Alice Merryweather earned a career-best eighth-place result in Sunday's alpine combined at Crans-Montana, Switzerland to lead the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team. 

Italy's Federica Brignone pulled off the victory with some gutsy skiing, while the rest of the podium was a bit of a surprise as Austria's Franziska Gritsch was second, and the Czech Republic's Ester Ledecka rounded out the podium in third. With her win, Federica became the first woman to win four alpine combined races in a single ski resort, and she became the FIS Ski World Cup overall leader. 

With warmer temperatures and a surface that did not freeze on Saturday evening, the track held up surprisingly well for the super-G portion of the alpine combined. Starting bib 5, Italy's Federica Brignone capitalized on the early bib number and absolutely skied with fire and passion. She put it all on the line, and won the super-G portion of the combined by .58 seconds over Slovakian Petra Vlhova. Alice Merryweather skied a clean and solid super-G run, ending up sixth—just 1.03 seconds off of Federica's pace. 

As the temperatures increased, athletes had to fight to the finish in the slalom portion of the alpine combined. It would be a Federica-Petra battle, and Federica skied a solid slalom run, crossing the line with a final time of 1:56.24. All eyes on current slalom leader Petra, who was skiing OK but definitely not on her A-game, and straddled a gate, skiing out and DNFing—thus handing the victory and the overall lead to Federica. 

In an interview on Saturday when asked about being the new favorite for the overall as Mikaela was not competing, Federica answered passionately, "I want Mikaela back, I really do hope that she will return soon...for herself so she can do again what she loves most. I know that what I am going to say will seem harsh but one has to move on...it's not like it was about a few races that didn't go well and you can slowly forget about it. What she went through is something she will never forget and it won't ever go away. I do know that she will need time, but I really hope that she will come back soon and go back to what she likes the most (skiing), and that it will help her overcome those terrible moments she just went through."

The journalist was somewhat taken aback with Federica's answer, thinking that Federica would respond by saying that she's excited for the potential to lead the in the overall standings. But, Federica respects Mikaela, loves the competition, and knows it's good for the sport.  

Alice's sixth place super-G run set her up for a career-best alpine combined result on Sunday, but more importantly, it gave her added confidence heading into next weekend's speed series in La Thuile, Italy, as she hopes to make it into the top-25 in the world in super-G and thus qualify for World Cup Finals in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. 

"It's definitely a confidence-boost going into La Thuile, but I'm definitely not taking anything for granted," noted Alice. "I'm not comfortable in 24th by any means, so I justt have to put Finals out of my mind and think about it as just another race, just another day of super-G. But, it definitely helps to have a good super-G under my belt from this morning."

With back-to-back career-best super-G results at Sochi, Russia and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Alice will head into La Thuile with even more confidence. "I think that I have gotten a lot better technically, at least in the prep period I got a lot more solid in my technical skiing, and I think that I'm finally trusting that in super-G races" she added. "I'm struggling a bit more in downhill now, but I'm able to trust myself a little more in super-G than I have in years past." 

With her win on Sunday, Federica Brignone becomes the overall leader with 1,298 points—73 points ahead of Mikaela Shiffrin, and 159 points ahead of Petra. At this point, the current overall leader Mikaela's return to Europe and return to competition is unknown. 

Up next is a super-G and an alpine combined in La Thuile, Italy. 

RESULTS
Alpine Combined

STANDINGS
Overall
Alpine Combined

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Monday, Feb. 24
1:00 a.m. - Women’s combined, Crans-Montana, SUI - NBCSN*

*Next-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app. 

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow. 
 

 

After many delays on Sunday, the FIS Ski World Cup slalom in Niigata Yuzawa Naeba, Japan was finally canceled. Luke Winters and Tommy Ford were scheduled to start for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team. 

The race was called due to strong winds. “It's Mother Nature,” said FIS Alpine Chief Race Director Markus Waldner. “Unfortunately we tried everything. We delayed the start time, but it’s not working. These wind gusts are coming…It would not be a regular race. It’s really strong—you could not see anything up there. The wind gusts are just too strong—unpredictable.”

⛔ @naebawc2020 Slalom cancelled ➡️ Markus Waldner - Men's Alpine Chief Race Director - explains why today it was not possible to race in Niigata Yuzawa Naeba. 🇯🇵 More info on a potential replacement will be communicated in due time. #fisalpine pic.twitter.com/uAe3aBnBl1

— FIS Alpine (@fisalpine) February 23, 2020

The race will be rescheduled to a future date. 

