Troy Podmilsak made history today when he landed the world’s first triple 2160 and won gold in big air at his first ever World Championships—all at just eighteen years old.

The big air events at World Championships got off to a bit of a bumpy start when men’s qualifications were delayed three hours due to heavy winds. However, Podmilsak didn’t let the delay or the wind hinder his performance. He stayed focused and was able to put down two clean runs to qualify into finals. Unfortunately, Podmilsak’s teammates Cody LaPlante and Hunter Henderson weren’t able to nail the tricks they were hoping for and did not advance to finals.

The weather in Bakuriani continued to pose a challenge, and big air finals were bumped up by a day in an effort to evade inclement weather coming into the region. Fortunately, the plan was successful and finals were able to go off with no wind and just a bit of light snow.  Podmilsak was the first to drop in finals and wasted no time getting the show going. He stomped a switch double bio 19 safety grab and called it, "the best he’s ever done." But Podmilsak was just getting started.

In big air, the athletes' best two jumps out of three count, so TPod knew he needed another exceptional run, and boy, did he deliver. On his second run, Podmilsak stomped the world’s first triple 2160 mute grab to put him into first place. Not only was this the first time the triple 2160 had ever been, but it was also the first time Podmilsak had ever attempted that trick on snow. Podmilsak explained, "That was the first time I've ever done [the triple 2160]. I did it on the air bag a few times and didn't really land it. That was the first time I've ever really landed it." Needless to say, it was a day of firsts. However, despite Podmilsak's epic second run, there was still one more run to go, and in big air, it’s not over until it’s over. 

Podmilsak dropped last on run three, so he anxiously watched his fellow competitors do everything in their power to usurp first place from him, but their efforts were to no avail. When it was finally TPod’s turn to drop, he had already secured the gold medal and was able to take a victory lap amidst the cheers of his fellow competitors and the fans.

When asked how he was feeling after taking first place at his very first World Champs, Podmilsak said, “I can’t even really believe it. It almost feels like a dream to me. I’m proud of myself and I’m proud of my team. We worked really hard for this.” 

Big air was the final event in Georgia and Podmilsak’s win was the perfect way to wrap up the 2023 FIS Freestyle Ski, Snowboard and Freeski World Championships. Next up, the U.S. Freeski Team's slopestyle team will travel to Tignes, France for their second to last World Cup of the season. 

RESULTS
Men's big air

At only 18 years old, Hanna Faulhaber became the women’s freeski halfpipe 2023 World Champion. Faulhaber claimed the gold after landing the run she's been working on all season for the very first time.

This is only Faulhaber’s second World Championships appearance, her first being in 2021, when she was just 16 years old and claimed an impressive fourth place finish. This year though, Faulhaber came out swinging and put down a clean first run in qualifications to easily make it through to finals. 

After two rest days due to weather and the condition of the halfpipe, Faulhaber was more than ready to throw down when finals day rolled around. While no one knew quite what to expect of the weather, the wind and clouds held off for most of the finals, allowing the event to go off smoothly. 

Faulhaber put down a clean run right off the bat in finals and was sitting in second after her first run. On her second run, Faulhaber nailed her grabs, which bumped up her score by nearly four points. Faulhaber said, “Honestly, I got to the bottom and said I don’t think I can do much better than that.” But anyone who knows Faulhaber, knows she’s not one to throw in the towel early.

Dropping in second to last on her third and final run, Faulhaber gave it everything she had and managed to put down an even cleaner run. When her score of 95.75 came in and bumped her into first place, Faulhaber’s face of disbelief and excitement said it all. “It’s unbelievable," she said. "I’m really at a loss of words right now. I shed a couple tears, and wow. That is really the only word I can use to describe it right now—wow.”

“Wow” is the word of the day for the athletes, fans and coaches who witnessed the women’s freeski halfpipe final. Faulhaber’s halfpipe teammate Alex Ferreira, who took third at the 2023 World Champs, said, “I am extremely elated for Hanna Faulhaber...She just absolutely crushed it, and now she’s a World Champion.” Standing alongside Faulhaber on the podium was Zoe Atkin of Great Britain in second and Rachel Karker of Canada in third.

