USA Nordic Weekend Recap: World & Continental Cups

Last weekend, USA Nordic Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined athletes competed in different World and Continental Cups across Europe. The highlight of the weekend came from Men’s Nordic Combined, as Jared Shumate recorded a new World Cup personal best, placing 19th overall in the HS97/10km World Cup on January 8th. Ben Loomis also had a great day during the HS97/10km World Cup on January 8th, scoring his first World Cup points of the season, placing 24th overall.

Men’s Nordic Combined – Otepaa, Estonia

The weekend kicked-off in Otepaa, Estonia, with the Mixed Team HS97/4x5km World Cup on January 6th. Starting off on the hill, Alexa Brabec (71.0 meters, 68.3 points), Ben Loomis (88.5 meters, 108.6 points), Stephen Schumann (80.5 meters, 88.4 points) and Annika Malacinski (71.0 meters, 67.6 points), landed themselves in 8th place to start the 4x5km race. During the 4x5km race, Brabec, Loomis, Schumann and Malacinski, were able to place 8th overall, +3:46.6 back from first place.

Action continued in Otepaa on January 7th, with the Mass Start HS97/10km World Cup. Schumann was able to place 21st overall in the 10km Mass Start, with a total time of 23:33.2. Loomis was close behind in 24th, as he finished with a total time of 23:42.0. Jared Shumate then rounded things off for Men’s Nordic Combined, coming in 36th place with a total time of 24:37.9. Moving to the HS97 portion of the World Cup competition, Loomis just finished out of the top 30, placing 33rd overall, with a 80.0 meter jump for 78.9 points. Schumann was next, as he recorded a 75.5 meter jump (72.1 points), as he placed 36th overall. Shumate then ended the day in 40th place, after he jumped to 80.5 meters, for a total of 65.6 points.

Competition wrapped up in Otepaa on January 8th, with the HS97/10km World Cup. On the hill, Loomis was able to land himself in 27th place, as he jumped to 84.0 meters for 101.3 points. Shumate was close behind in 31st, putting together a 87.5 meter jump, giving him 100.1 points. Schumann then jumped to 36th place, tallying a 84.0 meter jump for 97.5 points. After starting 31st in the 10km race, Shumate was able to ski up, placing 19th overall with a total time of 24:08.0, a new World Cup personal best. Loomis was then able to place 24th overall in the 10km, with a total time of 24:22.1, scoring his first World Cup points of the season. Schumann ended the day just outside of the top 30, placing 33rd overall, with a total time of 24:41.7.

“Jared toughed out a back injury this week to have a personal best result today in Otepää, and the 4th time in his career to score points. Jared had the 3rd fastest time on the cross country course today, which is a huge confidence builder,” said Men’s Nordic Combined Team Director, Nick Hendrickson. “For Ben, it was great to see him have some really strong cross country races and put together a good enough jump to get him back in the points today. We know Ben has a lot more on the jumping hill, so we’re excited for him to kick-off the New Year back in the top 30 and building confidence. For Stephen, he had great races this weekend and was mixing it up at the front of the mass start yesterday. Stephen was very close to breaking into the top 30 again, and with his high level of racing, it’s only a matter of time before he breaks through. More to come next weekend in Klingenthal, Germany.”

“I was happy to turn the weekend around and end with a 19th place today,” said USA Nordic athlete, Jared Shumate. “I struggled both physically and mentally on Friday and Saturday, but ending with a personal best today helped get my head back into a good space. Today, I showed myself that I can be in the fight with some of the top guys on the World Cup circuit, so I’m looking forward to keeping that momentum going for the rest of the season.”

“It was a bit tricky this weekend with windy jump comps,” said USA Nordic athlete, Ben Loomis. “I was happy to have a solid result and get back in the points. There’s still improvements to be made, but this weekend was a good step for the rest of the season.”

Women’s Nordic Combined – Otepaa, Estonia

The weekend kicked-off in Otepaa, Estonia, with the Mixed Team HS97/4x5km World Cup on January 6th. Starting off on the hill, Alexa Brabec (71.0 meters, 68.3 points), Ben Loomis (88.5 meters, 108.6 points), Stephen Schumann (80.5 meters, 88.4 points) and Annika Malacinski (71.0 meters, 67.6 points), landed themselves in 8th place to start the 4x5km race. During the 4x5km race, Brabec, Loomis, Schumann and Malacinski, were able to place 8th overall, +3:46.6 back from first place.

On January 7th, due to strong wind, the Ski Jumping competition was cancelled after the Women’s 5km Mass Start race. Malacinski was able to place 14th overall in the Mass Start, coming in with a total time of 14:22.5. Brabec was right behind Malacinski in 15th place, as she finished with a time of 14:23.9.

Competition in Otepaa wrapped up on January 8th, with the HS97/5km World Cup. Malacinski jumped her way to 25th overall, going 71.0 meters for a total of 63.2 points. Brabec was close behind in 27th place, as she jumped to 64.0 meters for 56.1 points. During the 5km race, Brabec was able to end her day with a 24th place finish, clocking in with a 14:55.8 total time. Malacinski did not participate in the 5km race.

Women’s Ski Jumping – Sapporo, Japan

In Sapporo, competition started off on January 7th with the first HS137 Qualification of the weekend. Paige Jones was the sole athlete to qualify for Women’s Ski Jumping, placing 39th overall, with a jump of 94.0 meters for 53.6 points. Annika Belshaw barely missed qualification, as she finished 41st overall, jumping to 89.5 meters for 49.0 points. Later that day, Jones then competed in the Women’s Ski Jumping HS137 World Cup. In the first round, Jones notched a jump of 101.0 meters (72.6 points), as she placed 32nd overall and was unable to qualify for the final round.

On January 8th, during the final HS137 qualification of the weekend, three USA Nordic Women’s Ski Jumping athletes were able to qualify. Belshaw led the pack, placing 33rd overall, after jumping to 100.5 meters for 62.4 points. Jones followed in 36th place, as she put together a 101.5 meter jump for 57.7 points. The 16-year-old Josie Johnson was next, as she qualified with a 91.5 meter jump for 43.9 points. Competition in Sapporo was capped off later that day, with the final HS137 World Cup of the weekend. Belshaw barely missed qualification for the final round, as she placed 32nd overall, after jumping to 96.0 meters for 41.0 points. Jones had a jump of 85.0 meters in the first round, for a total of 28.1 points, as she finished the day in 37th place. Johnson was not permitted to start during the HS137 World Cup.

Men’s Ski Jumping – Planica, Slovenia

Andrew Urlaub, Casey Larson, Tate Frantz and Bryce Kloc, competed in two different HS138 Men’s Ski Jumping Continental Cups in Planica, Slovenia, this past weekend. During the first day of action on January 7th, Larson placed 37th overall, going 119.0 meters for 109.5 points. Frantz finished 44th overall, after he put together a 113.5 meter jump for 102.9 points. Kloc then finished 68th overall (95.0 meters, 57.7 points) and Urlaub finished 69th (97.5 meters, 53.5 points), as all four USA Nordic athletes were unable to advance to the final round.

Competition wrapped up on January 9th, as USA Nordic athletes competed in the final HS138 Continental Cup of the weekend. Larson placed 36th overall (125.5 meters, 115.3 points), Frantz placed 44th overall (116.0 meters, 110.2 points), Urlaub placed 47th (126.5 meters, 107.4 points), with Kloc coming in 68th (92.0 meters, 54.3 points), as the four athletes did not qualify for the final round.