Wednesday, February 11, 2009
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Tom Kelly, tkelly@ussa.org
Looking Ahead: Vancouver One Year Out
While winter sport competition pushes on around the world, this week, U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboarding athletes look one year ahead to a competition that represents the completion of goals met and dreams reached for athletes everywhere - the Olympics.
On Feb. 12, 2010, the opening ceremonies will commence two weeks of competition on the world's stage from Vancouver, where battles will be won and lost, but everyone will walk away an Olympian. The year-out date will find top U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboarding athletes competing from Vancouver to Moscow, battling for this year's World Cup titles, but thinking, too, about Olympic medals 12 months from now.
A few of the top U.S. contenders took time from their global competition travels this week to tell their story a year out from the 2010 Olympic Winter Games - where are they now and where will they be a year from now at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
Shannon Bahrke
Today: Are, Sweden
2010: Feb. 13 – Women's moguls, Cypress Mountain
Shannon Bahrke (Tahoe City, CA) won Olympic moguls silver in 2002 at Deer Valley Resort as a rising new star. Since then she's won a World Cup title, two World Championship medals, started her own business (Silver Bean Coffee, named after her medal) and become engaged to be married. Nine years later, she's still one of the best moguls skiers in the world.
"I am super optimistic about the Olympics 12 months from now. I have had an OK season with my skiing and speed, but my jumps far from where they need to be. I know where I have to improve and I know I can do that with time," Bahrke said after a week on Vancouver's Cypress Mountain. "I really want to go back to the Olympics and represent the United States one more time. I know I have it in me to make it happen!"
After the 2002 Olympics, Bahrke was one of the pioneers of new, inverted aerial maneuvers in moguls skiing, helping innovate her sport for the future.
She'll spend the one-year out date in Are, Sweden, preparing for a pair of World Cups this weekend.
Hannah Kearney
Today: Are, Sweden
2010: Feb. 13 – Women's moguls, Cypress Mountain
Joining Bahrke in Are will be the 2005 World Champion in moguls skiing, Hannah Kearney (Norwich, VT), who failed to qualify for finals in Torino. A year later, injuries kept her sidelined for almost two years. But she didn't lose a step. A year out from Vancouver, Kearney is leading the FIS Freestyle World Cup with two wins and was second in the debut of the Olympic course in Cypress Mountain.
"It's hard to believe that it has been exactly three years since the last Olympics. In some ways it feels like yesterday. But I have grown up a lot since then and I am a stronger athlete now," Kearney said. "I am excited for the Vancouver games for so many reasons. I will be more prepared because I know what to expect and I am looking forward to having a chance to redeem myself for my last Olympic showing. I am planning on enjoying these games and taking in every moment."
Kearney is known as a fierce competitor. She will clearly draw motivation from Torino. And she also knows her toughest challenge will come from a Canadian, Jenn Heil, who beat Kearney in the pre-Olympics. It should be quite a matchup on the first day of Olympic competition.
Seth Wescott
Today: Cypress Mountain
2010: Feb. 15 – Men's snowboardcross, Cypress Mountain
Olympic champion Seth Wescott (Sugarloaf, ME) had a reality check as he flew into Vancouver this week. "Arriving in Vancouver today I was struck by the fact we are only one year to go until the 2010 games. The city is abuzz with construction, and has the feel of gearing up."
While fans take in the ambience and excitement of Vancouver, Wescott and company are checking it out on-snow. "For me this week is all about the test. Getting to race on the course at Cypress where we will do battle next February will be what really puts this next year of my life into focus."
The veteran is philosophical about the next year of his life, knowing full well that as defending champion, he's on everyone's radar, including his teammates. "I am motivated, healthy and looking forward to the challenge of the next year and the process of the journey to get back to the stage where I can live my dream again. The journey builds your strength, resolve and passion as I move towards Feb. 15, 2010, the day a year from now when I will defend my gold for the USA!"
Lindsey Jacobellis
Today: Cypress Mountain
2010: Feb. 16 – Women's snowboardcross, Cypress Mountain
Lindsey Jacobellis remains, as she was in 2006, the queen of her sport. She has dominated with seven X Games SBX wins along with 16 World Cup victories (including one in halfpipe). But she's looking to upgrade her silver in Cypress Mountain next year.
"Of course I want to upgrade my medal," she said from the Olympic venue outside Vancouver this week. "That's what being a true competitor is all about."
Jacobellis is in town with to checkout the Olympic course for the first time. "This event will be a good opportunity to test out the hill because it will be built by the same course designer."
It seems like yesterday that she won silver in Torino. "So far, the three years have flown by. Once you gear up into competition it goes by so fast. I'm looking forward to the summer to get some down time - a chance to get physically and mentally prepared for the first qualifier in Argentina."