The conclusion of the 2023 World Championship halfpipe finals marks the end of the competition season for the U.S. Freeski Halfpipe Team. The Team will now head back to the states for some rest and recovery before spring camps begin. 

RESULTS
Women's halfpipe

On Friday, the Stifel America’s Downhill was canceled due to unfavorable weather after 24 racers crossed the line. Stifel U.S. Alpine Team’s own Ryan Cochran-Siegle ran bib five, he put down an excellent run that had him sitting on the podium in third place.

"I was happy with my run, I felt like I was skiing with good intensity," said Cochran-Siegle. "I felt like I executed how I want to do with a touch of over skiing, so that'd be the one thing I will look back on and fix."

Unfortunately, around bib 10 the weather turned to wind and snowy conditions. The times severely dropped off, with some of the top downhill skiers coming in two to four seconds behind the pace, which is not common. At around 12:45 p.m. MT, the race was called.

"I think conditions have changed a lot, so I think it's a very different race now with changing wind and light. I think as skiers you want a fair race and I don't know if that's really the case at this point," said Cochran-Siegle. 

Travis Ganong did not finish his run and Jared Goldberg was in the top 20 before the race was called off.

There will be another downhill on Saturday and a super-G on Sunday.

HOW TO WATCH
1:00 p.m. ET - men's downhill, Aspen - LIVE on NBC and Peacock, and on Outside+

Ben Ogden, Hunter Wonders, Scott Patterson and Gus Schumacher finished seventh in the men’s 4x10km relay today at the 2023 World Championships.

The day started with snow, then turned to rain, then the sun peaked out for a few minutes before the rain came back, making the conditions for the men’s 4x10km team relay anything but easy. With the wax techs from around the World scrambling to find the right wax for both skate and classic skies, 15 teams were at the start line for the third to last race of the championship.

Right off the gun, Ogden was in the mix with the lead pack. With Norway taking the immediate lead, which they never let up until the end, Ogden maintained the speed and led the chase pack through the first 10km of the race. Coming into the stadium, Ogden tagged off teammate Wonders in the fifth position. Also classic skiing, Wonders skied a consistent leg. Taking two laps around the same 5km course the women raced the day prior, Wonders glided up the hills despite the difficult wax conditions and worked the downhills. Into the stadium to tag off the first skate skier of the race, Wonders was in 11th place. Patterson was up next. With Norway now significantly ahead of the entire field, Patterson was chasing the chase pack that included Germany, France, Finland, Sweden and Canada.

"It felt good, it felt really good! The goal is to ski smart - chill in the beginning and ski hard at the end, and we all executed that and I'm stoked. It was a fun one for the whole team." said Ogden. 

With coaches surrounding the entire course and teammate Jessie Diggins on the highest part of the course, Patterson pushed it and made up significant time while fighting for position. As he skied into the stadium before the tag zone, Patterson made up nearly 40 seconds, putting Schumacher in good position to ski the last leg of the relay. With Schumacher anchoring the team, Patterson had a clean tag and Schumacher gave it his all for the last 10km of the cumulative 40km race.

Norway won the day by 46 seconds ahead of Finland who finished the day second. Germany and France fought until the last chance with Germany narrowing out the French team by one second as they crossed the line. The young USA team crossed the line in seventh place and Schumacher was greeted by his teammates as he crossed the line. As all the men congratulated everyone in the finish pen, they were all smiles as they reflected on their race. At the Olympics, the men’s 4x10km relay finished eighth, at World Championships they were seventh, and as all the men said, “it can only go up from here.”

Next up are the longer distance races of World Championships, with the women racing 30km tomorrow, March 4, and the men 50km on March 5.

RESULTS

It was a very stacked super-G race Friday in Kvitfjell, Norway with Shiffrin landing just 0.16 seconds off the pace and a mere four hundredths off the podium.

