USA Lands Three on the Podium This Week s Highlights

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1 In this edition: BIATHLON U.S. biathletes Have Strong Showing in Germany January 18, 2011 BOBSLED & SKELETON Rohbock and Fleming celebrate gold in Igls, Austria LUGE USA Luge puts three women in top 15 ALPINE SKIING Miller leads U.S. in Wengen downhill Cross-Country SKIING Randall wins to take World Cup lead FREESTYLE SKIING Cota earns career best finish in fourth SKI JUMPING Frenette scores first World Cup points SPEEDSKATING Jonathan Kuck wins North America/Oceania Regional Qualifier NORDIC COMBINED SKIING Taylor Fletcher leads USA SNOWBOARDING USA lands three at the podium SWIMMING Team USA is golden at the Austin Grand Prix TRIATHLON Garrard, Middaugh take USA Triathlon Winter Nationals USA Lands Three on the Podium This Week s Highlights Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, Vt.) led the U.S. charge winning her third career World Championship gold as the USA landed three of six snowboardcross medals Tuesday in La Molina, Spain. Seth Wescott (Sugarloaf, Maine) and Nate Holland (Squaw Valley, Calif.) also landed on the podium with silver and bronze. * * * * * USA swimming made a statement at the Austin Grand Prix this weekend. Gold medal winnders included included Jason Lezak (Irvine, Calif.), Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.), and Missy Franklin (Centennial, Colo.) * * * * * Shauna Rohbock (Park City, Utah) and Valerie Fleming (Park City, Utah) aren t holding anything back in their farewell tour, and the pair proved they are still one of the best teams in history after winning gold in the women s bobsled World Cup event on Jan. 14. * * * * * Tweet Spot Eliot Halverson, Figure Skating I m not a Libra. I refuse. You can t pull the astrological rug out from underneath me like this. SCORPIO 4 Carli Lloyd, Soccer Its a great feeling kicking the ball with my broken ankle and not feeling a sharp pain up my leg! Only took 9 Matt Antoine, Skeleton Another great race today! Finished 4th, I ll break into the top 3 soon! Thanks for everyones Follow Us On: Olympic Sports Scene is a weekly newsletter with results and previews highlighting U.S. Olympic sporting news from around the world. Tune-in every Monday for a quick overview of America s elite athletes in action. For more information on Olympic sports, please visit

2 BIATHLON: U.S. biathletes Have Strong Showing in Germany While Susan Dunklee s (Barton, Vt.) 10th place at the IBU Cup in Altenberg was the highlight of the weekend, the rest of the U.S. team posted solid results at the IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany. Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Tim Burke (Paul Smith s, N.Y.), Sara Studebaker (Boise, Idaho) and Laura Spector (Lenox, Mass.) tallied additional World Cup points in Ruhpolding with Bailey finishing 29th (34:16.5) and Burke finishing 36th (34:43.9) in the pursuit, which was won by Bjorn Ferry (SWE) at 31:56.6. Jeremy Teela (Heber City, Utah), Spector, Studebaker, and Haley Johnson (Lake Placid, N.Y.) missed collecting additional World Cup points. Teela finished 41st (35:06.4) in the men s pursuit. Spector finished 41st (33:22.7), Studebaker 43rd ( ), and Johnson 50th ( ) in the women s pursuit competition, which was won by Tora Berger (NOR) with a time of Studebaker and Spector finished in the top 40 in Saturday s sprint competition. At the IBU-Cup races in Altenberg, the women s team had strong results with all three athletes earning points in the pursuit race. Tracy Barnes (Durango, Colo.) showed the best performance of the day, finishing 23rd (36:09.4), +3:29.3 back from winner Iris Waldhuber (AUT), followed by Annalies Cook (Saranac Lake, N.Y). in 25th place with a time of 36:16.1, and Dunklee finishing 37th with a time of 37:30.6. Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, Alaska) also reached the top 30, placing 27th (39:46.5) in the men s pursuit, 4:09.9 back from winner Evgenly Garanichev (RUS). BOBSLED & SKELETON: Rohbock and Fleming celebrate gold in Igls Shauna Rohbock (Park City, Utah) and Valerie Fleming (Park City, Utah) aren t holding anything back in their farewell tour, and the pair proved they are still one of the best teams in history after winning gold in the women s bobsled World Cup event on Jan. 14. Rohbock and Fleming moved up two positions after putting together two solid runs to win the competition by 0.09 seconds. Rohbock and Fleming pushed identical start times of 5.72 seconds in the two-heat race. Rohbock credited her brakeman, Fleming, for being able to keep the team in the mix. They