November 15, 2008 (Park City, Utah) – The U.S. Ski Team’s Lindsey Van (Park City, UT) out-shined top American athletes in October to win the United States Olympic Committee’s (USOC) Athlete of the Month award. “I think it’s cool to be the USOC athlete of the month. All the athletes in the U.S. are being considered for that, so it’s a pretty big honor,” Van said. “I only jumped in a few competitions that month, but obviously they were pretty important.”

Van, always a threat and at the top of the list of dominant female ski jumpers, lived up to her competitive reputation on Oct. 11 as she took home her 13th career national title at the U.S. Ski Jumping Championships in Lake Placid, NY Not ready to be done during the Nordic weekend, Van also earned a SuperTour win the next day.

“Lindsey is a world-class ski jumper with top notch character and is
deserving of this honor,” said Nordic Program Director John Farra. “Lindsey Van is women’s ski jumping! She was one of the first women to start launching themselves off the jumps in the United States, which have been the domain of the men for over a century. And while her 13 national titles speak volumes of her prowess on the jumping hill, she has also been involved in the growth of the sport, in inspiring young girls, and in raising the level of all U.S. women ski jumpers.”

Van’s next competition is Deember 12-13 when the FIS Continental Cup stops at the Utah Olympic Park in Park City, UT. The international competition will welcome the best women ski jumpers from around the world and will be a domestic preview to what the world will see February 20 at the FIS Nordic World Championships in Liberec, Czech Republic where women’s ski jumping will make its Worlds debut.