Lindsey Vonn
Today: Val d'Isere
2010: Feb. 17 – Women's downhill (also Feb. 14 super combined, Feb. 20 super G, Feb. 24 giant slalom, Feb. 26 slalom), Whistler
Reigning World Cup overall champion and double World Championship gold medalist Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) said that, while a year away, she's already anticipating the chance to complete a goal.
"I've been looking forward to the Olympics since 2006. I wasn't able to accomplish my goal of winning an Olympic medal there, but after winning the super G and downhill gold at World Championships this year, I know I can compete and win in big events," Vonn said from the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships in Val d'Isere, France. "Winning the World Cup overall title was great, winning a World Champs medal is cool too, but winning an Olympic medal is the highest honor. I clinched the downhill title in Whistler last year, so I know that I can compete there."
Vonn will have a busy Olympics, likely competing in five events. But if there's one special day on her mind, it's the women's downhill on Wednesday, Feb. 17. Her mind will still be fresh with the good memory of clinching the World Cup title on Franz's Run at Whistler a year ago. But it's also bittersweet with the knowledge that she didn't win that day – she was second!
Andy Newell
Today: Valdidentro, Italy
2010: Feb. 17 – Men's cross country sprint, Whistler Olympic Park
Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, VT) wants to raise the bar from his 16th place cross country finish in the 2006 Games. Since then, he's been on the World Cup podium twice. Known as one of the fastest sprinters, Newell says being a year away has him ready to do what it takes to reach his goals.
"I'm feeling more confident than ever that we'll be ready to compete. This season is far from over but we've already learned a lot about what it takes to peak our fitness for the big events and what kind of training we're going to need to do over the next 365 days in order to be in medal contention," Newell said from the World Cup circuit in Italy, a week before the Nordic Ski World Championships in the Czech Republic. "I am for sure more excited than nervous. That might change by the night before my event, but right now I'm fired up."
Newell skis a specialty that changes from freestyle to classic technique for Vancouver. "This year World Champs are skate, but once we've moved past that we'll have a big focus on striding and double poling. We had a chance to race the course this year during the pre Olympic World Cups and I was stoked at how nicely the sprint course skied. There's lots of room to pass and it has some good uphills."
Like many athletes, he's happy to be "home" for the Games. "It definitely doesn't hurt that they are so close to home. It's going to allow us to have a more relaxed camp leading into the games and for once we'll have a little less travel than our competition.
"I'm most excited to compete in the Vancouver Olympics because I feel more prepared than ever to take a stab at a medal."
Kikkan Randall
Today: Valdidentro, Italy
2010: Feb. 17 – Women's cross country sprint, Whistler Olympic Park
"When the IOC announced that Vancouver would be the host for the 2010 Olympics, I had to pinch myself," said Kikkan Randall. "Could I really be that lucky?"
Randall was a story in Torino with the best U.S. women's Olympic finish in history (ninth). She was a bigger story a year ago when she won a World Cup in Russia. One of her strategies has been to spend a lot of time at the Whistler Olympic Park.
"Because the Olympics will essentially be in our backyard, the U.S. Ski Team has been taking full advantage of Whistler’s proximity to get to know the venue, the area, the weather, the protocol, so that come Olympic race day, everything will be normal and we can just relax and perform."
Randall's challenge will be taking her proven skills as a freestyle technique sprinter over to the classic technique that will be run in 2010. It's all a part of her long term – i.e. lifetime – strategy.
"When I first began my international ski career, I always looked toward 2010 as my first chance to be a medal contender. I knew it would take at least 10 years of training and experience to be ready to compete on the world’s highest stage. The time has flown by incredibly fast and 2010 is now just a year away."
Hannah Teter
Today: Cypress Mountain
2010: Feb. 18 – Women's snowboarding halfpipe, Cypress Mountain
Hannah Teter and Shaun White made history in Torino, doubling up on gold and following in the footsteps of Kelly Clark and Ross Powers from 2002. But it now means Teter comes into Vancouver as the defending champion. Teter is quick to remember her roots and why she snowboards in the first place.
"I just wanna keep the mindset of remembering why I snowboard, which is to have fun," she said while checking out the 2010 venue in Cypress Mountain. "If I forget that, it's all over."
The Vermont native has also been able to put her gold medal into a global perspective, and to give back as a humanitarian. "Winning the Olympics was a thought that was counterbalanced with feeling honored and blessed to be able to attend such a big event. I told myself that if I were to do well, the obligation to use that to help the people of this planet who have less than I do, would be a major goal and priority."
She has clearly done that, donating all of her ongoing prize money to a village in Africa and using her platform as an Olympic champion to raise awareness globally to her cause. "My main focus is to be conscious of all things going on around me, and to excel in the sport that I love so much!"
Gretchen Bleiler
Today: Cypress Mountain
2010: Feb. 18 – Women's snowboarding halfpipe
X Games champion and Olympic silver medalist Gretchen Bleiler (Aspen, CO) will be hanging her hat in Vancouver on the one-year-out night, checking out the superpipe at Cypress Mountain overlooking the city.