were in third position after sliding a first run of seconds. Rohbock threaded together a near perfect second heat to move the team into the lead after crossing the finish in seconds for a total time of 1 minute, seconds. In only her second World Cup race as a pilot and her first week learning the Olympic Igls course, Elana Meyers (Douglasville, Ga.) teamed with Emily Azevedo (Chico, Calif.) for an 11th place finish. Meyers and Azevedo were in the top four push times, clocking 5.60 and 5.59 seconds. The duo slid runs of and seconds for a total time of 1: BMW Night Train claims bronze in Austria Steven Holcomb (Park City, Utah) and the BMW Night Train crew claimed bronze in the Igls, Austria four-man bobsled World Cup event. The top three sleds were separated by only one tenth of a second, making today yet another cliffhanger ending in men s bobsled racing. Holcomb and Justin Olsen (San Antonio, Texas), Steve Langton (Melrose, Mass.) and Curt Tomasevicz (Shelby, Neb.) were tied for second with Germany I after posting a first run of seconds. The crew slid to the finish with a combined time of 1 minute, seconds, and waited for Russia I to take their final run. A few mistakes down the course cost the Russian squad a medal position, giving bronze to the BMW Night Train. John Napier (Lake Placid, N.Y.) piloted his Under Armour BoDyn sled to the finish in 1:43.89 for 15th place. Napier s push crew of Colin Campbell (Ventura, Calif.), Laszlo Vandracsek (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Jared Clugston (Red Hill, Pa.) kept the emerging driver in the mix from start to finish with push times of 5.20 and 5.15 seconds. Holcomb and Langton sixth in two-man bobsled Steven Holcomb and Steve Langton (Melrose, Mass.) were on the men s two-man bobsled battlefield today, jostling for a position on the medal stand at the Igls World Cup event. The duo was within medal reach, but a small mistake in the second run put the team in sixth. USA I finished sixth after clocking a two-run total of 1 minute, seconds. The finish moved Holcomb up in two-man standings to fourth with 896 points. Alexander Zubkov currently leads with 1013 points, Germany s Manuel Machata is second with 1003 points, and Simone Bertazzo has 947 points for a third place ranking. Napier teamed with veteran push athlete Jesse Beckom (Chicago, Ill.) to finish 18th with a total time of 1: Tune into Universal Sports on Jan. 22 at 6 pm to watch the women s bobsled race. U.S. sixth in team event The U.S. squad combined efforts to finish sixth in the World Cup team competition at the Olympic Sliding Centre in Austria. Competitors in men s and women s skeleton and men s and women s two-man bobsled take one run each for their respective nations. The lowest combined time of the four heats determines the winner. The U.S. squad comprised of men s skeleton athlete Kyle Tress (Ewing, N.J.), women s skeleton competitor Kimber Gabryszak (Park City, Utah), women s bobsled duo Elana Meyers (Douglasville, Ga.) and Kristi Koplin (Cedar City, Utah), and men s bobsled team Napier and Campbell. The U.S. team of mostly rookie World Cup athletes slid a four-run combined time of 3 minutes, seconds to finish sixth. Antoine narrowly misses medals in Igls Matt Antoine (Prairie du Chien, Wisc.) snagged his third fourth place finish this season in the men s skeleton World Cup event at the Igls Olympic Sliding Centre, narrowly missing the podium. Antoine was in medal position after posting a first run of seconds. Despite improving by 0.04 seconds in the final heat, Antoine was unable to remain on the podium. Antoine slid a combined time of 1 minute, 47 seconds, falling just 0.11 seconds short of bronze. Tress finished 13th in his fifth career World Cup race today. The 29-year-old clocked runs of and seconds for a total time of 1: John Daly (Smithtown, N.Y.) was in 11th position after a first heat of seconds, but a skid early on the course cost him valuable time in the second heat. The 2010 Olympian dropped five spots for 16th place after crossing the finish with a combined time of 1:48.08

