COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. (Dec. 8, 2017) – David Wise (Reno, Nev.) landed a moonshot and found the top step of the podium in the men’s halfpipe finals at the opening Toyota U.S. Grand Prix Friday. In the women’s final, Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.) led five members of the U.S. Freeski Team into the top 10, finishing second.

"I’m over the moon right now," Wise said following his victory. "Honestly, my goal for this contest starting off was to just land some runs. I wanted to come in – I’ve been working on the switch right dub for a long time now – and I wanted to come out with that exclamation mark and land it.

"It felt really good to land that trick and land some runs and being on top of the podium at the end of the day is just a huge bonus," Wise continued. "I mean pipe skiing is so ridiculous right now. So many guys are shredding so hard."

Annalisa Drew (Andover, Mass,), Maddie Bowman (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.), Brita Sigourney (Carmel, Calif.) and Carly Margulies (Mammoth Lake, Calif.) finished fourth through seventh respectively. On the men’s side, Torin Yater-Wallace (Basalt, Colo.) was fifth, Birk Irving (Winter Park, Colo.) was seventh and Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.) was ninth.

“It feels great," Logan said of her podium result. "I mean not having my best result at Mammoth last year, I definitely needed some redemption to kind of ease the stress on me and I was happy to put down some runs that I’m happy with and can just build up from there.”

RESULTS
Men’s halfpipe
Women’s halfpipe

U.S. Ski and Snowboard athletes posted some remarkable results last weekend as Mikaela Shiffrin (Eagle-Vail, Colo.) continued to establish herself as one of the most dominant athletes in any sport in the world, landing two downhill podiums, including her first win, in Lake Louise, Canada. Sadie Bjornsen (Anchorage, Alaska) skied to another podium finish in a classic sprint in Lillehammer, Norway, and the U.S. Ski Team men’s alpine athletes took to the famed Birds of Prey course in Beaver Creek, where Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) led the charge in giant slalom and Tommy Ford (Bend, Ore.) skied to his first top-10 World Cup finish.

More top results will be accomplished this week as U.S. Ski and Snowboard athletes compete around the world, including the first stop of the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix, which also serves the  first Olympic qualification event of the season for members of the U.S. Freeski and Snowboard Teams. All the action will be either streamed or broadcast LIVE, or same-day coverage, on the Olympic Channel - Home of Team USA - or on the networks of NBC Friday through Sunday.

Toyota U.S. Grand Prix - Copper Mountain, Colo.
The ride to PyeongChang for the U.S. Freeski and Snowboard Teams continues this week with the first Toyota U.S. Grand Prix of the 2017-18 season at Copper Mountain Resort in Colorado. U.S. athletes who land podium spots in halfpipe skiing, halfpipe snowboarding and big air snowboarding competitions will be one step closer to making their respective 2018 Olympic teams. Halfpipe skiing finals will take place on Friday, followed by halfpipe snowboarding finals on Saturday and big air snowboarding finals on Sunday. The U.S. has a strong contingent of athletes expected to compete, including Chloe Kim (San Clemente, Calif.), Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.) and Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, Colo.).

FIS Women’s Ski World Cup - St. Moritz, SUI
The U.S. Alpine Ski Team women head to Europe for an action-packed weekend in St. Mortiz, featuring an alpine combined event Friday, and a pair of super-G races Saturday and Sunday. Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) are among the athletes expected to race in an action-packed weekend that will attract millions of viewers worldwide.

FIS Men’s Ski World Cup - Val d’Isere, FRA
The U.S. Ski Team men’s alpine tech group, including Ligety and Ford, will race giant slalom Saturday and slalom Sunday.

FIS Freestyle World Cup - Ruka, FIN
The U.S. Ski Team moguls athletes kick off their World Cup season this weekend with a moguls competition in the winter wonderland of Ruka, Finland. The U.S. is starting six men and six women who will all have a chance to secure a top result in the first of seven competitions being considered in selection for the 2018 Olympic team.

FIS Freestyle World Cup - Val Thorens, FRA
The ski cross World Cup tour opens with a two-race weekend in Val Thorens Thursday and Saturday. U.S. athletes Tania Prymak (Goshen, N.Y.), Tyler Wallasch (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.), Whitney Gardner (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.) and Brant Crossan (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) will be competing. Crossan was fifth in Tuesday’s training runs.

