PARK CITY, Utah December 12, 2019 – Tomorrow the Continental Cup season kicks off in Park City, UT. Over the next three days 65 athletes from 12 different nations will be competing between two venues. The ski jumping will take place at the Utah Olympic Park and the cross country races will take place at Soldier Hollow.
Highlighting the field over the next three days is Tara Geraghty-Moats (West Fairlee, VT) who won every nordic combined competition she competed in last year. Tara however, is coming off a nasty crash on the Ski Jumping World Cup last weekend in Lillehammer, Norway. “I’m going to try my best to start in every competition this weekend however I’m taking it one day at a time,” she says. Among her injuries is a bruised illiac crest and a bruised rip.
When asked what’s different heading into this season compared to last, Geraghty-Moats mentions pressure. “There’s more pressure now and there’s more excitement in women’s nordic combined building towards next year’s World Cup and World Championships.” As far as this weekend, she is just thankful for the opportunity saying, “It’s important to remember how long I’ve waited for the opportunity to compete in women’s nordic combined. I just want to enjoy it.”
On the men’s side, Ben Loomis (Eau Claire, WI) and Jasper Good (Steamboat Springs, CO) will be competing in their first competitions since joining the Army WCAP Program last spring. “Taking a step away from nordic combined this summer only makes me even more excited to compete again. Plus being able to start the season at home makes it even better.” says Loomis.
Both athletes seem more confident than ever before and attribute this to having a more long term outlook. “With the long term commitment I’ve made to nordic combined, I feel less stressed out than ever before. I know I can keep making steps forward towards my long term goals,” says Loomis. This is a statement Good agrees with saying, “Yeah this season is a bit different, having a longer term outlook has changed my training for the better.”
Looking at this weekend, both athletes are in a great position to lead the team into some high quality results. “I am really looking forward to showing the world that the Army boys are here to play. I want to be in the hunt and fighting for top results,” says Good.
USA Nordic will have eight start rights for men and 6 for women. There are some interesting athletes filling out those spots including Kathleen O’Connnell (Steamboat Springs, CO) making her return to nordic combined, and Carter Brubaker (Anchorage, AK) who recently qualified for the 2020 Youth Olympics, and who may be the first Alaskan to compete in a Nordic Combined Continental Cup.
Below are the starters for tomorrow as well as the schedule for the weekend.
Women’s Nordic Combined
Tara Geraghty-Moats (West Fairlee, VT)
Tess Arnone (Steamboat Springs, CO)
Annika Malacinski (Steamboat Springs, CO)
Kathleen O’Connell (Steamboat Springs, CO)
Nina Lussi (Lake Placid, NY)
Alexa Brabec (Steamboat Springs, CO)
Men’s Nordic Combined
Ben Loomis (Eau Claire, WI)
Jasper Good (Steamboat Springs, CO)
Jared Shumate (Park City, UT)
Grant Andrews (Steamboat Springs, CO)
Niklas Malacinski (Steamboat Springs, CO)
Aidan Ripp (Cloquet, MN)
Carter Brubaker (Anchorage, AK)
Evan Nichols (Lyme, NH)
Weekend Schedule
Friday December 13
9:00 am Trial Jump (Utah Olympic Park)
10:00 am Competition Jump
2:00 pm Men’s XC Race (Soldier Hollow)
2:45 pm Women’s XC Race
Saturday December 14
2:00 pm Men’s XC Race Mass Start (Soldier Hollow)
2:45 pm Women’s XC Race Mass Start
6:00 pm Trial Jump (Utah Olympic Park)
7:00 pm Competition Jump
Sunday December 15
9:00 am Trial Jump (Utah Olympic Park)
10:00 am Competition Jump
2:00 pm Men’s XC Race (Soldier Hollow)
2:45 pm Women’s XC Race