3 Women s skeleton race opens European half of World Cup tour The women s skeleton competition kicked off the second half of the World Cup tour at the Olympic Sliding Centre in the quaint mountain village of Igls, Austria. The U.S. entered two competitors into the race, Annie O Shea (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) and Gabryszak, to earn 13th and 16th place finishes, respectively. Willi Schneider, former world champion and Olympian from Germany, joined the U.S. coaching staff this week and will tour with the squad through the remainder of the season. Schneider brings a wealth of knowledge about the European tracks to a novice U.S. team. O Shea didn t disappoint with her start times; once again posting two of the fastest pushes in the field. Only Jessica Killian from Switzerland was able to muster a faster start time than O Shea in the first run. O Shea led the U.S. woman in 13th with a combined time of 1 minute, seconds American Gabryszak continues to ride her learning curve in only her first World Cup tour. The city planner finished 16th with a combined time of 1:52.94 after sliding to the finish in and seconds. CURLING: North America sets points record at 2011 Continental Cup Team North America wears the pants. After claiming the Zoll Continental Cup title a day early when they eclipsed the magic 201 points total necessary for the win, a bonus $13,000 and a piece of history were on the line at the 2011 World Financial Group Continental Cup at the Servus Credit Union Place in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada. In clinching the win, North America amassed 298 points to Team World s 102. The 298-point output is the most ever by a Continental Cup team, surpassing the 290 total North America posted in 2007 in Medicine Hat, Alberta. USA Erika Brown (Oakville, Ontario/Madison, Wis.) became the first American to win three Cup titles. The veteran skip is a two-time Olympian (1998, 1988) and six-time U.S. champion. It marked the first Cup title for Pete Fenson (Bemidji, Minn.) and Shawn Rojeski (Chisholm, Minn.) in three tries. Ann Swisshelm (Chicago) and Joe Polo (Duluth, Minn.) also earned their first title in their second appearances. For rookies Nina Spatola (McFarland, Wis.), Laura Hallisey (Medfield, Mass.) and Ryan Brunt (Bemidji, Minn.), their first Cup experience comes in dominating fashion. FENCING: Final results from Dallas The final two days of the Dallas North American Cup were packed with exciting action as the Division I Men s Saber, Women s Epee and Women s Foil events concluded. On Sunday, the sister act of Kelley and Courtney Hurley (San Antonio, Texas) reigned in the Div. I Women s Epee event. Kelley defeated Courtney Olympic veteran Tim Morehouse (Bronx, N.Y.) took home the Men s Saber title, defeating Luther Clement (Lawrence, Kan.) This fourth North American Cup of the season was held at the Dallas Convention Center Jan Over the weekend, more than 3,000 of the nation s best fencers competed plus competitors from such nations as Canada, Great Britain, Israel and more. For full results, CLICK HERE. GYMNASTICS: Eight gymnasts qualify for 2011 Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup Eight gymnasts qualified for the 2011 Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup this past weekend from the first four events in the Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup Series. The Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup Series continues this weekend with the Circle of Stars Gymnastics Invitational in Indianapolis, Ind. The remainder of the 36-gymnast field will qualify from the 13 invitationals left in the Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup Series, which features a total of 17 gymnastics invitationals held throughout the United States from Jan. 14 through Feb. 21. A minimum of two gymnasts from each invitational advance to the Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup, scheduled for Friday, March 4, in conjunction with the AT&T American Cup in Jacksonville, Fla. For a complete list of gymnasts and up-coming events, CLICK HERE LUGE: USA Luge puts three women in top 15 The legend of Tatyana Huefner and the German women s luge team continued to grow Sunday on home ice in Oberhof, Germany, as the 2010 Olympic gold medalist won her 26th career World Cup race and extended Germany s winning streak to 104 consecutive events dating back to December Americans Julia Clukey (Augusta, Maine) and Ashley Walden (Westborough, Mass.) jumped into the fray and placed seventh and 10th, respectively, on a track that traditionally has not been kind to the United States. Teammate Erin Hamlin (Remsen, N.Y.), 2009 World Champion, slid into 15th place. The United States reached its high point of the weekend by taking fourth place in that race. Doubles team Christian Niccum (Woodinville, Wash.) and Jayson Terdiman (Berwick, Pa.) finished 15th Saturday in Oberhof, Germany, with a time of 1: Niccum and Terdiman are seventh on the year with 285 points. Their teammates Matt Mortensen (Huntington Station, N.Y.) and Preston Griffall (Salt Lake City, Utah) fared a bit better with an 11th place effort in 1: Mortensen and Griffall are in a ninth place tie with 226. In men s singles competition, Bengt Walden (Lake Placid, N.Y.) was the top American, finishing 18th in 1: Chris Mazdzer (Saranac Lake, N.Y.) a 2010 Olympian, was 19th in 1:32.377, while Trent Matheson (Bountiful, Utah) was 32nd in 1: after a spill that saw him slide through the finish line but still record an official time. Walden stands 20th overall with 112 points. Mazdzer has 79 points for 29th place. Matheson is tied for 34th with Joe Mortensen (Huntington Station, N.Y.) both have 40 points. ALPINE SKIING: Miller leads U.S. in Wengen downhill

