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Tag: Abby Hughes

  • Female Ski Jumpers to Compete in First World Cup on Saturday

    Members of the Visa Women’s Ski Jumping Team will make history Saturday by competing in the first-ever International Ski Federation (FIS) World Cup competition held for women’s ski jumping.

    Jessica Jerome, Sarah Hendrickson, Alissa Johnson and Abby Hughes (all of Park City, UT) will represent the U.S. in Lillehammer, Norway. Lindsey Van, 2009 World Champion, is recovering from ankle surgery in October and will not compete this weekend.

    Organizers are expecting nearly 50 jumpers from 15 nations to compete Saturday. Lillehammer is the start to the 14-event season, hosted at nine venues in seven countries. The tour ends in March in Oslo, site of last season’s World Championships.

    Women ski jumpers have competed on the lower-tiered Continental Cup for seven years. In 2010, the FIS approved a World Cup circuit for women to debut in the 2011/2012 season. In April 2011, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) finally added a women’s ski jumping event to the Olympic Winter Games beginning in Sochi, Russia in 2014. Also, the inaugural Youth Olympic Winter Games will be held in Innsbruck, Austria, in January. It will be the first IOC-sanctioned event to include women’s ski jumping on the program.

    “This is a very special time for women’s ski jumping,” said Deedee Corradini, Women’s Ski Jumping USA president. “A World Cup circuit is extremely significant for these talented women and it means better venues, more broadcast time for events, and higher quality all-around.”

    Paolo Bernardi, WSJ-USA international head coach, is expecting a tight competition this weekend as teams from around the world are aiming for victories on the inaugural World Cup circuit. “I’m looking forward to the new challenge this year and helping the team show their potential.”

    After Lillehammer, the Visa Team heads to Notodden, Norway, Dec. 9-10 for a Continental Cup competition.

    Women’s Ski Jumping USA is the primary support group for the VISA Women’s Ski Jumping Team and aims to foster development level athletes throughout the U.S. WSJ-USA, a 501c3 foundation, also advocates for equality for women and girls in sports.

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    Press release: Women’s Ski Jumping USA

     

     

    Women’s Ski Jumping USA is the primary support group for the VISA Women’s Ski Jumping Team and aims to foster development level athletes throughout the U.S. WSJ-USA, a 501c3 foundation, also advocates for equality for women and girls in sports.

  • Defending Champ Van Leads Worlds Team

    PARK CITY, UT – Reigning World Champion Lindsey Van (Park City, UT) will lead a team of six U.S. ski jumping athletes at the International Ski Federation’s 2011 Nordic World Ski Championships in Oslo, Norway Feb. 25 – Mar. 5. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) announced the World Championship Team that qualified through the Continental Cup circuit on Tuesday.
    Van will be joined by four fellow Women’s Ski Jumping USA athletes, all hailing from Park City, at the top of the ski jumping hill as they soar off the jump to open the Championships on Feb. 25. Among these athletes are Continental Cup standout Jessica Jerome and up-and-comer Sarah Hendrickson. With Van as the defending champion, the U.S. was able to name five athletes to compete in Oslo.

    “The women have proven that they can be on the podium in any competition and Lindsey has a real opportunity to defend her World title,” said USSA’s Nordic Program Director John Farra. “In addition to Lindsey, both Jessica Jerome and Sarah Hendrickson have had outstanding seasons. This will be a very competitive U.S. women’s team.”

    Jerome, who has been at the top of the women’s circuit for many years, has a win and three podiums this season. She was sixth at the 2009 World Championships and has been going head-to-head with Van all season. Sitting side-by-side, Jerome and Van are in third and fourth in the overall Continental Cup standings.

    Hendrickson comes to World Championships having earned her second Continental Cup win earlier in the season. She also led the Continental Cup for the first series of early season competition in Europe.

    Peter Frenette (Saranac Lake, NY) will be the lone American man at World Championships. The 2010 Olympian is coming into the event strong. After finishing second in a Continental Cup in Sapporo, Japan, Frenette scored the best U.S. World Cup finish in over seven years with an 18th .

    “Peter has had a bit of a breakthrough year and we are looking to continue his development and education as an athlete,” said USA Ski Jumping Coach Clint Jones. “He has shown that at any moment he is capable of long jumps that can compete with the best in the world.”

    The World Championships will take place in the heartland of the sport in its most treasured venue, the Holmenkollen Ski Stadium. The jumps were recently rebuilt in anticipation of the World Championships. Hundreds of thousands of spectators are expected for the Championships, with the ski jumping events among the most popular.