The men head next to Hinterstoder, Austria for an alpine combined, super-G and giant slalom.

STANDINGS
Slalom
Overall

Alice Mckennis led the charge for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, landing in 16th in Saturday's sun-splashed downhill in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. 

Under the Swiss sunshine for the second day in a row, Lara Gut-Behrami and countrywoman Corrine Suter went 1-2 with an Austrian in third, in what was an entirely different outcome than yesterday's .80-second margin victory from Lara. Just two one-hundredths of a second seprated Lara and teammate Corrine, and five one-hundredths of a second separated Lara and Austria's Nina Ortlieb, in third. After not having won a downhill since January 28, 2017, Lara seems to have found her stridde, winning back-to-back downhills for the first time since December 18-19, 2015. 

Though Saturday's result was Alice's best result since her 10th place in Lake Louise, Canada, in December, it was bit bittersweet, as it was the last downhill on the 2019-20 calendar before World Cup Finals. "Today was a step in the right direction for me," reflected Alice in the finish area. "It's been kind of a rough season, coming back in the new year I really struggled to find my stride. After my crash in Bansko, I lost a lot of confidence, and it's been a tough few weeks. Today I felt more like myself again, and skied more like I have been in training, and I'm going to walk away from today with a little more confidence. Obviously disappointed with the way the season went and had hoped for a lot more, but it was nice to finish the downhill season on a good night."

Breezy Johnson, who was fifth in Friday's downhill, had a strong first couple of splits and was right in there, but didn't quite have the direction she needed over a jump and missed a gate. She is thankfully OK, and skied down. "Today was tough, because I watched the first few girls and I knew that you had to have a near-perfect run in order to even just be on the podium," said Breezy. "I mean, between first and third place there's practically no difference. So, I sent it and I sent it a little too hard, and you've gotta kind of push those boundaries sometimes in order to know where theyre at. I can't fault myself for that, obviously definitely something to learn."

Breezy ended the season ranked 20th in the downhill standings, stamping her ticket to World Cup Finals to compete among the best 25 downhill skiers in the world in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy—a track the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team women's speed team has had a signficant amount of success on in the past. Breezy's best result in Cortina was a 10th-place in January 2017. 

"To be able to go to Finals this year...I did not know that was going to happen," Breezy added. "Missing the first two races, and coming back from injury - there's absolutely no guaruntee. So I'm thrilled to be qualified for Finals, to go to Cortina—which is a great hill for this whole team, and I'm going to try to carry the flag as well as I can."

Alice Merryweather also had a solid result on Saturday, ending up 20th. Jackie Wiles was just outside the top-30, landing in 31st. 

Despite sitting the last seven races out (three downhills, two super-Gs, a giant slalom, and a slalom), Mikaela continues to hold the lead in the overall standings, by 27 points over Italy’s Federica Brignone (who was just off the podium in fourth in Saturday's downhill) and 86 points ahead of Petra Vlhova, who finished in 14th in Saturday's downhill.

Corrine took home her first-ever Crystal Globe and became the first Swiss to win the downhill title since 1990-91. Czech Republic's Ester Ledecka sits in second in the standings, followed by Federica in third, Lara in fourth, and Mikaela in fifth. At this point, the current overall leader Mikaela's return to Europe and return to competition is unknown. 

Up next is an alpine combined—with one run of super-G and one run of slalom—on Sunday. 

RESULTS
Downhill

STANDINGS
Overall
Downhill

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Sunday, Feb. 23
12:30 a.m. - Women’s downhill, Crans-Montana, SUI - NBCSN*
4:15 a.m. - Women’s combined super-G, Crans-Montana, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Women’s combined slalom, Crans-Montana, SUI- Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Monday, Feb. 24
1:00 a.m. - Women’s combined, Crans-Montana, SUI - NBCSN*

*Next-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app. 

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow. 
 

Tommy Ford battled rough course conditions in Niigata Yuzawa Naeba, Japan to take third place—his second podium of the season.

Filip Zubcic of Croatia skied from 12th place first run to take his first FIS Ski World Cup victory by a commanding .74 seconds. Marco Odermatt of Switzerland was second.

