By Marleen Kaesebier
BORMIO, Italy, Feb 21 (Reuters) – Despite Europe dominating the ski mountaineering rankings, the two relative newcomers from the United States fought their way to fourth place in Saturday’s mixed relay race at the Milano Cortina Games.
Having secured their spots to Milano Cortina with the U.S.’ first ever World Cup win in the discipline in December, Anna Gibson and Cam Smith were already making history in their sport.
After the duo’s results on Saturday, Smith said, “It shows that the moment wasn’t too big for us,” calling the bubbly pair the “underdog team”.
Rooted in alpine military training, it is no wonder SkiMo has been dominated by European nations at World Cups so far, but with the sport becoming an Olympic event, the push to enter the big leagues has been noticeable, particularly from the United States.
Smith has been active in the sport for some years but December was her first ever World Cup, and the Olympic sprint was only about her fourth official race. Gibson only joined the U.S. team from trail running last September.
Johanna Hiemer of Austria said in December of Gibson arriving on the SkiMo scene that year that: “Within one summer everything changed, and we always said it wouldn’t happen overnight but it proved the opposite.”
USA SkiMo’s Head of Sport, Sarah Cookler, said in December that the addition of the sport in the Olympics will give it a boost in her country. “It’s really only a matter of time before we can attract the strongest athletes for this and be really competitive.” Cookler hired Italian trainer Oscar Angeloni in 2024 in part to mimic the structure of European teams.
HAPPY WITH RESULTS
On Thursday, Smith and Gibson were both “lucky losers” in their respective Olympic sprint heats, allowing them to continue on into the semifinals and earning them 11th and ninth place respectively in the end.
They were already happy with their Olympic performances in the sprints, and now they are elated.
“We’ve just embraced that ‘Why not us?’ mentality,” Smith said. “Just being on the start line was such a win for our Federation.”
The duo donned matching pink cowboy hats, smiling from ear to ear, as they did their final rounds of Olympic interviews.
“Everything we’ve done has shocked the world – from getting here, to being competitive, to vaulting all the way to fourth. I think it shows that we’re capable of anything,” Smith said.
(Reporting by Marleen Kaesebier in Bormio; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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