4 Olympic champion Bode Miller (Franconia, N.H.) led the U.S. charge with an eighth-place finish in the famed Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen, Switzerland, the longest on the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup tour. Austria s Klaus Kroell clinched the victory in front of 35,000 fans. World Cup giant slalom leader Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) finished just outside of the top 30 in a three-way tie for 31st. Miller, winner of the combined at Wengen last season finished sixth on Friday, his second best finish of the season. Tim Jitloff (San Jose, Calif.) posted 24th, for his first World Cup combined score. At Sunday s slalom in Switzerland, David Chodounsky (St. Paul, Minn.) got a second run and moved up to finish 19th for the second Cup score of his career and second in the last three slalom races. The women s World Cup races scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in Maribor, Slovenia, were canceled after temperatures near 60 F over the last two weeks deteriorated the course. Neither of the Maribor races has been rescheduled yet. CROSS-COUNTRY SKI- ING: Randall wins to take World Cup lead U.S. sprinters looking to take back 100m title International Paralympic Committee January 17, 2011 CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand--After graduating with a triple major in Mathematics, Physics and Industrial Operation Engineering in December, US Sprinter Jerome Singleton says he is hoping to find the perfect formula to beat South African Blade Runner Oscar Pistorius over 100m, starting next week at the IPC Athletics World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand. Two years ago, the legendary South African runner staged a remarkable comeback at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games to beat Singleton in a photo finish and become the first non-us winner of the 100m T44 title since However, after finishing his studies last month, Singleton, who Pistorius describes as scary to run against is now focusing all his time and efforts on reclaiming the 100m world and Paralympic crowns for the US and that means beating the almost invincible Pistorius. Click HERE to read more. U.S. Ski Team s Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, Alaska) skied to an impressive victory Saturday in the free technique sprints for a second career World Cup win, taking over the World Cup sprint lead. It was her third World Cup podium of the season. Photo: Getty Images Photo: Getty Images On the same venue where she won silver at the 2009 World Championships, Randall dominated both the semis and final heats with savvy skiing and the two fastest times of the day. Her last win came in December of 2007 in Rybinsk, Russia. After qualifying third, Randall went up against both 2009 champion Arianna Follis of Italy and Petra Majdic of Slovenia in the quarterfinals. Majdic took the win with Randall beating out Follis to make the semis. Randall plans to return to Norway a few days prior to the FIS World Nordic Championships in Oslo, to take part in a World Cup sprint event in Drammen, Norway, Feb FREESTYLE SKIING: Cota earns career best finish Jeremy Cota (Carrabassett Valley, Maine) led the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team with a career best fourth place finish in Saturday s dual moguls World Cup at Mont Gabriel, Quebec, Canada. Olympic champion Hannah Kearney (Norwich, Vt.) remains on top of the women s overall World Cup standings. Cota, who qualified in fifth, won his first round before having to go head-to-head with teammate and reigning world champion Patrick Deneen (Cle Elum, Wash.) in the quarterfinals. Deneen, Olympic bronze medalist Bryon Wilson (Butte, Mont.) and Sho Kashima (Lake Tahoe, Calif.) all finished in the top eight after winning their first round duals. Eliza Outtrim (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) had the highest U.S. women s finish coming in seventh. It marked Outtrim s best dual moguls finish since U.S. Championships last March. Kearney, who qualified in second, slid out on her landing off the