Conditions were challenging throughout the day, with rotten snow greeting the athletes in the morning. But as the day warmed up, moisture came out of the snow, making it heavy and wet—perfect conditions for Tommy, who grew up in the damp Pacific Northwest. “I just tapped into some old experience that I’ve had on this kind of snow—I’ve had a lot of experience on soft, wet snow and ruts,” said Tommy. “I just really trusted that. I felt like I really kept it flowing.”

Tommy, who had started the season with a fourth-place result in Soelden and a big win on home turf in Beaver Creek, had struggled to find his rhythm in the last few weeks. The podium in Japan was a big score for him in confidence as he moves towards the end of the season. “I’m really grateful for that victory I had in Beaver Creek, but afterwards it was a struggle to deal with the extra attention from that and ground myself again,” said Tommy. “It’s been a bit of a struggle to find that consistency again, but I’m thankful for that struggle. It’s been a big learning experience that I haven’t had before.”

But Tommy knows he’s back on the track he was looking for and is someone to fear on the World Cup tour, hidden behind his low-key Pacific Northwest demeanor. “I may look calm on the outside, but I don’t have any problem getting my excitement up for a race,” he said. “It’s worth ignoring all the thoughts and really tuning in. My goal is to stay connected and continue with this consistency that I’ve been working on for years and enjoy these moments and keep working—keeping it simple.”

Rounding out the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team, Ted Ligety finished in 11th place. Ryan Cochran-Siegle and River Radamus also started but did not qualify for a second run.

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

RESULTS
Giant Slalom

STANDINGS
Overall
Giant Slalom

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Saturday, Feb. 22
7:45 p.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Yuzawa Naeba, JPN - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
11:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Yuzawa Naeba, JPN - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb. 23
12:30 a.m. - Women’s downhill, Crans-Montana, SUI - NBCSN*
4:15 a.m. - Women’s combined super-G, Crans-Montana, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Women’s combined slalom, Crans-Montana, SUI- Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
 

Breezy Johnson—who returned to competition from back-to-back knee injuries in January—matched her season-best from Bansko with a fifth-place on Friday in the first of two downhills in Crans-Montana, Switzerland to lead three Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team athletes into the top 30. 

For the second-straight day, the sun was shining down on the track, and though it was warm during the race, the temperatures dropped enough on Thursday night for the snow to firm up and create a surface that was a touch faster than in Thursday's downhill training run. The Swiss women really put on a show for the crowd, with Lara Gut grabbing her first downhill victory since January 2017 by a massive .80 margin, followed by Corrine Suter in second, and Austria's Stephanie Venier in third, .92 seconds back. 

Coming down bib four, Breezy was building time the entire way down and had a .33-second advantage before making a costly mistake at the bottom, that would put her in second behind Slovakia's Petra Vlhova by just 18 hundredths of a second. Though Petra was knocked off the podium, Friday's fourth-place result was her career-best downhill finish and earned her valuable points towards the overall title chase. 

Breezy, who returned in January from back-to-back knee injuries, grabbed two top-10 results in Bansko Bulgaria—a fifth and a 10th—and was happy to have earned a matching season-best result in Crans-Montana on a track that she's never skied before.  All of the blood, sweat, and tears in the last 18 months has paid off for Breezy. 

"I spent so long after my first injury, so excited to be back and I couldn't wait to be back, I started skiing and it was so nice but then I got injured again and I was devastated," reflected Breezy. "All I could think about was getting back to racing. Skiing was great, training was great, but race day is my favorite day. So, I am just SO grateful to be back, and I'm trying to take advantage of every moment and not let anything slip through my fingers."

"I was in the start this morning and I was like, 'You have been through too much sh*t to let this get to you," she continued. "I'm trying to enjoy this as much as possible. I've just been trying to ski the way that I have been dreaming about skiing for forever. I'm so blessed with the fact that my body is in line with what I want to do mentally, and that is so rare...so I'm so grateful to all of my therapists, and my strength coach, and both of my surgeons."