FIS Cross Country World Cup - Davos, SUI
The U.S. Cross Country Ski Team will join their alpine teammates in Switzerland for a weekend of freestyle races. Freestyle sprints will take place Saturday, followed by a 10k freestyle for the women and a 15k freestyle for the men on Sunday. Jessie Diggins (Afton, MN), who finished a pair of top-five results in Davos last year, will be on the hunt for her first podium of the season.

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup - Titisee-Neustadt, GER
Will Rhoads (Park City, Utah) is coming off a strong weekend of competition where he placed 21st in a World Cup in Russia, a personal best, and the best result for an American athlete on the men’s World Cup since 2003. Rhoads will be joined by USA Nordic Teammates Kevin Bickner (Wacounda, Ill.) and Michael Glasder (Cary, Ill.) for another weekend of ski jumping action Friday through Sunday.

U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD BROADCAST AND STREAMING SCHEDULE
All times EST
*schedules subject to change

TOYOTA U.S. GRAND PRIX - COPPER MOUNTAIN
Dec. 8
1:00 p.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals – nbcsports.com

Dec. 9
1:00 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – nbcsports.com
4:00 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – NBC (same day delay)

Dec. 10
1:00 p.m. – Big air snowboarding finals – nbcsports.com
1:00 p.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals – NBC (next day delay)
8:00 p.m. – Big air snowboarding finals – NBCSN (same day delay)

ALPINE
Dec. 8
4:00 a.m. – Women’s combined/super-G; St. Moritz – olympicchannel.com
7:00 a.m. – Women’s combined/slalom; St. Moritz – olympicchannel.com
8:00 a.m. – Women’s combined; St. Moritz – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 9
3:30 a.m. – Men’s giant slalom run 1; Val d’Isere – olympicchannel.com
4:45 a.m. – Women’s super-G; St. Mortiz – olympicchannel.com
6:30 a.m.  – Men’s giant slalom run 2; Val d’Isere – Olympic Channel TV
7:30 a.m.  – Women’s super-G; St. Moritz – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 10
3:30 a.m. – Men’s slalom run 1; Val d’Isere – olympicchannel.com
4:30 a.m. – Women’s super-G; St. Mortiz – Olympic Channel TV
6:00 a.m. – Men’s slalom run 2; Val d’Isere –  Olympic Channel TV

FREESTYLE
Dec. 7
5:30 a.m. – Men’s and women’s ski cross; Val Thorens – olympicchannel.com

Dec. 9
7:30 a.m. – Men’s and women’s ski cross; Val Thorens – olympicchannel.com
9:30 a.m. – Men’s and women’s moguls; Ruka – olympicchannel.com
11:00 a.m. – Men’s and women’s moguls; Ruka – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

CROSS COUNTRY
Dec. 9
7:15 a.m. – Men’s and women’s freestyle sprint – olympicchannel.com
10:00 a.m. – Men’s and women’s freestyle sprint – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 10
5:30 a.m. – Women’s 10k freestyle – olympicchannel.com
7:45 a.m. – Men’s 15k freestyle – olympicchannel.com
1:00 p.m. – Women’s 10k freestyle –Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

SKI JUMPING
Dec. 8
6:00 a.m. – Men’s HS142 qualifications – olympicchannel.com

Dec. 9
10:00 a.m. – Men’s Team HS142 – olympicchannel.com
6:00 p.m. – Men’s Team HS142  – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

Dec. 10
7:45 a.m. – Men’s HS142 – olympicchannel.com
7:30 p.m. – Men’s HS142 – Olympic Channel TV (same day delay)

The following is a statement from U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Tiger Shaw regarding the IOC decision on Russia participation in the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018:

 "U.S. Ski & Snowboard applauds the decision of the IOC today as it demonstrates a strong commitment to the importance of clean sport and the support of clean athletes. On behalf of our athletes, we have a fundamental obligation to fight for fairness in sport, to advocate for the health and welfare of athletes and to protect the image of our sport. Now we look to the International Ski Federation (FIS) to hold a FIS Council meeting to review the IOC’s decision and related evidence to consider its impact on the Russian Ski Association, its FIS committee members, officials and athletes." 

COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. (Dec. 5, 2017) – The ride to PyeongChang for the U.S. Freeski and Snowboard Teams continues this week with the first Toyota U.S. Grand Prix of the 2017-18 season at Copper Mountain Resort. U.S. athletes who land podium spots in halfpipe skiing, halfpipe snowboarding and big air snowboarding competitions will be one step closer to making their respective Olympic teams.

Skiers will take to Copper’s Main Vein halfpipe on Friday, Dec. 8 for their second of five Olympic qualifying events. The U.S. Freeski Team expects to have more than 25 athletes competing in Copper along with a strong international field. Olympic Champion Maddie Bowman (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.), Olympic silver medalist Gus Kenworthy (Telluride, Colo.), Torin Yater-Wallace (Basalt, Colo.) and Taylor Seaton (Avon, Colo.) all landed podium spots at the first qualifying event last season in Mammoth Mountain, California. They will be back for more in Copper along with U.S. stars David Wise (Reno, Nev.), Devin Logan (West Dover, Vt.) and Aaron Blunck (Crested Butte, Colo.).

“I’m excited to start off a crazy year of competition at Copper Mountain,” said Yater-Wallace. “They’ve done a great job preparing the halfpipe given that there’s been almost no snow in November, so I’m feeling fortunate to have an opportunity to ski and compete with my friends. It's going to take some great skiing to do well with the international field that's headed to Copper, especially with it being a World Cup and a U.S. Olympic qualification event."

Copper will be the first of four qualifying events for U.S. Snowboard Team halfpipe riders. After being too young to attempt to qualify in 2014, 17-year-old Chloe Kim (La Palma, Calif.) is in the hunt for a top result to begin the journey to her first Olympic Winter Games, while three-time Olympic medalist Kelly Clark (West Dover, Vt.) is looking to make her fifth Olympic team. On the men’s side, two-time Olympic champion Shaun White (Carlsbad, Calif.) is expected to compete against a stacked field that includes fellow U.S. athletes Chase Josey (Sun Valley, Idaho) and Greg Bretz (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) as well as Australia’s Scotty James and Switzerland’s Iouri Podladtchikov. Finals will take place on Saturday, Dec. 9.

The weekend wraps up with big air snowboarding finals on Sunday, Dec. 10. After a successful inaugural competition last season, Copper is once again pulling out all the stops for a world-class big air venue right in the resort village. Sunday’s event is the second of five Olympic qualifying competitions for U.S. slopestyle/big air riders. Jamie Anderson (S. Lake Tahoe, Calif.), Hailey Langland (San Clemente, Calif.), Julia Marino (Westport, Conn.), Red Gerard (Silverthorne, Colo.) and Kyle Mack (West Bloomfield, Mich.) will be looking to add more top finishes after claiming podium spots at the first qualifying event in Mammoth last season. Ryan Stassel (Anchorage, Alaska) and Chris Corning (Silverthorne, Colo.) are also in the hunt.

“The more big air events I enter the more stoked I am to do them,” said Gerard. “Coming off a podium sweep in Milan with Kyle [Mack] and Chris [Corning], I’m pretty fired up to go to Copper for the only big air Olympic qualifier of the season. I think the format, in which you have to qualify in slopestyle as well as big air, is super key as it makes the overall best riders get the results they need to go to Korea. I got to ride a ton this fall and I’m stoked now to get into the real winter, to ride, compete and film.”

NBC Sports Group will feature comprehensive coverage of the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix at Copper Mountain with shows airing on NBC, NBC Sports Network, The Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, and streaming on nbcsports.com. For additional event information, visit usskiandsnowboard.org/grandprix.

TOYOTA U.S. GRAND PRIX - COPPER MOUNTAIN
Event Schedule
*subject to change

Dec. 6: Halfpipe skiing qualifications
Dec. 7: Halfpipe snowboarding qualifications
Dec. 8: Halfpipe skiing finals + big air snowboarding qualifications
Dec. 9: Halfpipe snowboarding finals
Dec. 10: Big air snowboarding finals

Broadcast and Streaming Schedule (times EST)
*subject to change
Dec. 8
1 p.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals – nbcsports.com

Dec. 9
1 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – nbcsports.com
4 p.m. – Halfpipe snowboarding finals – NBC

Dec. 10
1 p.m. – Big air snowboarding finals – nbcsports.com
1 p.m. – Halfpipe skiing finals – NBC
8 p.m. – Big air snowboarding finals – NBCSN