5 bottom hit in the first round of the finals. With the points earned from her ninth place finish, Kearney still holds the overall World Cup lead. St. Onge, Cook Just Shy of Podium Olympians Ryan St. Onge (Winter Park, Colo.) and Emily Cook (Boston, Mass.) were the top Americans, both finishing just off the podium in fourth, in Sunday s aerials World Cup at Mont Gabriel, Quebec, Canda. St. Onge and Cook led a U.S. surge totaling five Americans inside the top 10. Reigning World Champion St. Onge was joined in the finals by teammates Scotty Bahrke (Tahoe City, Calif.) and Dylan Ferguson (Amesbury, Mass.). On the women s side, Cook and 2010 FIS Rookie of the Year Ashley Caldwell (Charleston, S.C.) were the two U.S. skiers who made finals. The U.S. men s team put more athletes into Sunday s finals than any other country. SKI JUMPING: Frenette scores first World Cup points Peter Frenette (Saranac Lake, N.Y.) put down the best U.S. ski jumping performance in more than seven years Sunday, finishing 18th in Sapporo, Japan, in only his second World Cup. Frenette soared a on his first ride, bumping it up a notch on his second flight good to meters. Jumpers Show Depth Three U.S. women jumped into the top 10 as the U.S. women s ski jumping squad continued to show stunning team depth in a FIS Continental Cup in Braunlage, Germany, Sunday. Leading the way for the United States was reigning World Champion Lindsey Van (Park City, Utah) in sixth, followed by Jessica Jerome (Park City, Utah) in eighth and Alissa Johnson (Park City, Utah) with a season best ninth. Van led the U.S. with jumps of 81.0 and 86.0 meters as the Americans put three into the top 10 for a second consecutive day. PARALYMPIC SKIING: Alpine Skiing World Championships yields four gold medals for Team USA The 2011 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Alpine Skiing World Championships kicked off Sunday with the downhill races. For Team USA, Alana Nichols (Farmington, N.M.) and Laurie Stephens (Wenham, Mass.) placed first and second women s sitting downhill race with times of 1:30.45 and 1:33.05 respectively on Sunday. After a rest day on Monday, super G races were Tuesday. Nichols and Stephens continued to tally medals with Nichols earning gold with a time of 1:27.56 in the women s sitting super G and Stephens earning silver with a time of 1: For the men on Tuesday, Chris Devlin-Young (Campton, N.H.) earned gold in the men s sitting super G with a time of 1:17.67, completely blowing past his closest competition. NORDIC COMBINED SKIING: Taylor Fletcher Leads USA Taylor Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) turned in a strong, balanced performance to score points and lead the U.S. Ski Team, finishing 29th in a FIS Nordic Combined World Cup in the Olympic village of Seefeld, Austria. Norway s Magnus Moan overtook World Cup leader Jason Lamy-Chappuis of France for the win. Standing 32nd after the jump, Fletcher moved up steadily with the 24th fastest cross country time to step into the points in 29th - his second career top 30. His brother Bryan, who had a strong finish Saturday, was off on his jump but moved up from 43rd to 36th. In a comeback from a knee injury, Johnny Spillane (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) came from 48th in the jump to finish 35th, posting the 23rd fastest cross country time. Olympic silver medalist Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) jumped to 26th but decided to sit out the cross country. The U.S. Ski Team will continue to train in Seefeld until Tuesday. While snow is limited in Seefeld, it s reportedly better than in Chaux-Neuve where the World Cup will hold its final event before World Championships next month. Olympic champion Billy Demong (Vermontville, N.Y.), a proud new father of a baby boy Liam, will return for the weekend before the entire team heads back to the USA to prepare for the World Championships which begin in late February at Holmenkollen in Oslo. The World Championships Team will be named this week. SNOWBOARDING: USA lands three on the podium Lindsey Jacobellis (Stratton Mountain, Vt.) led the U.S. charge winning her third career World Championship gold as the USA landed three of six snowboardcross medals Tuesday in La Molina, Spain. Seth Wescott (Sugarloaf, Maine) and Nate Holland (Squaw Valley, Calif.) also landed on the podium with silver and bronze. After qualifying second for the finals, Olympic silver medalist Jacobellis was on fire out of the gate nailing all of her starts. With the win, Jacobellis is tied with the late