“It is so fun to ski; this track is amazing,” said Shiffrin. “I felt pretty lucky with my bib draw. I felt like I could push everywhere I wanted to."

Shiffrin will now have time to look at video to see where she lost time before the next super-G race on Sunday. 

“I am going to look at video later to see where I can make up time," said Shiffrin. "The course will be different but I will see where I can adjust a little bit."

The winner of the race was Austrian Cornelia Huetter, second place went to Italian skier Elena Curtoni and third place went to Swiss skier Lara Gut-Behrami. Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Breezy Johnson also finished in 28th place. Tricia Mangan landed in 40th. Keely Cashman and Isabella Wright did not finish.

Tomorrow, March 4, is a downhill for the women and Shiffrin, Johnson, Wright, Cashman, Mangan and Lauren Macuga will race for the U.S.

RESULTS
Women's super-G

HOW TO WATCH
*times ET 

March 4
5:00 a.m. - women's downhill, Kvitfjell, Norway - skiandsnowboard.live

March 5
4:30 a.m. - women's super-G, Kvitfjell, Norway - skiandsnowboard.live

Hailey Swirbul, Rosie Brennan, Jessie Diggins and Julia Kern crossed the finish line in fifth place today, securing a top-five result on the World stage for the 4x5km team relay. 

On a cold, crisp day with fresh snow on a grueling course which has 200m of climbing, two classic racers and two skate racers from each country put their best effort into the 4x5km team relay. 

Sweden, who were the strongest favorites of the day, led off the line with quick tempo and instant speed. Swirbul of the U.S. led the first leg of the race, claiming her spot in the lead pack right behind Germany. Sweden, Norway, Germany and Finland battled for spots through 3km, until the pack started to spread out. Swirbul kept position and came through the roaring Planica stadium in seventh place, less than 40 seconds out of first. 

Tagging off to the next classic skier, Swirbul had a clean tag to teammate Brennan. Brennan was ready to chase, and chase she did. Closing the gap second by second, she charged up the icy uphills and worked the glazed-over downhills. Falling as she entered the stadium and breaking a pole was not part of the plan, but Brennan, as she does, fought back and skied into stadium with all she had, tagging off teammate Diggins to start the skate portion of the relay. 

Diggins, who just two days ago brought home the first ever individual World Championships gold medal for the United States of America in the 10km skate, was ready to skate once again. Right off the bat, Diggins chased. Closing the gap at every kilometer, the team went from a minute back to around 30 seconds, showcasing her speed in short distances. 

With several broken poles in the race, including a broken pole from Ebba Andersson of Sweden, which cost them more than 15 meters and taking away their lead, the women in the field fought hard. 

Diggins skied into the stadium with ferosity and tagged off the U.S. anchor leg, Kern. Kern showed her speed early and did not hold back. With Norway, Germany and Sweden gaining a more significant lead in the last 5km of the day, Kern chased down the pack and was never far behind. As she came into the stadium, her teammates ran to the finish corral to cheer her across the line. With open arms, Diggins, Brennan and Swirbul made room in their arms for Kern to fall into. 

At the end of the day, the women were fifth across the line, a solid result for the U.S. team. The podium featured Norway in first, Germany in a strong second and Sweden in third. 

"Each of us gave it our all today, said Kern. "That is all you can ask for. I'm just super excited for this team and the effort we put in out there." For Diggins, the sentiment was the same. "All you can give is all that you've got, and this is a team that really gives it their all."

Tomorrow, the men will race the 4x10km team relay. Watch LIVE on skiandsnowboard.live. 

RESULTS

Two-time Olympian and World Championship silver medalist Travis Ganong announces his retirement from alpine skiing after 17 years on the Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team. The Stifel America’s Downhill in Aspen will be his last domestic race. His final race will be in Soldeu, Andorra at World Cup Finals. 

