Park City, Utah (May 22, 2023) – U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced its U.S. Ski Jumping Team and U.S. Nordic Combined Team for the 2023-24 competition season, as well as the hiring of Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Sport Director Anders Johnson. Nominations include those active athletes who qualified based on U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s selection criteria.
“We are delighted to be reintegrating the nordic combined and jumping national teams within U.S. Ski & Snowboard,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, President and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “Both these teams have a storied history and we’re excited about what the future holds under the leadership of newly announced Sport Director Anders Johnson. We also look forward to continuing to work closely with USA Nordic Sport throughout the coming seasons to see these athletes achieve top results.”
“I am excited for the upcoming year, and we are looking forward to building off of the success from last season,” said USA Nordic Sport CEO Adam Provost. “We have a great group of athletes on both nordic combined and ski jumping and believe that this team will be very competitive this season.”
The ski jumping team is highlighted by Annika Belshaw, who scored individual World Cup points nine times throughout the 2022-23 season and took home two national titles at the USA Nordic National Championships, and her brother Erik Belshaw, who had his best season with three individual World Cup point scores. Belshaw, along with his teammates Decker Dean, Casey Larson and Andrew Urlaub were also part of a historic eighth place finish at the 2023 World Championships—the best World Champs finish for the U.S. since 1985.
On the nordic combined side, Annika Malacinski headlines the women’s squad, scoring nine times on the World Cup tour last season and winning a national title. 2022 Olympian Steven Schumann and two-time Olympian Ben Loomis showed consistency throughout the season with multiple points scores.
With the integration of ski jumping and nordic combined into U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the organization has announced the hiring of new Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping Sport Director Anders Johnson. A three-time Olympic ski jumper, Johnson was the youngest U.S. Olympic ski jumper in history when he qualified for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games at 16 years old. He has been coaching for the USA Nordic Sport women’s ski jumping team and now will head up both sports as they return under U.S. Ski & Snowboard.
“I am very excited and proud to be named the Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Sport Director,” said Johnson. “Over the past several years, our teams have done some amazing things internationally and I believe that with my skill set, passion and determination, I will be able to bring our athletes to the top of the podium. The ski jumping and nordic combined community has been in my life since I was a child, so to be put in this position is a huge honor.”
“These athletes are really progressing and starting to make a move on the World Cup,” said Anouk Patty, Chief of Sport at U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “With Anders as Sport Director, I am excited to see the leaps these teams will make.”
After a successful 2022-23 season, athletes are motivated, training hard and looking forward to the upcoming FIS Summer Grand Prix circuit. The official U.S. Ski Jumping Team and U.S. Nordic Combined Team will be announced in the fall.
2023-24 SKI JUMPING NATIONAL TEAM
(Hometown; club; birthdate)
Women
- Annika Belshaw (Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 6/13/2002)
- Anna Hoffmann (Madison, WI; Blackhawk Ski Club; 3/28/2000)
- Josie Johnson (Park City, UT; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 10/3/2006)
- Paige Jones (Park City, UT; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 8/30/2002)
- Sam Macuga (Park City, UT; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 2/17/2001)
Men
- Erik Belshaw (Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 8/23/2004)
- Decker Dean (Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 8/8/2000)
- Casey Larson (Barrington, IL; Norge Ski Club; 12/16/1998)
- Andrew Urlaub (Eau Claire, WI; Flying Eagles Ski Club; 4/12/2001)
2023-24 NORDIC COMBINED NATIONAL TEAM
(Hometown; club; birthdate)
Women
- Alexa Brabec (Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 10/8/2004)
- Annika Malacinski (Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 5/9/2001)
Men
- Grant Andrews (Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 12/3/1997)
- Carter Brubaker (Anchorage, AK; Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage; 12/21/2003)
- Ben Loomis (Eau Claire, WI; Flying Eagles Ski Club; 6/9/1998)
- Niklas Malacinski (Steamboat Springs, CO; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club; 12/7/2003)
- Stephen Schumann (Park City, UT; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 3/14/2000)
- Jared Shumate (Park City, UT; Park City Ski & Snowboard; 3/6/1999)
Source: US Ski And Snowboard