Karine Ruby of France for the most World Championship victories with three. In the men s race, Australia s World Cup leader Alex Pullin was crowned champion, while the USA swept second and third. Twotime Olympic champion Wescott earned his fourth career World Championships medal the most of any SBX rider, while six-time X Games champ Holland picked up his second bronze. Wescott s silver puts him one ahead of France s Xavier de le Rue in career medals. Americans Jonathan Cheever (Saugus, Mass.) and Alex Deibold (Manchester Center, Vt.) also qualified for the finals. Deibold finished 26th. Cheever advanced to a tough semifinal heat consisting, Pullin and Wescott and finished eighth. Tuesday s race marked the fourth time that the USA has swept 50 percent of the SBX medals since the event originated in The 2011 FIS World Snowboard Championships continue Wednesday with the men s and women s parallel giant slalom. SPEEDSKATING: Jonathan Kuck wins north America/Oceania regional qualifier Racing concluded Sunday at the North America/Oceania Regional Qualifier at the Utah Olympic Oval Olympic silver medalist Jonathan Kuck (Champaign, Ill.) and five-time Canadian Olym-

6 pic medalist Cindy Klassen won allround titles at the event, which determine the six men and six women who will be skating for the North American/Oceania region at next month s 2011 Essent ISU World Allround Championships in Calgary, Canada. Sunday s competition opened with the ladies 1500m distance where Klassen won with a time of 1: Olympian Jilleanne Rookard (Woodhaven, Mich.) finished second at 1:57.56, a season best, followed by Canadian Brittany Schussler at 1: Olympian Maria Lamb (River Falls, Wis.) finished seventh (2:03.97) at the distance. In the men s 1500m, 2010 Olympic silver medalist Trevor Marsicano won with a time of 1:43.99, a season best Olympic silver medalist Brian Hansen (Glenview, Ill.) finished second at 1: a personal best, followed by Kuck in third at 1: a personal best. On Saturday, Brittany Schussler (CAN) won the 500m with a time of 39.90, followed by Jilleanne Rookard (Woodhaven, Mich) at 40.14, and Cindy Klassen (CAN) finishing at Maria Lamb (River Falls, Wis.) had a season-best to finish sixth. In the men s 500m, Brian Hansen (Glenview, Ill.) won the distance with a time of 35.99, Trevor Marsicano (Balston Spa, N.Y.) skated a season-best to take second, followed by Lucas Makowsky (CAN) in third at Jonathan Kuck (Champaign, Ill.) finished fourth at 36.47, Joshua Wood (Sacramento, Calif.) finished seventh at 37.13, and Patrick Meek (St. Louis, Mo.) skated a seasonbest to finish 12th. The ladies 3000m was won by Klassen with a time of 4:06.81, followed by Rookard at 4:07.88, and Schussler in third at 4: Lamb finished sixth with a season-best time of 4: Kuck won the men s 5000m with a time of 6:19.93, followed by Shane Dobbin (NZL), and Hansen in third with a season-best 6: Marsicano finished fourth with a season-best 6:26.08, Meek finished eighth with a season-best 6:39.26, and Wood finished ninth, also with a season-best 6: For full results, CLICK HERE. SWIMMING: Team USA is golden at the Austin Grand Prix Jason Lezak (Irvine, Calif.) and Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.) won gold medals Saturday night on the second day of competition at the 2011 Austin Grand Prix. Lezak topped the field in the men s 50m free while Phelps was victorious in the men s 100m back. The three-day meet, taking place at the University of Texas at Austin, was the second stop of the seven-meet USA Swimming Grand Prix Series. The 50m free saw a close race between Lezak and Josh Schneider (Cincinnati, Ohio). Lezak beat him to the wall by just two onehundredths for the win in Schneider was second in and Canadian Olympian Brent Hayden grabbed third place with a time of Phelps won the 100m back in one of the most stacked races of the night. The 16-time Olympic gold medalist held off a late surge from Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) to win his second gold medal of the meet with a time of Short course world-record holder Nick Thoman (Cincinnati, Ohio) was second in and Lochte was third in Clary picked up his second gold medal of the meet with his win in the 200m fly, with a time of 1: Todd Patrick (St. Louis, Mo.) finished second in 2:00.98 while Canadian Jordan Hartney was third in 2: In the final of the women s 200m fly, Breeden won in 2: Breeden beat out fellow 2008 Olympian Hersey, who placed second in 2: Canada s Tanya Hunks placed third in 2: Eric Shanteau (Lilburn, Ga.) won his second Austin Grand Prix gold in the 200m breast. He beat the rest of the field by more than