Victor native Breezy Johnson is among the alpine skiers vying for a spot on the 2018 U.S. Olympic ski team, and she is nearing the busiest stretch of the World Cup season.
The 21 year-old most recently competed at Val d’Isere, France, placing 31st in the super G on Sunday and 38th in the super G on Saturday. Through four super G events thus far this season, she is tied for 67th in the FIS women’s overall alpine skiing world rankings. Additionally, she is tied for 16th in the women’s downhill world standings and tied for 39th in the super G world standings.
The next event on the FIS alpine World Cup schedule in Johnson’s disciplines is the women’s giant slalom in Maribor, Slovenia on Jan. 6. There are World Cup races in every alpine discipline scheduled throughout January.
The Post Register is working to schedule a Skype interview with Johnson for a feature story before the New Year.
Coming up locally
Kelly Canyon Resort opened for the season Wednesday. Except for Sundays and Christmas Day, when it will be closed, the resort will operate on holiday hours of 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Mid-December throughout February, the 7-mile loop at Craters of the Moon will be groomed for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. There are no entry fees. There are also other opportunities, including the 1.5-mile Snowshoe Loop. Pets are not permitted. For conditions and maps, visit nps.gov/crmo.
The fourth session of the City of Idaho Falls Learn to Skate program begins Jan. 2. Classes are available for ages 3.5 years old through adult. For the complete class listing and registrationinformation, visit ifrec.org.
The Jay P Backyard Series Fat Pursuit 200 mile and 200k fat bike races are scheduled for Jan. 5-7 in Island Park. The 200-mile race will start at noon Jan. 5 at the Ponds Lodge Parking lot while the 200k starts at 7 a.m. Jan. 6 across the street from Ponds Lodge. A mandatory pre-race meeting/dinner is scheduled for both races. There are two meetings for the 200-mile race, one at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 4 and another at 9 a.m. Jan. 5 while the 200k meeting is 6:30 p.m. Jan. 5.
There are three checkpoints for the 200k and 200-mile races. Complete rules and a list of mandatory gear for participants can be viewed at http://fatpursuit.com/racer-info/.
Team USA Update
Mikaela Shiffrin resoundingly punched her ticket to compete in giant slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, by winning the Courcheval, France, World Cup giant slalom on Tuesday by .99 seconds. The 2014 Olympic slalom champion and 2017 FIS women’s overall crystal globe winner followed that up with a parallel slalom win Wednesday on the same course to bring her career total World Cup wins to 35 to put her at second all-time for most world cup wins by a U.S. skier (second to Lindsey Vonn’s 78). She has four World Cup wins this season. Shiffrin leads the FIS women’s giant slalom world standings with 225 total points and has established a lead so large that no other U.S. female skier can catch her before the Olympic team selection period ends. She also leads the overall standings with 721 points and downhill standings with 160 points and is 18th in Super G.
Utah’s Olympic/Paralympic Exploratory Committee announced within the last week that Salt Lake City intends to bid for another Winter Olympics, either 2026 or 2030. Reno-Tahoe and Denver have also expressed interest in bidding for a future bid. The U.S. Olympic Committee has until March 31 to select a single 2026 candidate city to the International Olympic Committee.