A bobble before the last split cost Breezy her first podium, but she's eager for a second opportunity on Saturday. "I came out of the start, and I went to the outside gate a little bit right at the top and was like, 'well, I can still arc this but it's not the fastest line, obviously,' and then I just tried to send it from there and ski as well as I could," she said. "I felt like I skied pretty well and then I came into the bottom pitch and the snow was a little peely down there...I didn't quite get the direction that I needed coming out of the triple, coming on to the last face, and then the snow just kind of peeled away from me and my skis were doing some weird things—I don't know if my tips crossed—definitely felt pretty strange. I was so backseat, and I told myself, 'you have to make that gate—you've been through too much to lose it now!'"

Alice McKennis grabbed some more points, finishing in 24th, while Alice Merryweather was 29th. Jackie Wiles got late and pulled low, then missed a gate. She DNFed but she is OK and skied down. 

Despite sitting the last six races out (two downhills, two super-Gs, a giant slalom, and a slalom), Mikaela continues to hold the lead in the overall standings, by 77 points over Italy’s Federica Brignone (who was seventh in Friday's downhill) and 104 points ahead of Petra Vlhova. In the downhill standings, Corrine leads the way with 397 points, followed by the Czech Republic's Ester Ledecka with 277, Federica with 270, and Mikaela with 256. At this point, the current overall leader Mikaela's return to Europe and return to competition is unknown. 

Friday's downhill was rescheduled from the Rosa Khutor (Sochi), Russia canceled downhill. Up next is another downhill on Saturday, followed by an alpine combined—with one run of super-G and one run of slalom—on Sunday. 

RESULTS
Downhill

STANDINGS
Overall
Downhill

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Saturday, Feb. 22
4:30 a.m. - Women’s downhill, Crans-Montana, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb. 23
12:30 a.m. - Women’s downhill, Crans-Montana, SUI - NBCSN*
4:15 a.m. - Women’s combined super-G, Crans-Montana, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Women’s combined slalom, Crans-Montana, SUI- Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Monday, Feb. 24
1:00 a.m. - Women’s combined, Crans-Montana, SUI - NBCSN*

*Next-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app. 

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow. 

The Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team heads to Crans-Montana, Switzerland for the women's speed crew and Yuzawa Naeba, Japan for the mens' tech team this weekend.

The women will tackle a rescheduled downhill from Rosa Khutor (Sochi), Russia, along with another downhill and an alpine combined at the Swiss venue, which appears to be in the best shape it's been in years. Breezy Johnson and Alice McKennis will lead the way for the women on a track that's flowy and "totally sendable," as Head Women's Speed Coach Chip White said in Thursday evening's team meeting. "It's not like Garmisch glass or Bansko rattle," he continued. "We've had one training run and you realize that now. Game time to send it. This is a downhiller's downhill."

That said, there's some weather coming in that could affect Friday's downhill, but Chip made sure to remind the women that Mother Nature is outside of our control. "Regardless of what Mother Nature sends us, we have to send it," he added. Conditions are better than ever, and though the women's speed team has struggled to find their groove this season with many athletes returning from significant injuries, with two downhills this weekend is a big opportunity for the women to make a statement. 

On the men's side, the tech athletes return to Yuzawa Naeba for the first time since 2016, and though conditions are not ideal, the men's giant slalom and slalom skiers will look to make their mark, led by Olympic champion Ted Ligety and 2019 Birds of Prey victor Tommy Ford. Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who has had his best career season, will also look to throw it in there. 

Despite sitting the last five races out (one downhill, two super-Gs, a giant slalom, and a slalom), Mikaela continues to hold the lead in the overall standings, by 113 points over Italy’s Federica Brignone (who was in 25th after the first run, but DNFed second run of Sunday's slalom) and 154 points ahead of Petra Vlhova. In the slalom standings, Petra has now surpassed Mikaela by 20 points, with 460 points, followed by Mikaela with 440.  In hopes of grabbing some valuable points towards the overall chase, both Federica and Petra will start in this weekend's races. At this point, the current overall leader Mikaela's return to Europe and return to competition is unknown. 

Check out how and who to watch below. 

