Bode Miller competes during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup men's super combined on Jan. 26, 2014 in Kitzbuehel, Austria. With the Opening Ceremony for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games just one week away, most members of the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team are off this weekend. However, top members of the U.S. men’s alpine skiing team are in world cup action, and top U.S. junior athletes will be competing in cross-country skiing, speedskating and curling. Check out the Team USA Weekend Preview for all the details.
SKIING
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| Alpine skier Marco Sullivan poses during the NBC Olympics/ United States Olympic Committee photo shoot in West Hollywood, Calif. in April 2013 |
The final world cup alpine skiing race before the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games will be held this weekend in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Bode Miller trailed Max Franz of Austria by just .03 seconds in his opening downhill training run Thursday. Miller, 36, has been named to his fifth U.S. Olympic Team and will head to Sochi following the Swiss world cup. Miller last competed at this venue in 2003 when he won gold medals in the giant slalom and combined events and a silver medal in the super-G in the world championships.
Other American men in the field in St. Moritz this weekend are Ted Ligety, Marco Sullivan and Steven Nyman, all three of whom have been named to the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team. Ligety, the defending world champion in giant slalom, enters the giant slalom race in third place in the world cup standings.
The downhill race is set for Saturday while the giant slalom takes place Sunday.
TV: 10 a.m. ET Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday, Universal Sports
FIS U23 and Junior World Ski Championships, Jan. 28-Feb. 3, Val di Fiemme, Italy
Cross-country skier Jessie Diggins, a gold medalist in the team sprint at the 2013 World Championships, earned a silver medal in the freestyle sprint Wednesday at the U23 World Ski Championships. The race was the final competition for Diggins before the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
Diggins is one of 23 U.S. athletes at the U23 and junior worlds. Remaining events include the junior Nordic combined and ski jumping Saturday, junior men’s freestyle sprint and team Nordic combined on Sunday, and junior relay events Monday.
Also in skiing:
FIS World Cup Alpine, women’s giant slalom and slalom, Feb. 1-2, Kranjska Gora, Slovenia
TV: 1 p.m. ET Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday, Universal Sports
FIS World Cup, men’s ski jumping, Jan. 31-Feb. 2, Willingen, Germany
FIS World Cup, women’s ski jumping, Feb. 1-2, Hinzenbach, Austria
FIS World Cup, women’s and men’s cross country, Feb. 1-2, Toblach, Italy
SNOWBOARDING AND FREESKIING
Pop-Tarts U.S. Revolution Tour, Feb. 4-7, Seven Springs, Pa.
The Pop-Tarts U.S. Revolution Tour will kick off its 2014 season Tuesday at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Pennsylvania. The event will feature halfpipe and slopestyle competitions in snowboarding and freeskiing. The Olympic-sized halfpipe at Seven Springs is one of only two on the East Coast, measuring 160 meters long with 22-foot walls.
Also in snowboarding:
FIS World Cup Snowboarding, women’s and men’s parallel giant slalom, Feb. 1, Sudelfeld, Germany
LUGE
Junior World Championships, Jan. 31-Feb. 1, Igls, Austria
Tucker West, Aidan Kelly and Summer Britcher will compete in the Junior World Championships this weekend in Igls, Austria, before heading to Russia for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Britcher finished 12th in a senior world cup last week in Latvia.
SPEEDSKATING
US Speedskating Junior Short Track Championships, Feb. 1-2, Milwaukee
Races will be held Saturday and Sunday in the US Speedskating Junior Short Track Championships in Milwaukee. The Junior Long Track Championships begin Feb. 14 in Milwaukee. Both events are at the Pettit National Ice Center.
CURLING
USA Curling Junior National Championships, Jan. 24-Feb. 1, Seattle
The page playoffs begin Friday in the USA Curling Junior National Championships in Seattle. The winners of the men’s and women’s tournaments will represent the United States at the 2014 World Junior Championships beginning Feb. 26 in Switzerland.
Round-robin play has been held all week at the Granite Curling Club in Seattle. Four women’s teams and three men’s teams had won four of their first five matches to claim an early advantage on the road to the playoffs. The top four women’s teams: Sarah Anderson, Pennsylvania; Cory Christensen, Minnesota; Christine McMakin, Maryland; Shelby Sweet, Washington. The leading men’s teams: Scott Dunnam, Pennsylvania; Ethan Meyers, Minnesota; Branden Scheel, North Dakota.
BIATHLON
North American Cup, Feb. 1-2, La Patrie, Quebec, Canada
Competition will be held Saturday and Sunday in the fifth North American Cup event of the 2013-14 season. It will take place at the La Patrie Biathlon Center in Quebec, Canada. Individual races will be Saturday, followed by the team sprints Sunday.
CYCLING
UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, Feb. 1-2, Hoogerheide, Netherlands
Katie Compton, who won her second consecutive world cup season championship this year, will chase after her first world title Saturday in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships. Compton won five of the seven world cup races in dominant fashion in 2013-14. She captured the silver medal at the world championships last year.
Compton, a 10-time national champion, is among 21 U.S. riders who will compete at the worlds in the elite, U23 and junior divisions. Kaitlin Antonneau, who had two top-10 finishes in world cup races, will join Compton in the elite women’s race. Other U.S. riders are USA Cycling Pro CX standings champion Elle Anderson, Meredith Miller, Crystal Anthony and Arley Kemmerer.
