US Ski Team has VERY Successful Season

Mon, Apr  30, 2007 - By US Ski Team

PARK CITY, Utah (April 19) – The U.S. Ski Team celebrated another banner year with the 2007 season as American athletes captured 32 victories (20 able/12 disabled) and a total of 78 podiums (47 able/31 disabled top-3 finishes) throughout the World Cup season. Additionally, six athletes had their first World Cup podiums and the U.S. garnered six World Championship medals.

Highlights include:

• Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, AK) notching the first women’s World Cup cross country podium in U.S. history
• Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, VT) finished the season ranked sixth sprint rankings, the best U.S. standing since the sprints were added in 1996
• Bill Demong (Vermontville, NY) capturing a silver medal in nordic combined at the World Championships, then charging to two more World Cup podiums to close the season
• Julia Mancuso’s (Olympic Valley, CA) tally of 10 alpine podiums with four wins in her historic run to finish third in the World Cup overall, the best women’s season since 1984
• Bode Miller (Bretton Woods, NH) winning four World Cups this season for 25 in his career, two shy of Phil Mahre’s U.S. record, with two in super G en route to his second SG World Cup title
• Jeret Peterson (Boise, ID) landing his “Hurricane”, the most difficult jump in aerials, to set the world record for highest score on one jump and most points in a World Cup contest
• Lindsey Van (Park City, UT) finishing in the Continental Cup top three standings for the third straight year for U.S. Women’s Ski Jumping Team
• Stephani Victor (Park City, UT), who led the U.S. Disabled Ski Team by winning the World Cup overall, slalom and giant slalom titles in the sit-ski class

CROSS COUNTRY

U.S. international cross country results showed more major improvement during the 2007 season with the first U.S. woman's podium in World Cup history from Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, AK), a World Championships top-5 from Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, VT) and his first top-10 in three years from a healthy Kris Freeman (Andover, NH).

For complete details: http://www.usskiteam.com/public/news.php?dId=3&sN=1&aId=2948

NORDIC COMBINED/JUMPING

Women were named to the U.S. Ski Jumping Team for the first time with the 2007 season but two brilliant performances by three-time Olympian Bill Demong (Vermontville, NY) overshadowed everything else in the U.S. nordic combined and jumping program during the season.

For complete details: http://www.usskiteam.com/public/news.php?dId=4&sN=1&aId=2951

ALPINE

Winter '07 was another solid season of alpine World Cup racing for the U.S. Ski Team. Three medals at the 2007 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships. A dozen World Cup victories. Twenty-eight top-3s. And with a bow toward the development pipeline, Alpine Director Jesse Hunt noted, U.S. skiers dominated the NorAm Cup racing, capturing 11 of the 12 titles.

For complete details: http://www.usskiteam.com/public/news.php?dId=2&sN=1&aId=2947

FREESTYLE

Former aerials World Cup champion Jeret "Speedy" Peterson (Boise, ID) set two world records in one historic jump during a January snowstorm and ex-moguls World Cup champion and Olympic medalist Shannon Bahrke (Tahoe City, CA) signaled her healthy return with two victories and a medal at the 2007 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships while ex-world champ Nate Roberts (Park City, UT) also medaled at Worlds.

For complete details: http://www.usskiteam.com/public/news.php?dId=1&sN=1&aId=2950

DISABLED

The U.S. Disabled Alpine Team tore through the 2007 season piling up four World Cup titles, including the overall, slalom and giant slalom globes by Stephani Victor (sit-ski; Park City, UT) driving the Team to second in the Nations Cup, while Chris Klebl (sit-ski; Heber City, UT) and Steve Cook (standup; Salt Lake City, UT) each finished second in the World Cup standings to lead the U.S. Disabled Cross Country squad.

For complete details: http://www.usskiteam.com/public/news.php?dId=5&sN=1&aId=2949