January 31, 2010 – Don’t let the talk of rain in Vancouver trick you into thinking there’s any problem with snow at Whistler Olympic Park. One source I spoke with recently said the conditions were…”stellar, rock solid, it’s been raining down below us (in elevation) but we are fine here.” Good news.

There certainly have been some great performances coming out of the 2010 Junior/U23 World Championships in Hinterzarten, Germany this week. Dartmouth’s Ida Sargent placing fourth in the women’s sprints, and Simi Hamilton leading the qualifications. When going into the semis another skier collided with Hamilton and he broke the basket of his pole. Simi is so close, watch him the rest of the week – he won the qualifications by over a second!

After the race, I spoke with Sargent who said, “My race was great and a big surprise, it was my first time racing at U23s, so I didn’t really go in with any specific goals. The course was short and hilly, which is what I like, but it was narrow and tricky to pass at the end. This was my problem during the final which kept me off the podium. Still, I had great skis, and felt really good all day so I am very happy.” In the women’s sprints, it proved to be a good day with five US skiers in the top twenty.

Caitlin Patterson of the USA also had a solid showing placing 17th in the women’s 5km at VM Juniors – three out of four US women cracked inside the top thirty.

I checked in with the USA’s Billy Demong and he said that everything is going great, “It is so nice to be able to take these weeks before the Games to get mind and body on track at home. That means good focused training as well as some back-country skiing and other fun activities. Also as we get closer getting in more and more rest is great as well as taking care of the little things before going up to Whistler.”

What a season the US Biathlon Team has enjoyed, in large part because of Tim Burke’s results. I spoke with NBC’s biathlon and Nordic commentator for the Olympic Games, Chad Salmela, to see if he saw earlier signs of this all coming together as it has. He told me, “I felt before the season, that the USBA’s mantra to win a medal was slightly more hopeful than realistic. Sure Burke has had a lot of top 10s in the previous three seasons, but I would say that’s a far cry from being a medal contender. The past three years he’s been ranked 25th, 26th and 25th in the world at the end of the year. This season he has worn the yellow bib twice and enters Vancouver ranked third in the world. If you do the math on that statistic, Tim is a little but more than eight times more likely to medal than he was the last three seasons. Add it all up and he has gone from hopeful to very legitimate contender.”

Great news to hear of the Olympic expansion of the 2010 US Olympic XC Ski team. Several days ago Holly Brooks from Anchorage and Garrott Kuzzy of Minneapolis were named to the squad. That was followed by the news that 22-year-old Simi Hamilton of Aspen, CO – a former All-American at Middlebury College – was named to fill the final quota spot. Hamilton trains out of the Sun Valley Olympic Development Program and is training with coaches Rick Kapala and Travis Jones there. Canada has also beefed up its Olympic roster, giving them 15 skiers to compete in Vancouver – more great news and congratulations to all new team members !

I can certainly feel the Games approaching, stay well and enjoy the ride.




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