US Freestyle, Freeski and XC Champ's Teams Announced

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has named 16 athletes to represent the United States at the FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships in Bakuriani, Georgia, Feb. 19 - March 5, 2023.

The 2023 Freestyle World Ski Championships marks the first time freestyle aerials and moguls FIS-level competition will take place in Georgia. The venues were built specifically for the events and will be the first time they are used. The world’s best freestyle skiers are eager to share their passion with the country and establish a freestyle relationship with the Georgian snow scene.

“This will be the first time freestyle competes at this level in the country of Georgia and we are excited to experience a new culture,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Freestyle Director Matt Gnoza. “We have heard great things about Georgia’s hospitality from our snowboard counterparts and I look forward to seeing how the new venues show off what our athletes can do. Our 2023 Freestyle World Ski Championships team is stacked with experienced talent, will feature some World Champs debuts, and everyone is especially motivated to get in those start gates.”

2022 Olympic mixed team aerials gold medalists Ashley Caldwell, Chris Lillis and Justin Schoenefeld, and 2022 Olympic bronze medalist Megan Nick, lead a talented crew of aerials skiers. 2022 Olympians Kaila Kuhn and Winter Vinecki will each make their third World Ski Championships appearances. Quinn Dehlinger makes his second World Ski Championship appearance and rookie Derek Krueger will make his World Ski Championships debut.

For moguls, Olympic silver and double World Championships medalist Jaelin Kauf leads her team of eight. 2022 Olympians Olivia Giaccio and Hannah Soar will make their third and second World Ski Championships appearances, respectively. Young gun Elizabeth Lemley, who earned her first two World Cup podiums this season, will make her World Championships debut. On the men’s side Nick Page and Dylan Walczyk will make their second and fifth World Ski Championships appearances, respectively. Dylan Marcellini and Cole McDonald will each make their World Ski Championships debuts.

All events will live stream on skiandsnowboard.live and Peacock, with additional coverage to be announced on NBC/CNBC.

2023 FIS FREESTYLE SKI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM

(Name; hometown; club; birthdate; past World Championships Teams)

*Denotes first World Championships team

Aerials / Mixed Team Aerials
Women
Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, Va.; Elite Aerial Development Program; 9/14/93; 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021)
Kaila Kuhn (Boyne City, Mich.; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 4/8/03; 2019, 2021)
Megan Nick (Shelburne, Vt,; Elite Aerial Development Program; 7/9/96; 2021)
Winter Vinecki (Gaylord, Mich.; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 12/18/98; 2019, 2021)

Men
Quinn Dellinger (Cincinnati, Ohio; Elite Aerial Development Program; 6/8/02; 2021)
Chris Lillis (Pittsford, N.Y.; Bristol Mountain Freestyle Team; 10/4/98; 2019, 2021)
Derek Krueger ((Cleveland, Ohio; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 6/2/03)*
Justin Schoenefeld (Lawrenceburg, Ind.; Elite Aerial Development Program; 8/13/98; 2021)

Moguls / Dual Moguls
Women
Elizabeth Lemley (Vail, Colo.; Ski & Snowboard Club Vail; 1/22/06)*
Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 9/26/96; 2017, 2019, 2021)
Hannah Soar (Somers, Conn.; Killington Mountain School; 6/4/99; 2021)
Olivia Giaccio (Redding, Conn.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 8/15/00; 2017, 2019)

Men
Nick Page (Park City, Utah; Wasatch Freestyle Foundation; 8/1/02; 2021)
Cole McDonald (Park City, Utah; Wasatch Freestyle; 3/6/03)*
Dylan Walczyk (Rochester, N.Y.; Ski and Snowboard Club Vail; 6/25/93; 2013, 2017, 2019, 2021)
Dylan Marcellini (Walnut Creek, Calif.; Wasatch Freestyle; 9/29/02)*

U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced the 18 athletes of the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team that will compete at the 2023 FIS Cross Country World Ski Championships in Planica, Slovenia, Feb. 22 - March 6, 2023.

The 2023 World Championships will take place in the Julian Alps at the Planica Festival Arena, a venue that features both cross country and ski jumping venues. Throughout the 12 days of competition, more than 2,500 athletes and staff members from more than 60 countries will be present.