two seconds to win in 2: Clark Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) earned the second-place spot with a time of 2:14.55 and Zach Gunn (Austin, Texas) was third in 2: Canada s Haylee Johnson won the women s 200m breast with a time of 2: The 400m free was won by Kate Ziegler (Great Falls, Va.) on the women s side and Chip Peterson (Pine Knoll Shores, N.C.) on the men s side. The women s race was a battle between Zielger and Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.) but Zielger came out ahead with a time of 4: Hoff finished in 4:09.51 and Camryne Morris was third in 4: Peterson won the men s gold in 3: He was followed by Michael Klueh (Evansville, Ind.), who was a close second in 3:53.73 and Andrew Gemmell (Wilmington, Del.), who was third in 3: Franklin wins three gold National Team swimmer Missy Franklin (Centennial, Colo.) turned in the top performance of the night Sunday, taking home three gold medals in the women s 200m IM, 200m back and the 100m free at the Austin Grand Prix. In her first event of the evening, Franklin won the 200m IM, beating the rest of the field by a little less than two seconds. She swam a 2:14.68 for the gold while Kaitlyn Jones (Wilmington, Del.) was second in 2: Rachel Bootsma (Eden Prairie, Minn.) was third in 2: Franklin s second win of the night was in the women s 200m back against a strong field that included National Teamers Elizabeth Pelton (Baltimore, Md.) and Madison White (Danville, Calif.). Franklin won the event with a time of 2:09.39, Pelton was second in 2:10.51 and White finished third in 2: Franklin s final, and closest, race of the night was the women s 100m free. Franklin held off Hoff to win her third gold in a time of Hoff swam a for second place while Simone Manuel finished third in SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING: 2011 U.S. FINA World Championship Team named USA Synchro named the 2011 National Synchronized Swimming Team which will represent the United States at the 14th FINA World Aquatics Championships later this year. The elite international competition which features all four aquatics sports, will take place July 16-31, in Shanghai, China. The roster includes five returning athletes from the 2010 National Team which finished sixth at last year s FINA World Cup. For a complete roster, CLICK HERE. TRIATHLON: Garrard, Middaugh take USA Triathlon Winter Nationals Standout off-road triathletes Emma Garrard (Park City, Utah) and Josiah Middaugh (Vail, Colo.) took their talents to the snow

7 Saturday, earning the overall national titles at the 2011 USA Triathlon Winter Triathlon National Championship at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Middaugh posted a winning time of 56:31 to edge two-time defending champion Brian Smith (Gunnison, Colo.), who finished in 57:16 in the 5-kilometer run, 10-kilometer mountain bike and 8-kilometer cross-country ski event. Garrard grabbed the women s title in 1:07:48 to finish more than 2 minutes clear of the closest women s competitor. Photo: Getty Images By virtue of their victories, Garrard and Middaugh secured spots on the U.S. team for the 2011 ITU Elite Winter Triathlon World Championship, which is slated for March in Jamijarvi, Finland. The top three male and female American finishers claimed the right to represent the United States. Heather Best (Fairbanks, Alaska) took second in the women s race in 1:10:15, and Paula Hudson (Park City, Utah) grabbed third in 1:12:24. Australian Ben Sim finished third in the men s race in 58:38, followed by two-time champion Mike Kloser (Vail, Colo.) in 1:00:31. WRESTLING: Johnson places fifth on final day of Ivan Podubbny Grand Prix R.C. Johnson (Colorado Springs, Colo.) placed fifth at 96 kg/211.5 lbs., the top U.S. performance on the final day of the respected Ivan Podubbny Grand Prix on Sunday in Tumen, Russia. Johnson was defeated in a bronze-medal match against 2008 Olympic champion Aslanbek Khushtov of Russia, 0-1, 3-0, 1-0. He opened with a loss to Artur Shakhbanov of Russia, 0-4, 0-4. When Shakhbanov defeated Khushtov in the semifinals to become a finalist, he drew Johnson back into the repechage rounds. In his first repechage match, Johnson defeated an opponent from Moldova in three periods to earn a spot in the bronze-medal round. Three weight classes were contested on Sunday. Johnson was the only athlete to place in the top five who was not from Russia. Team USA finished the two-day tournament in third place, behind the champion Russian team and the runner-up Belarus team. Winning a bronze medal at 84 kg/185 lbs. on Saturday was Chas Betts (Colorado Springs, Colo.).