“I achieved my goals by winning World Cups, earning a medal at the World Champs, fighting for podiums at multiple Olympics, and capping it off last month in Kitzbühel with a podium on the Hahnenkamm was an honor,” said Ganong. “Being an American Downhiller for almost 18 years has been a wild ride!”

Ganong’s list of accomplishments in the sport is unwavering. He is a two-time Olympian and just missed earning a medal in the downhill in Sochi, finishing fifth. And in the 2015 FIS World Alpine Ski Championships, Ganong rocketed down the downhill at Beaver Creek, Colorado to win a World Championships silver medal in front of the home crowd.

After making his World Cup debut in 2009, Ganong went on to win two World Cups in Santa Caterina, Italy in 2014 and in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany in 2017, and have six podium performances ranging from 2014 to 2023. Most notably, he podiumed this season on the famous Kitzbühel track, securing third place in the downhill—a long-time career goal for the veteran racer.

“It’s time to transition from ski racing back to the place it all started: a true love for skiing and experiencing an adventurous life lived outdoors,” said Ganong. “I am excited to continue this journey with the partners who have supported me throughout my career.”

Ganong is also a staunch advocate for the environment, acting as a Protect Our Winters athlete alliance member to lead the charge toward change within the alpine ski industry. He will be speaking on a panel about sustainability at the Stifel America’s Cup in Aspen this weekend alongside Aspen Skiing Company’s SVP of Sustainability Auden Schendler, among others.

The 34 year old plans to continue celebrating his love for the outdoors and skiing by pursuing more backcountry-centered adventures in his home of Tahoe City, California with his fiancé and longtime partner—and fellow World Cup skier—Marie-Michèle Gagnon of Canada, who is also retiring. 

“As an organization, we are so proud of what Travis has accomplished in his long and successful ski racing career,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt. “His consistency and talent have always shown through, and we wish him all the luck in his future endeavors. He will always be a part of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard family.”

Ganong retires alongside his longtime teammate and friend Steven Nyman, who announced earlier in the week that he will be retiring at the Stifel America’s Downhill at Aspen. 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard worked with the Associated Press to officially announce Ganong’s retirement. Read the full story here.

On the cusp of the inaugural Stifel America’s Downhill at Aspen, the Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team’s first coach is still impacting the athletes over a half-century later. U.S. Ski & Snowboard is thrilled to announce that the organization has reached its $20 million goal to endow the Bob Beattie Athlete Travel Fund.

The Bob Beattie Athlete Travel Fund supports travel expenses for A, B, C and Pro team athletes across alpine, cross country, freestyle, snowboard and freeski. It is unique in the sports world—no other national governing body has an endowment that provides financial support specifically for its athletes’ travel needs. The Beattie Fund is part of the larger Marolt Athlete Endowment campaign, which also raises funds to support coaching, athlete education and sports career transition assistance, in perpetuity.

The fund is named in honor of the late Coach Beattie (1933 – 2018), an icon of the sport of alpine ski racing who led the alpine team to its first men’s medals in 1964 and was a tireless supporter of athletes up to his passing in 2018. Its launch in his name five months prior to his passing was one of his proudest moments.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard thanks all the supporters whose generosity made this achievement possible, especially Board of Trustees members Phill Gross, for his dedication and leadership as the Marolt Athlete Endowment campaign chair, and Karen Arnold, whose passion for this mission drove fundraising forward and across the finish line.  

As one of alpine ski racing’s most passionate pioneers, Beattie remained an outspoken advocate for athlete travel funding throughout his life. The fund was created to specifically close the gap on funding of athlete travel costs to training camps, and domestic and international competitions. While in the past most of those expenses were covered by the team, in recent years a gap in funding created scenarios where athletes were paying to travel with the team.

Beattie stumbled into the national team role in the early 1960s but went on to become its first full-time coach, leading Billy Kidd and Jimmie Heuga to silver and bronze in the 1964 Olympics in Innsbruck. He was one of the originators of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup tour, which began in 1967, and went on to pioneer NASTAR, start World Pro Skiing and become a legendary broadcaster with ABC and ESPN. He remained an active trustee with the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Foundation for a half-century and was well known for his impassioned speeches at board members imploring more support for athletes.

