=== The latest news from the USOC - December 4 ===
(Courtesy of United States Olympic Committee)
(Sports Network) - Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) highlighted a strong weekend for
the U.S. by sweeping both downhill events along with the super-G at the world
cup, which ran from Nov. 29-Dec. 2 in Lake Louise, Alberta. Vonn and teammate
Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, Calif.) had a one-two finish in the downhill
events, while Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, Calif.) finished just behind Vonn in
SETTING THE PACE
Noelle Pikus-Pace (Orem, Utah) collected a gold and a silver medal for the U.S
in the first intercontinental cup skeleton race, which ran from Nov. 30-Dec. 1
in Whistler, British Columbia. After finishing second in the first race, the
2010 Olympian had a two-run total of 1:50.97 in the second race to secure the
top spot on the podium.
Annelies Cook (Saranac Lake, N.Y.) was the top U.S. finisher in the women's 15-
kilometer individual world cup on Nov. 29 in Ostersund, Sweden. She posted a
time of 50:53.5 and shot 17/20 to secure 46th place.
Marshall Kent (Yakima, Wash.) finished second at the 48th QubicaAMF World Cup
on Dec. 1 in Wroclaw, Poland. Kent started match play 0-3, but won his next
five matches and earned a spot in the final, where he eventually fell to Syafiq
Ridhwan Abdul Malek of Malaysia, 2-0. Meanwhile, Danielle McEwan (Stony Point,
N.Y.) finished fourth in the women's division. McEwan went 3-5 in match play
and finished with an 8,158 pinfall total.
Lightweight Maliek Montgomery (Macon, Ga.) and light heavyweight Anthony Sims
Jr. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) secured victories on Nov. 30 and advanced to the second
round of the 2012 Youth World Championships in Yerevan, Armenia. Montgomery
earned a 17-10 decision against Germany's Sahan Aybay in the 132 lbs. division,
while Sims knocked out Edgar Liman of Lithuania in the 178 lbs. matchup.
Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo.) secured her third UCI Cyclo-cross World
Cup victory with a final-lap pass on Dec. 2 in Roubaix, France. After riding in
second for nearly the entire race, Compton passed Sanne Van Paassen of the
Netherlands, finishing with a time of 42:24.
Elizabeth Price (Coopersburg, Pa.) won the women's all-around at the IGF World
Cup on Dec. 1 in Stuttgart, Germany. Price had a total score of 58.098, with
her best performance coming from her 15.733 vault. Meanwhile, Danell Leyva
(Miami, Fla.) finished fifth in the men's all-around with a total of 88.364.
The U.S. won four medals at the 2012 Pan American Trampoline and Tumbling
Championships on Dec. 2 in Santiago de Queretaro, Mexico. Kalon Ludvigson
(Pocatello, Idaho) and Marina Moskalenko (St. Cloud, Fla.) captured men's and
women's tumbling gold, while Kristle Lowell (Orland Park, Ill.) captured silver
and Austin Nacey (Braidwood, Ill.) claimed bronze.
The U.S. National Sled Team defeated Norway, 3-1, in its opening game of the
2012 World Sledge Hockey Challenge on Dec. 2 in Calgary, Alberta. Rico Roman
(San Antonio, Texas) was named player of the game after tallying two assists
for the U.S.
Chris Mazdzer (Saranac Lake, N.Y.) finished 15th at the world cup event held on
Dec. 2 in Koenigssee, Germany. The 2010 Olympian had a two-run total of
1:39.975, finishing just ahead of teammate Taylor Morris (South Jordan, Utah).
Morris slid into 22nd place with a time of 1:40.290.
The U.S. women beat China and France to win the first-ever IRB Women's Sevens
World Series title on Dec. 1 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Team USA cruised
to a 36-7 victory over China, then edged France, 26-12, in the championship.
Meanwhile, the men grinded past Spain, 14-12, but eventually fell to South
Africa, 22-14, in the semifinals.
Brian Beaman (Shelby, S.D.) recorded the second highest U.S. men's 10-meter air
pistol score at the 2012 Winter Airgun Championships in Colorado Springs,
Colo., which ran from Nov. 30-Dec. 2. His overall score of 689.7 was 11.3
points ahead of second-place finisher Will Brown (Twin Falls, Idaho).
SKI & SNOWBOARD
Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah) validated his huge opening win in Soelden,
Austria, five weeks ago with an impressive 1.76 second victory in the Audi
Birds of Prey World Cup giant slalom competition on Dec. 2 in Beaver Creek,
Colo. Ligety finished with a two-run total of 2:25.59 and has won the opening
two giant slalom races of the season by a 4.51 second margin.
Cross-country skier Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, Alaska) notched her second
straight distance podium at the Ruka Triple after placing second in the 5-
kilometer freestyle world cup event, which ran from Nov. 30-Dec. 2 in Kuusamo,
Finland. Overall, she finished fifth in the three-day event.
Alex Morgan (Diamond Bar, Calif.) scored a hat trick to help the U.S. Women's
National Team earn a 5-0 victory against Ireland on Nov. 28 in Portland, Ore.
The U.S. moved to 4-0-2 on the fan tribute tour following the London 2012
The U.S. Under-17 Men's National Team dropped a 4-3 decision to Portugal in the
finale of the 2012 Nike International on Dec. 2 in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. Team
USA finished the tournament with a 1-1-1 record after beating Turkey, 4-1, and
tying Brazil, 4-4.
At the Essent ISU World Cup, Shani Davis (Chicago, Ill.) claimed gold in the
men's 1,500-meter race with a time of 1:46.01 on Dec. 2 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The U.S. collected two more medals at the Samsung ISU World Cup in Nagoya,
Japan. J.R. Celski (Federal Way, Wash.) finished the 1,000 in 1:28.417 for
silver, while Travis Jayner (Salt Lake City, Utah) collected bronze in the 500
after posting a time of 41.398.
Missy Franklin (Centennial, Colo.) collected five medals - including three
golds - at the Winter National Championships, which ran from Nov. 29-Dec. 1 in
Austin, Texas. On day two of competition, Franklin earned titles in the 200-
yard freestyle and the 100 backstroke. Her final gold medal came in the 200
backstroke. Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md.) also collected multiple titles, with
victories in the 500 and 1,650 freestyle. Meanwhile, Ryan Lochte touched first
in the 200 medley, while Matt Grevers (Lake Forrest, Ill.) won the 50
The U.S. finished seventh at the FINA Synchronized Swimming World Trophy, which
ran from Nov. 30-Dec. 2 in Mexico City. The U.S. finished ninth in the
highlight routine, seventh in the thematic duet, sixth in the thematic and
seventh in the free combo.
The U.S. women took first and the men claimed second at the NORECA Beach
Volleyball Circuit on Dec. 2 in Aruba. Tealle Hunkus (Girard, Ohio) and Summer
Ross (San Diego, Calif.) defeated Mexico's Bib Candelas and Martha Revuelta,
21-19, 21-17, to clinch their second consecutive NORECA title. Meanwhile, Avery
Drost (Hawthorne, Calif.) and Will Montgomery (Santa Barbara, Calif.) fell to
the Mexican duo of Juan Virgen and Lombardo Ontiveros, 21-15, 21-12, in the
12/04 09:29:01 ET