FIS Freestyle World Championships Wrap Up

Almost two weeks ago, on the eve of the 2019 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle & Freeski World Championships, presented by Toyota, U.S. Ski & Snowboard athlete Nate Holland (Squaw Valley, Calif) summed up his intent for the following days like this: “I came here to win and throw a party,” he said.

Though he remains the U.S.’s most successful male snowboard athlete ever, Holland’s World Championships podium plans did not work out. But plenty of other U.S. athletes did earn medals over the last 10 days--14, in fact. And, as his comments foreshadowed, the 2019 FIS World Championships were an unforgettable and inspiring celebration of winter sport that, despite cancellation of six events due to weather along the way, succinctly illustrated the unique power of winter sport to break down barriers and foster camaraderie.

“What an incredible ten days we had,” said Calum Clark, chair of the 2019 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships. “We had 1,400 athletes competing in dozens of medal events, and the world tuned in to see some of the best action I’ve ever seen in snow sports, right here in Utah. The athletes inspired us all and I think that was one of the main themes of these World Champs, inspiration. From the army of volunteers, whose smiles and hard work lit up the whole ten days, to the people who were up before sunrise every day, working to make sure the courses were as good as possible, everyone involved in the World Champs inspired each other."

Along with winning the medals race, a few of the more awesome moments delivered by U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes during the 10 days of the 2019 FIS World Championships included:

• Mick Dierdorff (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) snagging the first men’s gold medal, and his first World Cup win, on day one of the World Champs

• Lindsey Jacobellis’ (Stratton Mountain, Vt) come-from-behind final run of the World Championships first-ever mixed-gender team snowboardcross to grab gold for her and her teammate Dierdorff

• The enormous crowds that turned out to watch Park City home-girl Julia Krass snag silver in the freeski big air, her best career finish to date

• Snowboarder Chloe Kim’s (Torrance, Calif.) gold medal win in the halfpipe, continuing her more than yearlong run of winning every contest she enters

• Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.) becoming a two-time men’s freeski halfpipe World Champion

• The thrilling dual moguls competition under the lights at Deer Valley Resort, where U.S. athletes took three medals--silver for Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.) and Bradley Wilson (Butte, Mont.) and bronze for Tess Johnson (Vail, Colo.)

U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s 2019 FIS World Championships 14-medal cache included five gold, three silver and six bronze. Canada took home nine medals, followed by Switzerland at seven and both Russian and France at six.

The 2019 FIS World Championships concluded on Sunday with the closing ceremonies on Park City’s historic Main Street. Park City Mayor Andy Beerman passed the World Championships flag to FIS Council member Dexter Paine, who delivered the flag to Zhang Wenhao, vice secretary of Zhangjiakou Municipal Government, Beijing, China, host city for both the 2020 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle & Freeski World Championships and the next Olympic Winter Games in 2022.