“We are very excited to bring this group of talented athletes to the World Championships in Planica,” said U.S. Cross Country Program Director, Chris Grover. “We will be arriving at the World Championships with a lot of momentum after finishing the previous period of World Cup with multiple podiums and a ranking of third overall in the World Cup Nation’s Cup. We also will be bringing a very experienced and knowledgeable staff that is dedicated to helping these athletes achieve peak performances at the Championships. Planica has been one of our favorite venues over the years and we are really looking forward to coming back to the Julian Alps.”

For the women, three-time Olympic medalist and four-time World Championship medalist Jessie Diggins, who has landed on the podium seven times in the 2022-23 season alone, leads the women’s team. Along with Diggins are veteran Rosie Brennan, who had a career-best Tour de Ski finish in fourth place overall and several top-10 results; Julia Kern who has nine top-10 finishes this season alone; and Olympians Hailey Swirbul, Novie McCabe, and Sophia Laukli. New to the World Championship roster is young but talented athletes Alayna Sonnesyn and Sydney Palmer-Leger.

On the men’s side, Ben Ogden leads the charge. Ogden has found abundant success in the 2022-23 season, highlighted by a 13th-place finish at the Tour de Ski - the best-ever finish by a U.S. male. 2022 Winter Olympians Scott Patterson, JC Schoonmaker, Kevin Bolger, Luke Jager, and Gus Schumacher made the roster after finding their speed among the strong World Cup field. Zak Ketterson, Hunter Wonders, Johnny Hagenbuch, and David Norris will also travel to Slovenia; Patterson, Schumacher, and Wonders have consistently scored World Cup points throughout the 2022-23 season.

Planica will host six races, each playing to the various individual strengths of the U.S. team. The classic sprint on Feb. 23 will kick it off, followed by the men’s and women’s skiathlon on the 24th and 25th, the team sprint on Feb. 26, women’s 10k freestyle on Feb 28, men’s 15k on March 1, women’s 4x5k team relay on March 2, and the men’s 4x10k relay March 3. The World Champs will culminate with the 30k and 50k classic mass start on March 4 and 5.

All events will stream LIVE on the skiandsnowboard.live platform, with live commentary from five-time Winter Olympian Kikkan Randall and Chad Samela, who is known for his “HERE COMES DIGGINS” call at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

2023 FIS CROSS COUNTRY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM

(Name, hometown, ski club/school, birthday, past World Championship teams)

*Denotes first World Championships team

Women

Rosie Brennan (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Ski Nordic Center; 12/21/88; 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021)
Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team; 8/26/91; 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021)
Julia Kern (Waltham, Mass.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team; 9/12/97; 2019, 2021)
Sophia Laukli (Yarmouth, Maine; University of Utah; 6/8/00; 2021)
Hailey Swirbul (Aspen, Colo.; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center; 7/10/98; 2021)
*Novie McCabe (Winthrop, Wash.; Methow Valley Nordic Team/University of Utah; 12/15/01)
*Alayna Sonnesyn (Stratton, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School, 6/22/96)
*Sydney Palmer-Leger (Park City, Utah; Stratton Mountain School/University of Utah; 2/4/2002)

Men

Ben Ogden (Landgrove, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School Elite Team/University of Vermont; 2/13/00; 2021)
Scott Patterson (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center; 1/28/92; 2019, 2021)
JC Schoonmaker (Tahoe City, Calif; Sugar Bowl Ski Team and Academy; 8/12/00; 2021)

Kevin Bolger (Minocqua, Wisc.; Sun Valley Gold Team; 4/11/93; 2019, 2021)
Hunter Wonders (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center; 8/7/98; 2021)
David Norris (Fairbanks, Alaska; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 12/12/90; 2019, 2021)
Gus Schumacher (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Winter Stars; 7/25/00; 2021)
*Luke Jager (Anchorage, Alaska; Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center/University of Utah; 1/17/00)
*Zak Ketterson (Bloomington, Minn; Team Birkie 4/2/97)
*Johnny Hagenbuch (Ketchum, ID.; Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation, 10/1/01)

U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced the 14 athletes that will represent the U.S. Freeski Team at the 2023 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships in Bakuriani, Georgia, Feb. 19th - March 5th, 2023.

The 2023 World Championship nominations include eight pro team and five rookie team freeskiers from across the U.S. With a total of five Winter Olympians and several athletes landing on the podium this season, the U.S. is headed into Georgia with strong talent and depth.