We can all feel the excitement and pressure of the Olympics just one year away," she said from Vancouver. "We're trying new things, progressing and pushing ourselves in preparation, and it's going to be an exciting year."
Bleiler's fame has grown since her 2006 silver, especially with a dominating performance in the 2008 X Games to take gold.
Emily Cook
Today: Moscow
2010: Feb. 20 – Women's aerials, Cypress Mountain
Emily Cook (Belmont, MA) won the hearts of America in 2002 when a horrific training accident in Lake Placid took her out of the Salt Lake City Olympic Games. She came back to make the Team in 2006. But her career really came into focus when she won a World Cup in Moscow in front of 25,000 Russian fans, including then President Vladimir Putin last season.
Cook has now become a regular podium contender, has polished her basic jumps and is working on even bigger degree of difficulty maneuvers. A year out from the 2010 Games, she was falling in love - with the Olympic aerial hill in Cypress.
"I absolutely love the Olympic site in Cypress," she said from Moscow. "I had an incredible week of training and competition in Vancouver - lots of great jumps and a very high landing percentage on that hill. I absolutely love the city!
"My Olympic experiences have been so different throughout the years, from watching in 98, qualifying and then watching again in 2002 and actually having the opportunity to compete in 2006. I now feel like I have the perfect combination of training, preparation and experience for Vancouver in 2010 and I am so excited to go there and represent our team! I really can't wait and can't believe it's just one year away!"
Ted Ligety
Today: Val d'Isere
2010: Feb. 21 – Men's GS (also super combined Feb. 16, slalom Feb. 27), Whistler
Being familiar with skiing well in Whistler is something the Olympic combined gold medalist Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) says is an advantage.
"I feel like I'm skiing well right now and it's always fun to be competing at big races. Vancouver isn't really that far away and I'm looking forward to competing in Whistler," Ligety said from France. "I was fourth in the last World Cup we had there, so I know that I can compete for a medal. Whistler is a cool town to be in and I'm sure it's going to be sweet for the Olympics."
Like Vonn, Ligety will be busy in Whistler. And while the world will wait to watch him open with the super combined on Feb. 16, one of his biggest focuses will be on Sunday, Feb. 21 when the World Cup giant slalom champion puts it on the line in the Olympic GS.
Jeret "Speedy" Peterson
Today: Moscow
2010: Feb. 22 – Men's aerials, Cypress Mountain
Jeret "Speedy" Peterson (Boise, ID) took the 2006 Torino Olympics by storm - or, rather, by Hurricane. His unique quintuple twisting triple flip was much anticipated and only an ever so slight touch of the hand on the snow kept him from the medals. The Idaho native came back in 2007 to nail the Hurricane in a World Cup at Utah's Deer Valley Resort to win and set a new scoring record. He took the 2008 season off and came back winning in 2009.
A year out from the 2010 Games, Speedy was on the hill in Cypress Mountain outside Vancouver. "I'm very glad to see that I like this site. The actual jump hill reminds me a lot of Deer Valley and I have always loved that hill. It gives me a lot to look forward to and gets the endorphins pumping for sure. It makes you want to train that much harder knowing you will be competing there in one year for your shot at an Olympic medal."
Speedy will be celebrating the one-year-out date in Moscow, preparing for a huge World Cup in front of 25,000 fans this weekend.
Billy Demong
Today: Klingenthal, Germany
2010: Feb. 23 – Nordic combined team event (also Feb. 14, 25 individual events), Whistler Olympic Park
Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY) is feeling fresh and relaxed in Klingenthal, a small village in eastern Germany on the Czech Republic border. It seems like forever ago that he won one of two pre-Olympic test events at the Whistler Olympic Park last month and was second in the other.
"I am feeling really good about where my season is going and especially where our team is at right now. I am eager to compete in the World Championships in Liberec [Czech Republic] and finishing the World Cup season after that. I'm especially excited about the size and strength of our squad from the return of Todd Lodwick to the juniors who have placed well in Continental Cups and World Juniors this season."
Demong has three dates marked on his calendar, with individual events Feb. 14 and 25. But a big focus will be putting the pride of a decade of teammates on the line Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010 at the Whistler Olympic Park for the nordic combined team event where Demong, Lodwick, Johnny Spillane and a fourth skier will be a team to be reckoned with at the Olympics.
While it's not Lake Placid, Park City or Steamboat Springs, it will almost be like home next February in Canada. "Though the distance may not be an advantage the certainty that many friends and family will be in attendance is motivating. And Canada is a bit more like home in terms of language, people, food and culture so I am very happy to be able to attend another Olympics in North America."
But it's still a year away, and Demong's focus is not on Canada, but on the Czech Republic where he will defend his World Championships silver medal from 2007. "My focus continues to be on the job at hand but with a long term eye on Vancouver.
"I feel that I am nearing the peak of my abilities in my career to compete in these Olympic Games!"
