Six with ties to Steamboat Springs will fly for U.S. Ski Jumping Team this winter
U.S. Ski and Snowboard released the list of 17 athletes who have accepted their nominations to join the 2024-25 U.S. Ski Jumping Team, including six familiar faces to local fans.
With 41 starts in his World Cup Career, 20-year-old Erik Belshaw is poised for another season of progress with the ski jumping A Team.
Belshaw had a personal best season in 2023-24, securing a silver medal at the Junior World Championships, becoming the first U.S. male ski jumper in history to medal at the event.
Erik’s older sister, Annika Belshaw, will compete on the B Team. She collected more than 10 top-30 finishes in World Cup competitions last year. The 22-year-old’s best finish last year was 20th place at an event in Willingen, Germany.
Joining Annika on the B Team is 24-year-old Decker Dean, who has competed with the national team since 2018. Dean became the 100th Olympian from Steamboat Springs after jumping at the 2022 Games in Beijing.
Estella Hassrick, 18, was in many ways adopted by the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club last season, and her winter-long performance granted her a spot on the C Team. Hassrick holds the record for the longest female jump on the HS100 ski jump at Howelsen Hill and represented the U.S. at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games, placing 16th.
Jason Colby joins Hassrick on the C team this season after making his World Cup debut in February. Colby, 18, took 48th place in the competition, making a step toward his dream of scoring World Cup points by age 19.
Fifteen-year-old Sawyer Graves rounds out the list of Steamboat athletes after qualifying for the D Team. Graves was part of a four-skier team — along with Hassrick and Colby — that placed seventh in the team Youth Olympics ski jumping event earlier this year.
The 2024-25 FIS World Cup season will start for both the men and women Nov. 22 in Lillehammer, Norway, on the large hill. The World Cup will return to the U.S. for an event in Lake Placid, New York, from Feb. 6-8, where both men and women will compete. It will mark the first time in history that U.S. women will have competed at a World Cup in their home country. The World Championships will close out the season in Trondheim, Norway, from Feb. 27-March 8.
“I am really excited about the upcoming season. The team has put in a lot of work during the offseason, and their growth has been incredible. They’re focused, motivated and ready to compete at a high level,” U.S. Ski & Snowboard Ski Jumping Sport Director Anders Johnson said. “I believe we’re just scratching the surface of what they can achieve. I’m confident that if we keep this momentum going, we’re going to have a strong year ahead. The athletes are eager to get out there and prove themselves.”
To reach Tom Skulski, call 970-871-4240, email tskulski@SteamboatPilot.com.
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