The World Championship team is highlighted by three-time Olympic medalist and two-time Olympic champion David Wise. Wise has had six World Championship starts, with one victory in Tryvann, Oslo, in 2013. Throughout Wise’s career, he has had 39 World Cup starts, with 18 podiums and 7 wins—every time Wise drops into the pipe he has a 46% chance of podiuming in the contest. As a veteran of the sport, the 32 year old is still giving his competitors a run for their money, with a World Cup podium and an X Games gold in this season alone.

This year’s World Championships team also features Olympians Alex Ferreira, who was atop the podium in first place at the Snow Rodeo World Cup in Calgary, Canada, along with teammate Hanna Faulhaber, who earned third place for the women at the same event. Rookie team member Troy Podmilsak took home the third-place trophy at the first big air event of the season in Chur, Switzerland, as well as another rookie, Tristan Feinberg, who placed in the top five at the most recent Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Mammoth Mountain, CA.

2023 X Games big air gold medalist and X Games slopestyle silver medalist Mac Forehand is also on the 2023 World Champions roster and is looking to add more to his already successful season. Plus, slopestyle skier Rell Harwood has proven her comeback from an ACL injury by placing 9th in Mammoth. Both Forehand and Harwood will be joined by teammates, Cody Laplante, Hunter Henderson and Grace Henderson. Rookie member and X Games bronze medalist Svea Irving, the 2023 U.S. national champion, will be competing alongside three-time Olympian and World Champion Brita Sigourney, as well as rookie team member Riley Jacobs. Dylan Ladd of the professional halfpipe team will round out the men’s World Championships team.

“The U.S. Freeski Team is looking forward to bringing a great mix of veteran and up-and-coming athletes to compete at the highest level in a new location that has invested in these sports and the skiing community as a whole,” said Freeski Director Skogen Sprang. “We look forward to showcasing our sports on the global stage and bringing creativity to the table.”

This year’s Freeski World Championships will begin with men’s and women’s slopestyle, with finals going down on Feb. 28. Next, halfpipe finals will be on March 4, and big air finals will close out World Champs on March 5. Fans can follow all of the action in Georgia live on Peacock and skiandsnowboard.live with tape-delayed action on NBC and CNBC.

2023 FIS FREESTYLE SKI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM

(hometown; club; USASA series; birthdate; previous World Championship teams)

*Denotes first World Championships team

Women’s Halfpipe Ski Team:

Hanna Faulhaber (Carbondale, Colo.; Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club; Rocky Mountain Series; 9/04/04; 2021)
Svea Irving (Winter Park, Colo.; Winter Park Freeride Team; Rocky Mountain Series; 2/27/02; 2021)
Brita Sigourney (Carmel, Calif.; Intermountain Series; 1/17/90; 2011, 2017, 2019, 2021)
Riley Jacobs (Oak Creek, Colo.; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; Rocky Mountain Series; 8/14/2003)*

Men’s Halfpipe Ski Team:

David Wise (Reno, Nev.; 6/30/90; 2009, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2021)
Alex Ferreira (Aspen, Colo.; Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club; Aspen/Snowmass Series; 8/14/94; 2019, 2021)
Tristan Feinberg (Aspen, Colo.; Rocky Mountain Series; 4/23/2003)*
Dylan Ladd (Lakewood, Colo.; Winter Park Competition Center; Rocky Mountain Series; 8/29/01)*

Women’s Slopestyle Ski Team:

Grace Henderson (Madbury, N.H.; Waterville Valley BBTS; New Hampshire Series; 4/28/01)*
Rell Harwood (Park City, Utah; Park City Ski & Snowboard; Big Mountain West Series; 6/1/01; 2021)

Men’s Slopestyle Ski Team:

Mac Forehand (Winhall, Vt.; Stratton Mountain School; Southern Vermont Series; 8/4/01; 2019, 2021)
Troy Podmilsak (Park City, Utah; Park City Ski & Snowboard; Big Mountain West Series; 8/23/2004)*
Hunter Henderson (Madbury, N.H.; Waterville Valley BBTS; New Hampshire Series; 12/28/2002)*
Cody LaPlante (Truckee, Calif.; Squaw Valley Freestyle and Freeride Team; North Tahoe Series; 2/15/02; 2021)