MEN’S STARTERS
Ryan Cochran-Siegle
Tommy Ford
Ted Ligety 
River Radamus
Luke Winters

WOMEN’S STARTERS
Breezy Johnson
Alice McKennis
Alice Merryweather
Jackie Wiles

RESULTS
Women’s Downhill Training Run

START LISTS
Women’s Downhill

HOW TO WATCH 
All times EST

Friday, Feb. 21
4:00 a.m. - Women’s downhill, Crans-Montana, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:45 p.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 1, Yuzawa Naeba, JPN - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
11:00 p.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 2, Yuzawa Naeba, JPN - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Saturday, Feb. 22
4:30 a.m. - Women’s downhill, Crans-Montana, SUI - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:45 p.m. - Men’s slalom run 1, Yuzawa Naeba, JPN - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
11:00 p.m. - Men’s slalom run 2, Yuzawa Naeba, JPN - Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Sunday, Feb. 23
12:30 a.m. - Women’s downhill, Crans-Montana, SUI - NBCSN*
4:15 a.m. - Women’s combined super-G, Crans-Montana, SUI - Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold
7:30 a.m. - Women’s combined slalom, Crans-Montana, SUI- Olympic Channel, Olympic Channel.com, NBC Sports Gold

Monday, Feb. 24
1:00 a.m. - Women’s combined, Crans-Montana, SUI - NBCSN*

*Next-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app. 

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow. 

It was February 1st, 2020—an unusually warm day in Alpe Cimbra, Trentino, Italy, home of the official European training base for the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team. Olympic and World Champion and FIS Ski World Cup overall leader Mikaela Shiffrin was there to begin a training block, but she was also there to achieve yet another career-first: become the first Olympic athlete in this sport era to receive a solo Sports Illustrated cover outside of an Olympic year.

Mikaela was fresh off a two-for-three-win race weekend—a downhill and a super-G—and was fourth in the third event (downhill) in Bansko, Bulgaria. As was often the case, her father, Jeff, was there to watch his daughter, and to photograph Mikaela and other racers—a passion of his. Her mother, Eileen, was there to coach and be that constant companion who has been there for Mikaela for her entire career. Mikaela’s teammates on the women’s speed team mentioned how happy Jeff was in Bansko—not just because Mikaela was skiing well there, but that he just seemed “warm and happy in general.” He was incredibly proud of his children, both Mikaela and her older brother Taylor—who was a member of the two-time NCAA Champion University of Denver Ski Team. 

Often moving from one location to another in a hurry to get to the next training venue or race venue, the team does not have a chance to sit down post-race weekend, reflect, and celebrate. On a rare occasion on that Sunday evening after the Bansko super-G, the entire women’s speed team and staff—including Jeff and Eileen—went to a team dinner on Sunday evening after Bansko to celebrate the weekend’s successes. 

On Saturday at the World Cup in Bansko, Bulgaria, after Mikaela was fourth and teammate Breezy Johnson was fifth in the second of two downhills, Jeff sent images of Mikaela and Breezy to me, as he often did. On Sunday, after Mikaela won the super-G, he sent me a team picture and a few podium pictures of Mikaela. Always behind the camera and never in the spotlight, Jeff was described by NBC’s Tim Layden in a touching tribute as “the quiet, constant rock in Mikaela Shiffrin's life.” In an Instagram post on February 3rd, Mikaela described her father as “the firm foundation” of their family, adding that he was “Our mountains, our ocean, our sunrise, our heart, our soul, our everything.” 

Following the 24-year-old’s 65th and 66th victories (bringing her win tally to just one shy of Marcel Hirscher’s 67) in Bansko, she took an uncharacteristic break in World Cup competition to rest and recharge for the remainder of the season. As one of the few multi-event skiers on the World Cup (and the only athlete to win in all six currently contested disciplines), it is vital for Mikaela and her team to find balance in the near-impossible FIS World Cup schedule—which is tailored to athletes who specialize in one or two disciplines. During that break, she spent valuable time with her parents and her team. From there, she traveled to Alpe Cimbra, Trentino, Italy, for the cover shoot of Sports Illustrated’s March 2020 issue.  

Though it wouldn’t be Mikaela’s first solo Sports Illustrated cover, it would be her first cover outside of coverage of the Olympic Games. In fact, Mikaela would become the first Olympic athlete in this sport era to receive a solo Sports Illustrated cover outside of an Olympic year—yet another first for the young phenom. Certainly, after the dominance Mikaela has had in the sport she is more than deserving of mainstream media attention, but the media landscape in the United States is heavily focused on the big four: Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Football League (NFL), and the National Hockey League (NHL). 

