Last week, U.S. ski jumping and Nordic Combined athletes, families, and fans converged on Lake Placid, NY for U.S. Nationals and Lake Placid’s annual Flaming Leaves Festival. Athletes from all over the world attended the competition and training camp. While most of the athletes were from the U.S., Norway brought a few women over for the camp as well. “Having international athletes, wanting to come to the U.S. for training and competitions is fantastic,” said Nordic Combined coach Michael Ward. “Our hope is to have more international athletes and teams attend events like this in the future, especially now that the U.S. is hosting World Cups and World Junior Championships this upcoming season!”
The week kicked off with some great competitions at the Olympic venue. Tate Franz, a Lake Placid native, and a U.S. Ski Jumping national team member was in attendance. Franz had just come off of a Summer Grand Prix podium, which was one of the best results for U.S. ski jumping to date. He continued on his hot streak by winning both the Normal and Large Hill Nationals for men’s ski jumping. As for the women ski jumpers, Norwegian Heidi Traaserud took the top spot for the normal hill, followed closely by national team athlete Annika Belshaw and Josie Johnson. On the large hill, Belshaw was able to win the national title ahead of Traaserud and Paige Jones.
The U.S. Nordic Combined team also had fantastic performances. Ben Loomis and Niklas Malacinski, both national team members, had the longest jumps of the day on the normal hill out of all ski jumping and Nordic combined athletes flying 102 meters and 101.5 meters respectively. On the roller ski course, Ben and Niklas dueled it out until the finish line, with Niklas Malacinski taking the win and national championship title. While it was a tough day on the hill for national team member Stephen Schumann, he was able to ski through the field and finish 3rd, posting the fastest time. On the women’s side, junior Ella Wilson, from Steamboat Springs, won the ski jumping portion ahead of national team member Alexa Brabec. Wilson skied a great race, but Brabec was able to take the national title. Wilson finished 2nd overall, with junior Haley Brabec rounding out the podium.
“This was one of the most exciting Nordic combined competitions I have been a part of,” said Ward. “The junior skiers and senior class athletes not on the national team posted some amazing results and gave the national team ‘a run for their money’. We had two junior women on the national podium!”
Junior Nordic combined athlete Arthur Tirone had one of his best performances of his career jumping to 8th place on the normal hill and an 11th place on the large hill. Both fields were very competitive. Other development athletes with notable results were Henry Johnstone finishing 5th in the overall NC competition, Gunnar Gilbertson finishing 9th in the large hill event, and Sawyer Graves finishing 8th in the Large Hill event.
Once the weekend of competitions were over, the athletes stayed for a week long training camp alongside the National team. During this time the national team led educational sessions for athletes and coaches, gym technique sessions, and personal coaching on the ski jump and roller ski track.
“This is one of the best opportunities for club coaches and younger athletes to learn and ask questions. It also gives them the opportunity to train with some of their heroes. Camps and educational sessions are a vital part of development for ski jumping and Nordic combined in this country.
My goal as the new Nordic combined national development coach is to continue to have educational camps and sessions like this throughout the year. In the last year of working alongside the Norwegian coaches, I have learned a lot and this information should be available to ski jumping and Nordic combined coaches,” says Ward. “I am looking forward to seeing all of the juniors progress and results this upcoming season, especially since Lake Placid is going to be hosting the 2025 World Junior Championships in February. The future of ski jumping and Nordic combined is bright!”