By Nicholas Michaud, Coach for U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing Development Team
The U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing program (USPN), who’s made Crosscut Mountain Sports Center their home training base, has multiple athletes compete in the Winter and Summer Paralympic Games. The Games, featuring athletes with an impairment, take place shortly after every Olympic Games in the same host city.
With the wave of Covid-19 slapping everyone hard in 2020, several USPN multisport athletes had to wait a year for the Tokyo Games to commence. The pause on Tokyo 2020, and cancelling of most races during the winter, meant learning to be comfortable with uncertainty. No easy task, the program pounced on this opportunity by spending more time on education for athletes and coaches, as well as building more relationships with local professionals. Trust that everything needed for progress can be found around the corner was built--especially in the abundant Bozeman community.
So when USPN summer athletes hit the ground in Tokyo, it was no surprise they filled their backpacks with hardware. On brand with the Nordic skier mindset, USPN athletes performed with gritty confidence and a commitment to a balanced process. Kendall closed a 4 minute gap to win Team USA’s first women’s Gold in Triathlon. Oksana, floored by early spring health issues, remained patient and brought her unrivaled fighting mentality to two powerful victories, earning Gold in the Road Cycling Time Trial and Road Race. Dani, with the pressure of her potential first two Games experiences in sight (Tokyo and Beijing), built the capacity to perform on any stage with consistent performances all season in Women’s 400m Track. Liza Corso, an emerging Nordic skier, showed her prowess on the track with a gutsy last lap in the 1500 for a Silver medal. And Aaron Pike, making multiple Track Cycling starts, showcased a 6th place in the Marathon.
For our entire community, we confidently smile, knowing that’s how Nordic skiers manage anything they want to find success in. They bring people together, crank the dial on grit, and commit to the smaller, systematic chunking process of achieving big goals. Say hi to this group as they prepare at Crosscut for a range of Cross Country and Biathlon races at the Beijing Games this coming winter!
Results:
Oksana Masters, USPN National Team and Crosscut Elite: Gold in Women’s H4-5 Road Cycling Time Trial and Gold in Women’s H5 Road Cycling Race
Kendall Gretsch, USPN National Team and Crosscut Elite: Gold in Women’s Triathlon PTWC2
Danielle Aravich, USPN Development Team and Crosscut Elite: 5th in Women’s Heat 1 T47 400m Track
Aaron Pike, USPN National Team and Crosscut Elite: 6th in Men’s T54 Marathon Track Cycling; 5th in Men’s Heat 2 T54 5000m Track Cycling; 3rd in Men’s Heat 1 T54 800m Track Cycling
Liza Corso, USPN Emerging Athlete: Silver Women’s T13 1500m
Link for results: https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/paralympic-games/en/results/all-sports/paralympic-schedule.htm
Teammate and National Team member, Ruslan Reiter helping Dani prep for the 400 at the MSU track