As a nonprofit organization, U.S. Ski & Snowboard has limited annual resources to allocate across multiple sports. Endowments like the Bob Beattie Athlete Travel Fund are a great way to augment athlete support and maintain core operational funding. While he was a New Hampshire native, Beattie called Aspen, Colorado home for more than 40 years. It is fitting that we announce the realization of his dream of athlete travel funding ahead of the alpine competition that he championed for many years.

Two U.S. athletes broke into the top twenty in today's 15km individual skate at the 2023 World Championships, with Scott Patterson in 15th and Gus Schumacher in 19th - a strong result for the young men's team. As Head Coach Matt Whitcomb said post-race, the theme of the day was "vicious skiing" by the men's team.  

On a three-lap course of the hilly Slovenian course, it played to the strength of many of the athletes, with working downhills and tactical climbs. With Patterson on the start line were teammates Schumacher, Hunter Wonders and Ben Ogden. With all men having at least one race under their belt of this World Championships and several days of training, the men were ready to compete with the field of 100 other racers, representing over 25+ countries. 

Same as for the women’s 10km skate, the entire tech and coaches staff was on course cheering. At nearly every part of the course, you could see a U.S. coaching staff member yelling splits, or simply just cheering them on until they reached the next person.

For the U.S. men, Patterson led the way for the team. Throughout the entire race, Patterson put up great splits through every course marker. All points throughout the race, he was within the top 20, at some points, in the top ten. As with Patterson, all other athletes posted solid splits on the race. In the first 5k, Wonders was top five in the field, showing his strength and speed out of the gate. Schumacher and Ogden held a consistent and strong pace through the 15k, moving around from top 10, top 15 and top 20 through the 15km of the course. Patterson held strong in the top ten until the last 2km where he ran out of gas. Yet, Patterson pushed until the end and walked away on a high note with only 1.33 minutes out from the top, landing him in the top 15. "I would call it a stellar day for our men out there," said Coach Kristin Bourne. 

Norway won the day, taking the first four spots. Johannes Hosfløt Klaebo was fourth, Hans Christer Holund third, Harald Oestberg Amundsen second and Simen Hegstad Krueger won the gold. For the U.S. team, Patterson led the way and ended the day in 15th, Schumacher was 19th, Ogden 27th and Hunters 33rd.

"All four guys had moments of really great racing out there, and they all skied really well today," said Chris Grover, the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team Program Director. 

Now the team resets for the men's 4x10km relay, which features two legs of skate and two legs of classic technique on Friday, March 3. 

RESULTS

At this year's World Championships, you may have heard familiar voices commentating on the multiple races in Planica, Slovenia - that's because five-time Olympian and Olympic champion Kikkan Randall and NBC's Chad Salmela were in the booth for InFront's streaming site skiandsnowboard.live.

Randall has a storied career in cross country skiing. She won the first ever gold medal for Team USA in the 2018 Games with Jessie Diggins and competed in nine World Championships in her career, standing on the podium in three, including the team relay gold, again with Diggins by her side. One of the most decorated skiers in the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team history books with over 14 World Cup wins, Randall's history and perspective within the sport of cross country skiing comes through in the commentating booth. 

Along with Randall is Salmela, a former U.S. Biathlon Team athlete from 1990-98 and commentator of over five Olympics. He has been calling cross country races for years, including the race that Randall and Diggins won at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games - the team sprint. Salmela's "HERE COMES DIGGINS, HERE COMES DIGGINS" screams were heard through the screens of millions of Americans on the day that Diggins and Randall brought home an Olympic gold medal in 2018, and now he is back in the booth aside Randall calling the next rounds of history. 

Catch the two legends together commentating on the remaining races of the FIS Cross Country World Cup circuit, LIVE on skiandsnowboard.live. With over three weeks left of the season, with the World Cup crystal globe in reach, Randall and Salmela will be taking us through this journey with them.