The Snow Lover's Trivia U.S. Alpine Championships in Lake Placid
The 1932 and 1980 Olympic Village of Lake Placid will be welcoming over a dozen Olympians including three-time medalist, Julia Mancuso (Olympic Valley, Calif.), and 2006 gold medalist, Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah), when the 2010 U.S. Alpine Championships return to Whiteface Mountain, March 20-23.
Lake Placid's own, Andrew Weibrecht, who captured a super G bronze in Vancouver, will not be able to race due to a dislocated shoulder, but plans to be there to support his teammates.
"Taking bronze at the Olympics was such an incredible experience, but it didn't really set in until I was able to take that medal back to Lake Placid to share it with all my family and friends," said Weibrecht, who was honored with a Feb. 26 parade down Main Street Lake Placid. "It would have been perfect to wrap up my competition year at home, but I'll still be there to support my teammates and the hundreds of racers from across the country gunning for U.S. bragging rights."
An extensive list of 2010 Olympians are expected to race for titles at the 1980 Olympic mountain including Steven Nyman (Sundance, Utah), Jimmy Cochran (Keene, N.H.), Will Brandenburg (Spokane, Wash.), Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.), Nolan Kasper (Warren, Vt.), Alice McKennis (Glenwood Springs, Colo.), Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, Calif.), Leanne Smith (Conway, N.H.), Chelsea Marshall (Pittsfield, Vt.), Hailey Duke (Boise, Idaho), Megan McJames (Park City, Utah), Kaylin Richardson (Edina, Minn.) and Sarah Schleper (Vail, Colo.).
A long-time host of FIS World Cup events for skiing and snowboarding, Whiteface will mark the second time the Olympic region has hosted the US Alpine Championships. Whiteface also hosted in 2003, when the Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) said they would pick up the races when lack of snow strained Alaska. "Lake Placid and Whiteface have always been such incredible supporters of world class athletics and I expect these championships to continue that legacy," said U.S. Ski and Snowboard vice president of events Calum Clark. "They stepped up to the plate in 2003 and hit an absolute home run. As an organization, we're thrilled to bring some of the best alpine athletes in the country back to the Adirondacks."
Races begin this Saturday on Draper's Drop with men's and women's super G followed by slalom Sunday, and men's and women's giant slalom on Monday. The US Downhill Championships were awarded to Travis Ganong (Squaw Valley, Calif.) and Leanne Smith (Conway, N.H.), on Feb. 27 in Aspen, CO as part of a series of NorAm speed races.
An opening ceremonies celebration is also planned for downtown Lake Placid on Saturday as well as special fundraising events to support building a new ski lift at nearby Mt. Pisgah in Saranac Lake.
