Cortina  – Olympic Channel TV
5:30 a.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel  – Olympic Channel TV
3:00 p.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel  – NBC (same day broadcast)
11:00 p.m. - Women’s downhill; Cortina  – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)
12:00 a.m. - Men’s downhill; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Jan. 21
5:30 a.m. - Women’s super-G; Cortina  – Olympic Channel TV
7:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom; Kitzbuehel – Olympic Channel TV  
9:00 p.m. - Women’s super-G; Cortina – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)
10:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom; Kitzbuehel – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

Jan. 23
6:30 a.m. - Women’s giant slalom; Kronplatz – Olympic Channel TV
2:30 p.m. - Men’s slalom; Schladming – Olympic Channel TV
12:00 a.m. - Men’s slalom; Schladming – NBCSN Encore (same day broadcast)

FREESTYLE
Jan. 17
4:00 p.m. Men and women’s slopestyle; Snowmass - NBCSN (re-broadcast)

Jan. 20
3:30 p.m. - Men and women’s moguls; Mont Tremblant - Olympic Channel TV

Jan. 21
8:00 p.m. - Men and women’s aerials; Lake Placid -  Olympic Channel TV (Next day delay)

FREESKI & SNOWBOARD
Toyota U.S. Grand Prix
Jan. 19
12:15 p.m – Halfpipe skiing finals; Mammoth – nbcsports.com
5:00 p.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals; Mammoth – NBCSN (same day coverage)

Jan. 20
1:00 a.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals; Mammoth – NBCSN (next day coverage)
4:00 p.m. – Slopestyle skiing + snowboarding finals; Mammoth – NBC (same day coverage)

Jan. 21
5:00 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals, Mammoth – NBC (next day coverage)

CROSS COUNTRY
Jan. 20
5:30 a.m. - Men and women’s sprint; Planica - Olympic Channel TV

Jan. 21
3:30 a.m. - Women’s 10k; Planica - Olympic Channel TV

SKI JUMPING
Jan. 21
9:30 a.m. - Women's Individual; Zao - Olympic Channel TV