Then, every four years, all eyes turn to ski racing...an “Olympic sport.” In fact, most people are not aware that World Championships happen every two years, let alone that World Cup competition happens every year, starting in October and lasting through March. If an athlete competes in every discipline, they’re competing almost every single weekend in the winter, and attempting to sneak in training in between for every discipline—from downhill to slalom. That’s akin to a track athlete attempting to maintain the endurance needed for the 1500m run, while also having the quickness and strength to compete in the 100m. And then win in all of them. It’s rare. And merits celebration. 

Mikaela has grown accustomed to the fact that each time she steps into the start gate, it’s another opportunity to rewrite history—the journalists won’t let her forget that, and she’s been known to playfully comment about all of the records that exist in this sport. Winning 17 World Cup races in a single season is something no one had ever achieved. By doing so in 2019, Mikaela broke a 30+ year record, which was previously held by Switzerland’s Vreni Schneider. Vreni had won 14 races. It’s unlikely (though Mikaela would be the first one to admit that it’s not impossible), that Mikaela’s record of 17 will ever be broken. 

In 2019, Mikaela won across four disciplines (super-G, giant slalom, slalom, parallel slalom). Inclusive of World Championships, she started in 29 races and had 24 podiums and 19 victories. There was an 83% chance she’d podium a race she entered and a 66% chance she’d win it. Given the number of races, these percentages show next-level dominance. Yet, Mikaela still grapples with this success and the notion that she’s “the most dominant athlete in Sport.” As the subheadline of the Sports Illustrated piece reads, "No athlete in the world dominates their sport—or grapples with success—like Shiffrin, whose season of ‘transition’ became even more challenging with the death of her father.”

And so, on February 1st, as she was being interviewed by Sports Illustrated, it was not surprising that she was still stunned about the honor of being March’s cover girl, “It’s such a cool thing to be at the point in my career where this is even possible, but I never imagined I’d actually be on Sports Illustrated not surrounding the Olympics...but just surrounding my own career separate from the Olympics is amazing,” she said, in her trademark unassuming and authentically humble disposition. 

It’s been admittedly tough for Mikaela to follow up and make sense of her historic 2019 season, which began with news that her beloved grandmother had passed away in October just before the World Cup opener in Soelden, Austria. After the Sports Illustrated shoot, the unthinkable happened when she received the phone call that her father Jeff had suffered a grave injury from an accident sustained at their Colorado home. Then, as Greg Bishop, a writer for Sports Illustrated said, “nothing made sense again.” 

“There’s one word that bothers Shiffrin: human. She hates when people say that about her, because it’s usually meant as an insult. She’ll barrel down some mountain, a blur on two skis, lose by hundredths of seconds in almost perfect races, only to hear some internet yahoo say it proves she’s human, as opposed to some sort of ski-racing cyborg. In the right context, though, Shiffrin is more human than most star athletes. She’s admittedly awkward, blissfully honest, yet introspective and open about her own vulnerability.”

Greg Bishop, a sportswriter for Sports Illustrated, wrote a beautiful piece that would both honor Jeff’s legacy, while at the same time perfectly portrays to the world how unique and special Mikaela Shiffrin—"the most dominant athlete on the planet"—is not only as an athlete but as a human being. And that, most certainly, comes from how she was raised by Jeff and Eileen.

“That Shiffrin can process what it feels like to control two skis attached to her feet while moving at 80 miles per hour, and not only analyze what that’s like but explain it to mere mortals, says something about her, too. Like: that maybe all the times she gets inside her own head are good for her. It’s a tricky balance, sure, but this is Mikaela Shiffrin, who can pull off the rarest of feats: She’s the most dominant athlete on the planet and doesn’t quite realize it.”

And, yet again, Jeff would be proud. 

Read Greg Bishop’s full article in Sports Illustrated, entitled “Mikaela Shiffrin’s View from the Top.”

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has named 15 promising athletes to the 2020 FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships Team to represent the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in Narvik, Norway, in six events March 5-14.

The 2020 squad is derived from the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team B, C, D teams, and the U.S. Ski & Snowboard National Development Group, as well as top U.S. Ski & Snowboard club program athletes from across the nation. Headlining this year's team are 2019 Junior Worlds' silver medalists Ben Ritchie, AJ Hurt, and Katie Hensien, and current NorAM overall leaders Keely Cashman and Bridger Gile. 