8 NGB Schedule for January BIATHLON: IBU World Cup racing continues in Anterselva, Italy, Jan U.S. BOBSLED & SKELETON: Athletes from 22 nations will be competing in the sixth bobsled and skeleton World Cup event this season in Winterberg, Germany from Jan The U.S. will enter four bobsled pilots and five skeleton athletes into the competitions. CANOE/KAYAK: The Pan American Canoe (COPAC) Mexican Federation of Canoe is hosting the Canoe Slalom Pan American Championships 2011, which will take place in Union de Tula, State of Jalisco, Mexico on Jan CURLING: The 2011 Men s U.S. Nationals Challenge Round will take place in Waupaca, Wis., on Jan FIGURE SKATING: The 2011 AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championships kick off at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, N.C., on Jan. 23. Live and on-demand coverage of all events will be provided at GYMNASTICS: The Circle of Stars Gymnastics Invitational (of the Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup Series) will take place in Indianapolis, Ind., on Jan FIELD HOCKEY: The USA Women s National Team will host Canada in Chula Vista, Calif., Jan This is the first time the women will be back on the field in international competition since August FREESTYLE SKIING: The Nature Valley Freestyle Cup will take place in Lake Placid, N.Y., on Jan Men s and women s aerials will be held on Friday, Jan. 21, and men s and women s moguls will finish out the weekend on Saturday, Jan. 22, and Sunday, Jan. 23 LUGE: The 7th Viessmann World Cup will be held in Altenburg, Germany Jan SAILING: The 2011 Rolex Miami OCR will be held in Miami, Fla., Jan The 22nd annual US SAILING Rolex Miami OCR is a mainstay on the winter circuit for sailors who are campaigning for the next Olympic and Paralympic Games. SOCCER: The U.S. Men s National Team s first match of 2011 will take place in Chile on Saturday, Jan. 22, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The USA women will face Sweden, Canada and China to Open 2011 in Chongqing, China. All the matches will take place at the 28,000-seat Yongchuan Sports Centre with the USA opening the tournament against the Swedes on Friday, Jan. 21 (2:35 a.m. ET). The USA then meets Canada on Sunday, Jan. 23 (6:05 a.m. ET) and China PR on Tuesday, Jan. 25 (5:35 a.m. ET). SNOWBOARDING: The 2011 World Snowboarding Championships will take place in La Molina, Spain, Jan The Championships will span over an eight day period with six different events showcasing the sport s top riders. Men s big air will be Sat., Jan, 15; men s and women s snowboardcross will be Tues., Jan. 18; Men s and women s parallel giant slalom will be Wed., Jan. 19; Men s and women s halfpipe will be Thurs., Jan. 20; Men s and women s parallel slalom will be Fri., Jan 21; and Men s and women s slopestyle will be Sat., Jan. 22. SPEEDSKATING: The 2011 World Sprint Speedskating Championships will be held in Heerenveen, Netherlands, Jan Also on TeamUSA.org The countdown to Innsbruck begins now By: Paul D. Bowker A new ski jump platform is in place. The mascot design a mountain goat dressed up in an alpine outfit created by two Argentinean entrants has been chosen in a contest. And today, exactly one year out from the Innsbruck 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games, the Innsbruck 2012 Organizing Committee announced that the Youth Olympic Games Snow Festival will begin Feb. 4 on the main road going through Innsbruck, featuring winter sports activities and concerts. The Feb. 4 date is special in its own right since it marks the 35th anniversary of when Innsbruck last hosted the Olympic Winter Games in Needless to say, anticipation for the first Winter Youth Olympic Games is building in host city Innsbruck, Austria, and also back here in the United States. I was so impressed with the level of their preparation, especially with their venue status, said Todd Allison, U.S. Olympic Committee Associate Director, International Games, who recently traveled to Austria and toured the Innsbruck facilities. CLICK HERE to read more. Photo: Teamusa.org