    2011 U.S. Ski Jumping World Championship Team
    (both hometown and club)
    * Indicates current student in U.S. Ski Team partnership with Westminster College

    Men
    Peter Frenette, Saranac Lake, NY (USA Ski Jumping/New York Ski Education Foundation)

    Women
    Sarah Hendrickson Park City, UT (Women’s Ski Jumping USA/Park City Nordic Ski Club)
    Abby Hughes, Park City, UT (Women’s Ski Jumping USA/Park City Nordic Ski Club)
    Jessica Jerome, Park City, UT (Women’s Ski Jumping USA/Park City Nordic Ski Club) *
    Alissa Johnson, Park City, UT (Women’s Ski Jumping USA/Park City Nordic Ski Club) *
    Lindsey Van, Park City, UT (Women’s Ski Jumping USA/Park City Nordic Ski Club) 

    2011 Ski Jumping World Ski Championship Schedule
    Oslo, Norway

    Fri., Jan. 25 – Women’s HS 106
    Sat., Jan. 26 – Men’s HS106
    Sun., Jan. 27 – Men’s Team HS106
    Thurs., Feb. 3 – Men’s HS134
    Sat., Feb. 5 – Men’s Team HS134

  • Van Leads U.S. Jumpers in Norway

    NOTODDEN, Norway – Defending World Champion Lindsey Van (Park City, UT) continued to be a factor in the women’s Continental Cup Saturday finishing fourth in the final competition of a two-day event.

    Van, who had jumps of 88.5 and 91.0 meters, moved from ninth after the first jump to finish fourth followed by Abby Hughes (Park City, UT) in sixth. Hughes, who was in second after the first jumping round, was held in snowy conditions and registered jumps of 91.5 and 86.5 meters.

    The winner was Coline Mattel of France who had jumps of 90.5 and 92.0 meters to overtake Austria’s Daniela Iraschko, who has won four events in a row.

    Jerome and Van are currently second and third in the overall Continental Cup standings.

    The women’s Continental Cup circuit now takes a Holiday break.

    OFFICIAL RESULTS
    December 18, 2010
    Notodden, Norway
    HS 100

    1. Coline Mattel, France,  (90.5, 92.0), 238.5
    2. Daniela Iraschko, Austria, (90.0, 93.0), 230.0
    3. Melanie Faisst, Germany, (94.5, 87.0), 228.5
    4. Lindsey Van, Park City, UT, (88.5, 91.0), 227.0
    5. Line Jahr, Norway, (89.0, 91.0), 226.0
    –
    6. Abby Hughes, Park City, UT, (91.5, 86.5), 223.0
    7. Jessica Jerome, Park City, UT, (90.0, 87.5), 216.5
    20. Sarah Hendrickson, Park City, UT, (75.5, 87.5), 188.0
    21. Alissa Johnson, Park City, UT, (80.5, 83.0), 185.0
    –
    32. Karin Friberg, Roseville, MN, (78.5, 65.0), 136.0
    36. Avery Ardovino, Park City, UT, (71.5), 70.0
    37. Nina Lussi, Lake Placid, NY, (71.0), 67.5
    39. Nita Englund, Florence, WI, (69.5), 61.5

    For complete results: www.fis-ski.com

    Source: USSA

  • Three U.S. Jumpers in Top 10; wind wreaks havoc in Oslo comps

    Oslo, Norway — Jessica Jerome overcame erratic winds and a number of course holds and restarts to tally a pair of fourth-place finishes to lead the U.S. Women’s Ski Jumping Team in Continental Cup competition over the weekend in Oslo, Norway – site of the upcoming Nordic World Championships in February.

    Jumping took place amidst continuing construction surrounding the famous K120 Holmenkollen and K95 Midtstubakken jumps in the Norwegian capital as it readies to welcome the Nordic skiing world this winter.

    “The design of the new (Holmenkollen) complex is really cool and modern,” said U.S. team member Abby Hughes. “We heard the plan is to build four more ski jumps in that area and make a sports park, with k10 k20 k40 and k60 (jumps) along with a ropes course, swimming area, cross country trails and so on. Hopefully the important things — such as roads, stadiums, and the ski jumps — will be ready for the World Championships.”

    Despite all the construction in the new-look Holmenkollen, an old foe – wind – will continue to wreak havoc with competitions held there. Officials stopped and started Saturday’s event four times because of changing winds, and most jumpers battled a strong tailwind that severely limited flight distance.

    The one jumper who benefited from a headwind Saturday was Austria’s Daniela Iraschko, who swept last weekend’s two-competition stop in Lillehammer. Iraschko’s first effort Saturday measured a whopping 114.5 meters, more than 8 meters longer than the hill size for the competition (106). “She dropped like a rock and landed pretty hard and whiplashed onto her back,” Hughes said. “Because she (dragged her hands), it didn’t count as a hill record.”

    Iraschko flew a more modest 93.5 meters on her second jump, tallying a 241.5 score to edge France’s Coline Mattel in second. Jerome, who began dialing in her technique last week in Lillehammer with two top-five finishes, jumped 92.5 and 88.0 meters for a 203.5 score, good for fourth. Lindsey Van was right behind in fifth, Alissa Johnson was seventh, and Hughes ended up 13th.