Last year at Junior Worlds in Val di Fassa, Italy, the American men's junior team put forth a best in the world effort. River Radamus took home gold in super-G and giant slalom, while teammate Ben Ritchie grabbed silver in slalom, and the team of Katie, AJ, River, and Ben was second in the mixed team parallel event. Keely finished just off the podium in the alpine combined, in fourth, and AJ and Katie each had top-10 results. Keely and Bridger are leading in the current overall NorAm standings. Bridger is also leading in giant slalom and alpine combined, while Keely is first in downhill. 

"We are excited to name a team of both experienced and first-time athletes to the 2020 World Junior Ski Championships," said Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team Development Director Chip Knight. "Four of the 15 athletes have had top-10 results in past WJSC events, six have won NorAm races this year, and all of them have performed well in NorAm Cup races. We are aiming for strong individual performances and a podium finish in the Marc Hodler overall team standings." 

In 2019, Switzerland won the Marc Hodler Trophy, with 107 points, followed by Norway with 86 points, and the U.S. rounding out the podium with 80 points. The U.S. has been steadily working towards the podium, getting fifth in the standings in Åre, Sweden in 2017, and fourth in Davos, Switzerland in 2018. 

The 2020 Junior Worlds will include men and women’s downhill, super-G, alpine combined, slalom, giant slalom, and a mixed team event. Live timing will be provided by FIS.

2020 FIS ALPINE JUNIOR WORLD SKI CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM
Name, Hometown; Team Affiliation; Club (Birthdate)

Women

• Keely Cashman, Strawberry, Calif; Squaw Valley Ski Team (4/4/1999)
• Katie Hensien, Redmond, Wash.; Rowmark Ski Academy and University of Denver (12/1/1999)
• Olivia Holm, Old Greenwich, Conn.; Burke Mountain Academy (7/12/2001)
• AJ Hurt, Carnelian Bay, Calif.; Squaw Valley Ski Team (12/5/2000)
• Lauren Macuga, Park City, Utah; Park City Ski & Snowboard Club (7/4/2002)
• Nicola Rountree-Williams, Edwards, Colo.; Independent/Private (7/7/2002) 
• Alix Wilkinson, Mammoth Lakes, Calif.; Squaw Valley Ski Team (8/2/2000)
• Zoe Zimmermann, Gilford, N.H.; Burke Mountain Academy (5/16/2002)

Men

• Jacob Dilling, Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail (10/19/1999)
• Bridger Gile, Aspen, Colo.; Aspen Valley Ski Club and Ski & Snowboard Club Vail (10/15/1999)
• Matthew Macaluso, Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail (6/29/1999)
• Isaiah Nelson, Wayzata, MN.; Buck Hill Ski Racing Club (4/3/2001)
• Ben Ritchie, Waitsfield, Vt.; Green Mountain Valley School (9/5/2000)
• Jack Smith, Sun Valley, Idaho; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (4/24/2001)
• Bradshaw Underhill, Newbury, N.H.; Killington Mountain School (3/10/2000)

NARVIK 2020 COMPETITION SCHEDULE
March 5 – Women's and men's downhill training
March 6  – Women's and men's downhill training
March 7  – Women's and men's downhill 
March 8  – Women's and men's super-G
March 9  – Women’s alpine combined
March 10  – Men’s alpine combined
March 11  – Women’s giant slalom
March 12  – Men’s giant slalom 
March 13  – Women's and men's slalom 
March 14  – Mixed Parallel Team Event

MORE INFORMATION
Narvik 2020 Official Website
Narvik 2020 Promotional Video

VAL DI FASSA 2019 MEDAL TALLY
Gold, Super-G, River Radamus
Silver, Team Event, Katie Hensien, AJ Hurt, River Radamus and Ben Ritchie 
Gold, Giant Slalom, River Radamus
Silver, Slalom, Ben Ritchie
Bronze, Marc Hodler Trophy, Team

OTHER TOP TEN 2019 RESULTS
4th, Alpine Combined, Keely Cashman
4th, Alpine Combined, River Radamus
5th, Super-G, Keely Cashman
6th, Slalom, Jimmy Krupka
6th, Downhill, Kyle Negomir
7th, Giant Slalom, AJ Hurt
8th, Downhill, River Radamus
8th, Alpine Combined, Kyle Negomir
10th, Slalom, Jett Seymour
10th, Slalom, Katie Hensien
10th, Downhill, AJ Hurt