Casey Larson and Annika Belshaw win at US nationals
Oct 03, 2022·Ski Jumping
The US national Ski Jumping championships were held last weekend in Lake Placid, on the hills where the World Cup will make its comeback in the USA this winter.
Casey Larson claimed both titles in the men's competitions there. On the HS 100 normal hill, the 23-year-old took a clear win with his jumps of 101 m and 99 m and 281.1 points. The second place went to Andrew Urlaub with 98.5 m and 94 m and a score of 266.6 points, Erik Belshaw had jumps of 95.5 m and 92.5 m and came in third with 253.7 points.
The nordic combined athletes Ben Loomis, Jasper Good, and Jared Shumate followed in places four to six.
A day later, the same three athletes also took the spots on the podium on the HS 128 large hill. Casey Larson was the best jumper once again and proved to be unbeatable also on Sunday with 126 m and 123 m and 257.2 points. Erik Belshaw was second in this competition with 119 m and 116 m and 230.7 points, Andrew Urlaub followed in third with his 118 m and 117 m jumps and a total of 230.0 points.
The places right behind the podium in this competition went to Jared Shumate, Jasper Good, and Niklas Malacinski.
“It’s pretty cool to be able to have this facility here and be able to jump here whenever we want. I think that the state of Ski Jumping in the United States is getting a lot better, and the future is in good hands with the team that we have. I had a good feeling this weekend and had some great jumps in competition, so I was lucky for that. My teammates jumped and performed incredibly well, and that’s all that I can ask for", Casey Larson is quoted on usanordic.org.
In the women's competitions, the titles also went to the same athlete on both hills. Annika Belshaw won on the normal hill with 93.5 m and 90 m and 235.7 points. She was followed by Paige Jones (91 m and 88.5 m; 223.9 points) and Samantha Macuga (88 m and 86.5 m; 209.5 points) in second and third.
On the large hill, Annika Belshaw stood on top of the podium with 106 m and 105 m and 176.8 points. Paige Jones repeated her second place with 172.6 points (111 m and 104 m), Anna Hoffmann was third with 129.3 points (100 m and 92 m).
“It was a really fun weekend jumping here in Lake Placid. I really love this sport and I’m looking forward to the competitions this winter,” Annika Belshaw said after her two wins.
