Alana Nichols and Danelle Umstead highlight the nominees to the 2014 U.S. Paralympic Alpine Skiing Team.
 2014 U.S. Paralympic
Alpine Skiing Team nominees subject to USOC approval
Women *Lindsay Ball (Benton, Maine) |
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - U.S. Paralympics, a division of the United States Olympic Committee, announced today that 26 athletes and four guides have been nominated to the 2014 U.S. Paralympic Alpine Skiing Team that will compete at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, March 7-16. The nominations are subject to the approval of the USOC.
“We have put together a very strong team that has incredible depth on both the men’s and women’s side,” said Kevin Jardine, high performance director U.S. Paralympics alpine skiing and snowboarding. “When you look at the fact that we’ve had 16 different athletes podium in world cup events this season, and we have all five medalists returning from Vancouver, I have every reason to believe that this team can be very successful in Sochi, and I can’t wait to see what they do.”
Team USA has had a strong 2013-2014 season on the International Paralympic Committee Alpine Skiing World Cup circuit with 70 podium finishes. Sixteen of 26 athletes nominated to the team have recorded a world cup podium since the season began in August.
The team boasts seven athletes who have won 22 Paralympic alpine skiing medals over the past three Games. All five athletes who medaled at the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games will be back to defend their podium positions. Those athletes are: Mark Bathum (Seattle, Wash.), Alana Nichols (Farmington, N.M.), Laurie Stephens (Wenham, Mass.), Danelle Umstead (Park City, Utah) and Stephani Victor (Park City, Utah).
Chris Devlin-Young (Bethlehem, N.H.) has the most winter Games experience, with Sochi marking his fifth Games after competing in Vancouver, Torino, Salt Lake City and Lillehammer. Allison Jones, a two-sport athlete in cycling and skiing, has competed in every winter and summer Games since 2002, with Sochi marking her seventh Paralympic Games.
Four of the athletes who will represent Team USA in Sochi have previously served their country in the military: Heath Calhoun (Army/Bristol, Tenn.), Devlin-Young (Coast Guard), Joel Hunt (Army/Kokomo, Ind.) and Jon Lujan (Marine Corps/Littleton, Colo.)
Competition for alpine skiing will take place March 8-16, with March 12 scheduled as an off-day. Athletes will compete in five disciplines: downhill, super-G, super combined, slalom and giant slalom. A list of events entered by each athlete will be available in late February.
The USOC and NBC Olympics have partnered to provide an unprecedented level of coverage to the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games. NBC and NBC Sports Network will combine to air 50 hours of television, starting on March 7 with the Opening Ceremony. It will be followed by daily coverage of all five Paralympic sports in the Sochi program, before the Games' Closing Ceremony is broadcast on March 16. In addition, TeamUSA.org will live stream all events from the Paralympic Winter Games.
The unprecedented 2014 Paralympic Winter Games coverage is made possible through the support of sponsors BMW, BP, Citi, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Procter & Gamble and The Hartford.
U.S. Paralympic Team nominees for alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, sled hockey, snowboarding and wheelchair curling will be finalized by the USOC no later than Feb. 21, the deadline to submit Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games delegation rosters to the International Paralympic Committee. Selection procedures and dates can be found at TeamUSA.org/ParalympicGames/.