Jeremy Powers, the national cyclo-cross champion, is among six U.S. cyclists in the elite men‘s race Sunday. Others are Tim Johnson, Ryan Trebon, Jonathan Page, Allen Krughoff and Zach McDonald. Powers prepped for the worlds by finishing 15th in last week’s world cup season finale in Nommay, France. Gavin Haley pulled out of the junior men’s race due to injuries sustained in a training crash in Belgium.
SOCCER
U.S. Men’s National Team vs. Korea Republic, Feb. 1, Carson, Calif.
Roster spots for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil will continue to be evaluated by U.S. Men’s National Team coach Jurgen Klinsmann when the team faces South Korea Saturday at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.
The team is back in the United States after holding a two-week camp in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
“The good thing about this camp is we widened the pool,” Klinsmann said. “I told all the guys, ‘Listen, in soccer a lot of things happen in a short amount of time, so it’s all about timing. It’s about how you prepare yourself the couple of months before a big tournament and what you show on the field.’ Now the door is always open until the middle of May when we cut it down to the 23 guys.”
TV: 5 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPN2
U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Canada, Jan. 31, Frisco, Texas
The U.S. Women’s National Team will open its 2014 schedule Friday night, when it faces Canada at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The game begins a stretch of three games in two weeks in the United States. The national team also will play Russia Feb. 8 in Boca Raton, Fla., and Russia again Feb. 12 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
The U.S. lineup includes forward Abby Wambach, midfielders Heather O’Reilly and Carli Lloyd, defenders Christie Rampone and Rachel Van Hollebeke (formerly Rachel Buehler, who is now using her married name), and goalkeeper Hope Solo. Star forward Alex Morgan will not play due to her recovery from an ankle injury.
TV: 9 p.m. ET Friday, Fox Sports 1
WRESTLING
Dave Schultz Memorial International Wrestling Championships, Jan. 30-Feb. 1, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Coleman Scott, a bronze medalist at the London 2012 Olympic Games, and Elena Pirozhkova, a 2012 world champion and 2012 Olympian, are among the U.S. freestyle wrestlers entered in the Dave Schultz Memorial International Wrestling Championships.
Athletes from 23 nations are competing in the 16th tournament at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Men’s freestyle will be held Friday, followed by women’s freestyle Saturday. The tournament began with Greco-Roman on Thursday.
Scott will compete at 61 kilograms and Pirozhkova is wrestling up a weight class at 69 kilograms. Other U.S. wrestlers in the tournament include 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Randi Miller, 2012 Olympian Kelsey Campbell and two-time world bronze medalist Alyssa Lampe in women’s freestyle.
The tournament is named in memory of Dave Schultz, an Olympic and world champion in men’s freestyle who was killed in 1996.
FENCING
Grand Prix, women’s epée, Feb. 1, Budapest, Hungary
The U.S. Women’s Epée Team, which finished fourth in its season-opening world cup tournament and defeated defending world champion Russia two weeks ago, is in Budapest, Hungary, for the Budapest Grand Prix. The team includes London 2012 Olympic bronze medalists Courtney and Kelley Hurley.
Also in fencing:
Grand Prix, women’s foil, Jan. 31, Gdansk, Poland
Grand Prix, women’s sabre, Feb. 1, Orleans, France
Junior World Cup, women’s and men’s saber, Feb. 1-2, Phoenix
Junior World Cup, men’s and women’s epée, Feb. 1-2, Gothenburg, Sweden
Junior World Cup, women’s foil, Feb. 1, Lyon, France
Junior World Cup, men’s foil, Feb. 1, Barcelona
SAILING
ISAF Sailing World Cup, Jan. 27-Feb. 1, Miami
Racing continues through Saturday in 10 Olympic classes and three Paralympic classes in the ISAF Miami Sailing World Cup. The regatta will be part of the evaluating process for the 2014 US Sailing Team Sperry Top-Sider. More than 500 sailors from 50 nations are competing.
Paige Railey of the United States was the leader in Laser Radial after two days of competition. Light winds affected racing Tuesday and weather conditions caused the cancellation of racing Wednesday.
GYMNASTICS
Nastia Liukin Cup Series qualifiers, Jan. 30-Feb. 2, various locations
The fifth annual Nastia Liukin Cup Series continues this weekend with three qualifying competitions. The series includes 20 events in 14 states with winners qualifying to compete in the Nastia Liukin Cup on Feb. 28 in Greensboro, N.C. This week’s events: Wisconsin Dells Gymnastics Vacation Classic, Jan. 30-Feb. 2, Wisconsin Dells, Wis.; Arizona Sunrays Classic Rock Invitational, Jan. 31-Feb. 2, Phoenix; Circle of Stars Gymnastics Invitational, Jan. 31-Feb. 2, Indianapolis.
WEIGHTLIFTING
USA Weightlifting National Junior Championships, Jan. 31-Feb. 2, Aurora, Colo.
Competition begins Friday in the USA Weightlifting National Junior Championships. The tournament will be held at the Crowne Plaza, Denver International Airport Convention Center, and is a part of the inaugural Aurora Sports Festival.
Among the competitors is American record holder Sydney Goad, the daughter of Olympian Robin Goad. Sydney is named after Sydney, Australia, where Robin finished fifth in lifting at the 2000 Olympic Games.
JUDO
USA Cup Cadet and Junior World Judo Tour, Feb. 1, Delray Beach, Fla.
Competition will be held Saturday for junior- and cadet-level athletes at the USA Cup and Junior World Judo Tour in Delray Beach, Fla.
Story courtesy Red Line Editorial, Inc. Paul D. Bowker is a freelance contributor for TeamUSA.org.