Another weekend of international competition is in the books for USA Nordic’s ski jumping team. Four of the men’s ski jumpers competed in the Summer Grand Prix in Zakopane, Poland. The rest of the ski jumping team competed in Frenstat, Czech Republic- for the men it was a Continental Cup and for the women it was a Summer Grand Prix. There were a few highlights this weekend for USA Nordic, most of them coming from Frenstat.
The headline of last weekend was men’s ski jumper Patrick Gasienica (Spring Grove, Ill) scoring his first-ever Continental Cup points. Not only did he jump into the top 30, but he did so convincingly, finishing in 17th place on Sunday in Frenstat. Putting two solid jumps together in the competition is a task Gasienica has struggled with in the past, “I’ll have one good jump then a bad jump in the second round, or vice versa,” says Gasienica. However, this is starting to become a problem of the past for him as he reflects, “For some reason, my best jumps have been coming in competition lately.”
Gasienica is just another of coach Jan Druzina’s athletes who continue to show impressive improvement. When asked about this, Druzina says, “The biggest change I’ve seen in these athletes is the desire to be on top, not being afraid of anyone else.” This shift in mindset has obviously made a difference on the results sheet. Gasienica is now the fifth men’s ski jumper with Continental Cup points which makes him eligible to compete on the World Cup. “We now have five guys capable of competing on the World Cup which is one of our goals,” says head coach Bine Norčič. Gasienica hopes to continue with this kind of form as he travels to Romania for more Continental Cup action. “My confidence is through the roof,” says Gasienica.
Another highlight of the weekend was Anna Hoffmann (Madison, WI) making her Summer Grand Prix debut in Frenstat. When asked what the biggest difference between the Continental Cup and Summer Grand Prix is, Hoffmann replies, “This weekend I found myself competing against a large group of women who I have always looked up to, so it was a bit strange to finally compete against them.”
Being star-struck didn’t seem to affect Hoffmann’s performance as she jumped into the top 40 in qualification on Saturday, thus qualifying her for the event on Sunday. She followed this up with a 32nd place on Sunday, just missing out on her first World Cup points. “It was great to be that close to points but now it makes me even hungrier to get better,” says Hoffmann.
The men’s ski jumping team didn’t quite find the success it was looking for in Zakopane, Poland this past weekend. Kevin Bickner (Wauconda, Ill) showed strong jumps in training and qualification, qualifying in 29th place for the event. Bickner’s competition jump on Sunday though wasn’t as good as his prior jumps and left him out of the second round.
Casey Larson (Barrington, Ill), Decker Dean (Steamboat Springs, CO), and Andrew Urlaub (Eau Claire, WI) joined Bickner on Saturday for the team event. The team put forward some solid jumps on Saturday but still felt like the performance was on a lower level than in weekends past. “We are still on the level of testing equipment and improving new things in technique so it’s normal to lack consistency at this time of year,” says Norčič
Bickner and Larson will travel to Japan for another Summer Grand Prix while Dean and Urlaub will join Gasienica and others for a training camp in Slovenia before heading to Romania for Continental Cups. On the women’s side, Nina Lussi and Logan Sankey will stay in Europe and continue to compete in Summer Grand Prix.
A few athletes are flying home from Europe to begin school, this is the case with such a young team. Hoffmann started classes at the University of Utah yesterday. She will be balancing biology, biology lab, and chemistry with ski jumping as she continues to set her sights on the World Cup stage.
Nordic combined is back now as well, beginning its Summer Grand Prix series next weekend in Oberweisenthal, Germany. Tara Geraghty-Moats (West Fairlee, VT) will be the lone American competing as the men’s team will skip Summer Grand Prix. Geraghty-Moats looks to defend her title in Oberwiesenthal and continue where she left off after a dominant winter season.
Stay tuned and as always, check the FIS Ski website for live results.
1 Comment
while many other young Americans competed in their first-ever FIS Cup competition. Men s ski jumping coach Jan Druzina was really happy with what he saw, especially on Sunday. Sunday s competition was great for our team. It was not just about the results we achieved. Every athlete showed their best, including the younger ones. For some, it was the first FIS cup in their career. It s important that younger and talented athletes have the ability to learn from our experienced athletes. Going forwards, Druzina hopes to see this continued growth led by great the veterans of the team.