USA Nordic - Weekend Recap – Ljubno & Schonach World Cups
The 2023/2024 FIS World Cup circuit continued for USA Nordic Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined athletes last weekend. Women’s Ski Jumping competed in Ljubno, Slovenia, with Men’s and Women’s Nordic Combined competing in Schonach, Germany.
Women's Ski Jumping
Competition in Ljubno got started on Friday, January 29th, as Annika Belshaw, Paige Jones and Sam Macuga took the hill for the HS94 Qualification. Belshaw qualified in 23rd, after going 82.0 meters for 109.1 points, with Jones jumping to 77.5 meters for 100.4 points, qualifying 33rd overall. Macuga finished just outside of qualification, placing 44th overall with a 72.0 meter jump for 91.3 points. During the Individual HS94 World Cup on Saturday, January 27th, Jones went 77.5 meters for 97.8 points, placing her 38th overall, as she was unable to advance to the final round. Belshaw went 83.5 meters in the first round, giving her 117.8 points, as she was able to advance to the final round of action. Belshaw then put together a 83.0 meter jump for 115.3 points in the second round, giving her 233.1 points on the day and placing 21st overall. With this, Belshaw has now recorded individual World Cup points on two separate occasions this season, with 21st overall being her highest individual World Cup finish of the season.
The weekend wrapped up on Sunday, January 28th, as athletes participated in another HS94 Qualification. All three athletes were able to qualify for Sunday’s Individual HS94 World Cup, with Belshaw coming in 28th (84.0 meters, 115.4 points), Jones coming in 32nd (79.5 meters, 104.7 points) and Macuga coming in 36th (80.5 meters, 102.3 points). Later in the day, during the first round of the Individual HS94 World Cup, Belshaw placed 33rd overall after going 80.5 meters for 106.0 points. Jones placed 38th (79.5 meters, 102.9 points) and Macuga placed 39th (79.0 meters 102.2 points), as all three athletes were unable to advance to the final round, ending their time in Ljubno, Slovenia.
Women's Nordic Combined
After the Provisional Competition Round on Friday, January 26th, was cancelled, athletes kicked-off competition Schonach, Germany, with a HS100/4km World Cup on Saturday, January 27th. On the hill, Annika Malacinski jumped to 83.5 meters for 105.5 points, putting her in the 14th position for the 4km race. Alexa Brabec then jumped to 76.5 meters for 83.4 points, which landed her in the 22nd position for the second portion of the competition. During the 4km, Malacinski was able to ski up, placing 11th overall (11:07.0 total time) for her sixth top 15 finish of the season. Brabec followed in 23rd, completing the 4km race course in 11:46.7.
The final event of the weekend came on Sunday, January 28th, as athletes competed in the HS100/8km World Cup. Brabec jumped to 20th overall, after going 78.5 meters for 86.7 points, with Malacinski coming in at the 25th position, as she put together a 78.5 meter jump for 72.1 points. During the 8km race, Brabec was able to ski up, finishing the race 15th overall (24:05.1 total time). Malacinksi followed in 21st, as she finished the 8km course with a total time of 24:00.8.
Men's Nordic Combined
The Provisional Competition Round on Friday, January 26th, was cancelled for Men’s Nordic Combined as well. Ben Loomis, Grant Andrews, Niklas Malacinski and Stephen Schumann then took the hill on Saturday, January 27th, as they competed in the first HS100/10km World Cup of the weekend. On the hill, Loomis jumped to 32nd overall (90.5 meters, 118.6 points), with Malacinski coming in 36th (87.0 meters, 116.8 points) and Schumann coming in 37th (90.5 meters, 115.7 points), and Andrews rounding things off in 45th (83.0 meters, 105.8 points). During the 10km race, Malacinski skied up to 28th overall (23:14.1 total time), with Loomis right behind in 29th (23:24.7 total time). Schumann then finished 32nd overall (23:18.5), with Grant Andrews finishing in 45th (24:49.3 total time).
Men’s Nordic Combined then competed in the final HS100/10km World Cup of the weekend on Sunday, January 28th. On the hill, Loomis yet again had the best jump of the day, as he went 90.0 meters for 115.4 points, placing him 31st overall for the 10km race. Malacinski then came in 38th (84.0 meters, 109.6 points), with Andrews in 44th (82.5 meters, 101.2 points) and Schumann in 49th (78.5 meters, 89.6 points). Later in the day, during the 10km, Malacinski skied up to finish 25th overall (23:52.8 total time), with Loomis right behind in 26th (24:27.6 total time). Schumann then placed 40th overall (23:58.6 total time), with Andrews rounding things off in 44th (25:12.6 total time), as athletes wrapped up their weekend in Schonach.