    “All of us had pretty good first-round jumps considering the air was so bad,” Hughes said. “For the second round, we had lower speed and even more inconsistent air. Jessica had another good jump, Lindsey fought her way through the conditions, Alissa put two good jumps together, and I felt like my technique was consistent, however the tailwind over the knoll was very strong and didn’t help me at all.”

    Iraschko, Mattel and Germany’s Juliane Seyfarth finished 1-2-3 on Sunday, with Iraschko the only jumper to twice jump more than 100 meters. Jerome flew 100.5 her first time down and easily maintained fourth place in the final standings. Van (10th), Hughes (14th) and Johnson (20th) rounded out the U.S. placers.

    France’s Mattel maintained her lead in the Continental Cup standings with 503 points, with Iraschko in second with 400. Austria’s Jacqueline Seifriedsberger is third. Sarah Hendrickson of the U.S., who didn’t compete in Oslo, is sixth, followed by Jerome in 10th and Johnson in 13th place.

    The women’s Continental Cup circuit moves to Falun, Sweden, next weekend (Sept. 25-26) for two competitions.

    Oslo HS 106

    Saturday, Sept. 18

    1. Daniela Iraschko, Austria (114.5, 93.5) 241.5

    2. Coline Mattel, France (101.0, 93.0) 234.0

    3. Jacqueline Seifriedsberger, Austria (95.5, 92.0) 222.0

    4. Jessica Jerome, Park City, UT (92.5, 88.0) 203.5

    5. Lindsey Van, Park City, UT (89.0, 88.5) 199.0

    –

    7. Alissa Johnson, Park City, UT (89.5, 86.5) 192.5

    13. Abby Hughes, Park City, UT (91.5, 80.5) 182.0

    Sunday, Sept. 19

    1. Daniela Iraschko, Austria (104.0, 106.0) 248.2

    2. Coline Mattel, France (100.0, 99.5) 230.9

    3. Juliane Seyfarth, Germany (103.5, 95.0) 220.6

    4. Jessica Jerome, Park City, UT (100.5, 92.5) 214.6

    5. Jacqueline Seifriedsberger, Austria (94.5, 93.0) 210.1

    –

    10. Lindsey Van, Park City, UT (88.0, 95.0) 195.9

    14. Abby Hughes, Park City, UT (91.5, 92.5) 192.3

    20. Alissa Johnson, Park City, UT (94.0, 82.5) 177.3

    Source: Women’s Ski Jumping USA

  • Frenette, Van Crowned U.S. Normal Hill Champs

    PARK CITY, UT – The 2011 backcountry.com U.S. Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships were underway Friday morning with athletes jumping on the K90. Peter Frenette (Saranac Lake, NY) and Lindsey Van (Park City, UT) were crowned 2011 Noraml Hill U.S. Champions.

    The men’s competition was tight with Olympic silver medalist Brett Camerota (Park City, UT) and two-time Olympian Anders Johnson (Park City, UT) landing solid jumps forcing Frenette, who jumped last, to fly high. Camerota followed Frenette in second, while Johnson claimed the final spot on the podium.

    “I’m confident with my jumps this summer,” said Frenette. “My best jumps this were in this competition.”

    Also on the start list were Olympic medalists Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO) and Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY). Lodwick and Demong joined a roster of 84 male athletes, ranging in all ages. Demong and Lodwick, who took Vancouver by storm, hope to secure and impact the U.S. nordic combined program for the future.

    “A lot of these guys have been training really hard,” said Demong. “One of the benefits of doing U.S. Championships in the summer is it’s the first big competition for everybody. It’s a time to showcase what they’ve been doing. Since Todd and I have taken some time off, it’s a good opportunity to beat us.”

    The women’s final round kicked off the championship title battle, with Van dethroning 2010 U.S. champion Jessica Jerome (Park City, UT). Van took the top step of the podium with Sarah Hendrickson (Park City, UT) in second and Abby Hughes (Park City, UT) third. The podium was swept by three Park City women competing in front of a hometown crowd.

    “It’s definitely good to be jumping again. I haven’t competed in almost a year so it’s a little nerve racking, but more relief,” said Van. “I’m just happy that I was able to jump in general and perform pretty well, I can’t complain.”

    Events continue Friday night with a nordic combined two-man relay roller-ski exhibition. The race is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at the Utah Olympic Park. The 2011 backcountry.com U.S. Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championship titles are on the line again on Sunday with the K120 jump and nordic combined competition.

    Complete and official results will be posted on www.parkcitynordicskiclub.org in the near future.

    2011 backcountry.com U.S. Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships

    Men

    1. Peter Frenette, Saranac Lake, NY

    2. Brett Camerota, Park City, UT

    3. Anders Johnson, Park City, UT

    Women

    1. Lindsey Van, Park City, UT

    2. Sarah Hendrickson, Park City, UT

    3. Abby Hughes, Park City, UT

    Source: USSA