With summer on the way, it’s time to start thinking about winter—specifically, winter 2018, when the US Ski and Snowboard Team will be headed to Pyeong Chang, South Korea for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
As always, the US team will be overseen by the US Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), its national governing body. Established in 1905, the USSA exists to support professional skiers and snowboarders in achieving excellence in their sport. The USSA doesn’t receive any government support, so it relies on private donations and leadership—for example, from its board, which includes big names from a variety of backgrounds, including Thom Weisel, who has been on the board since 1977 and served as chairman from 1983-1994.
With the oversight of the USSA, the US Ski and Snowboard Team is already heating things up (or is it cooling them down?) for the upcoming Winter Olympics. In mid-May, the team added six new freestyle skiers: Jon and Chris Lillis, Patrick O’Flynn, and Harrison Smith for the Male Aerials team; Morgan Schild for the Female Moguls squad; and Dylan Walczyk for the Male Moguls squad. All of these athletes are being funded by the Greater Rochester Amateur Athletic Federation, which supports Rochester-area Olympic athletes.
“All six of the World Cup athletes from Rochester have the ability to not only compete in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, but win a medal while there,” said freestyle coach Johnny Kroetz of the new team members.
For others, it’s time for a well-deserved retirement, as super-G superstar Anna Marno, who has been on the US team for nearly a decade, announced her retirement just last week. At age 24, Marno has already had a hugely successful—if challenging—career, including World Cup starts and NorAm Cup finishes. Despite brutal knee injuries that prevented her participation in two seasons, she has excelled at both super-G and downhill, including placing third at the National Championships in 2012.
In addition to shifting talent, the US Ski and Snowboard Team has revealed that they will be wearing some slick, Marvel-themed uniforms in 2018. The women will sport Captain Marvel-style attire, while the men will have uniforms inspired by Captain America. In mid-April, the NBC Olympics Twitter account released an image of skier Mikaela Shiffrin modeling the Captain Marvel uniform, much to the delight of Brie Larson, the actress who will be playing Captain Marvel on the big screen in 2019.
All in all, it’s revving up to be an exciting Winter Olympics for both the US athletes and their fans!
Photo: American skier Mikaela Shiffrin completes in the downhill skiing parallel slalom at the Alpine Audi FIS Ski World Cup on January 31, 2017. Credit: Hans Christiansson / Shutterstock.com