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| Team USA in Switzerland |
At Spyns clients getting ready for their luxury adventures to London in 2012, American Olympic athletes are competing around the world for world cups and competition experience. With less than 500 days until the opening ceremony on July 27th, 2012, everyone is getting excited about the forth coming games. If you would like information on our 4, 5, 7, and 10-day tours browse our itineraries or chat with us live at www.london-olympiad.com.
SKIING
FIS Alpine World Cup Finals, March 16-20, Lenzerheide, Switzerland
After finishing 13th in the final World Cup slalom event of the season on Friday, three-time defending World Cup overall champion Lindsey Vonn trails Maria Riesch of Germany by three points heading into the final World Cup race, a giant slalom, on Saturday.
Entering the final two events at this weekend’s World Cup Finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, Vonn was ahead of Riesch in the race for the World Cup overall championship. Vonn, the 2010 Olympic downhill skiing gold medalist, has already won this year’s titles in the downhill, super combined and Super G. The Super G race at the World Cup Finals was canceled Thursday due to rain and wet snow conditions, leaving Vonn in front based on previous World Cup events.
Vonn had trailed Reisch by more than 200 points less than a month ago, but continued to gain ground and finally took over the lead after placing fourth in the World Cup Finals downhill while Reisch placed 17th. Riesch regained the lead Friday after finishing fourth in the slalom.
“I’m only a couple points ahead, so I still feel like I’m the underdog,” Vonn told Ski Racing Magazine before the race. “Maria is dangerous in all events so I have to be ready and on my game in every race.”
Julia Mancuso won gold in the downhill, marking her first World Cup win since 2007.
The World Cup Finals will conclude Sunday with the team competition.
TV: 2:45-4 p.m., 6:15-7:30 p.m., 8:15-9:30 p.m. ET Friday, Universal Sports; 12:15-1:30 p.m., 2:45-4 p.m., 8:15-9:30 p.m. Saturday, Universal Sports
Also in skiing:
FIS Freestyle World Cup moguls, March 19-20, Myrkdalen-Voss, Norway, and World Cup halfpipe, March 20, La Plagne, France
Cross Country World Cup, March 18-20, Falun, Sweden
SPEEDSKATING
ISU Short Track World Team Championships, March 19-20, Warsaw, Poland
Katherine Reutter, a 2010 Olympian who won an individual world title in the 1,500-meter race last week at the ISU World Short Track Speedskating Championships in England, leads the U.S. into this weekend’s Short Track World Team Championships in Warsaw, Poland. Reutter finished second to Korea’s Ha-Ri Cho in the overall World Championship standings.
Among the leading U.S. men’s skaters are Travis Jayner, Jeff Simon, Kyle Carr, Anthony Lobello and Simon Cho, who finished No. 1 in the overall World Championship standings.
TRACK AND FIELD
IAAF World Cross Country Championships, March 20, Punta Umbria, Spain
Olympic 10,000-meters bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan, 2008 Olympic marathoner Magdalena Lewy Boulet and 2011 men’s cross country national champion Brent Vaughn will lead the U.S. team at Sunday’s IAAF World Cross Country Championships. The U.S. women won bronze at the 2010 Worlds. Boulet and Vaughn were named captains of the team Thursday.
Also in track:
Los Angeles Marathon, March 20, Los Angeles
TV: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. ET Sunday, Universal Sports
DIVING
FINA Diving World Series, March 18-19, Moscow, Russia
Three-time Olympian Troy Dumais, 16-year-old Michael Hixon, Kassidy Cook and Cassidy Krug will compete for the U.S. in the first leg of the FINA Diving World Series. For Hixon, it will be his senior international debut as he competes in a synchronized diving event with Dumais. Hixon, a silver medalist at the 2010 Junior World Championships and bronze medalist at the Youth Olympic Games, is diving with Dumais in place of Kristian Ipsen because Ipsen was unable to make this event. Cook and Krug won their second national title at the U.S. championships in February.
SWIMMING
NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, March 17-19, Austin, Texas
Defending champion University of Florida qualified 13 swimmers for this weekend’s NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, which began Thursday at the Texas Swimming Center in Austin. Last year’s team champion California also qualified 13 for the Championships. Texas A&M led the way with 15 qualifiers.
Also in swimming:
U.S. Collegiate Synchronized Swimming Championships, March 17-19, Tonawanda, N.Y.
Defending national champion Ohio State University, along with Stanford and host school Canisius College are among the title contenders in the 35th annual U.S. Collegiate Synchronized Swimming Championships, which continue through Saturday. In addition to the team division, competition will be held in solo, duet and trio events. Nearly 200 swimmers are entered, coming from NCAA Division I, II and III schools, and NAIA colleges and universities.
CURLING
Capital One World Women’s Championship, March 19-27, Esbjerg, Denmark
Patti Lank of Lewiston, N.Y., will make her first appearance in the World Women’s Championship since 2004, when the U.S. squad she is leading takes on Switzerland on Saturday in a first-round match at the 2011 World Women’s Championship in Denmark. Also on Lank’s team is three-time Olympian Debbie McCormick, 2006 Olympian Jessica Schultz, Caitlin Maroldo and Mackenzie Lank, Patti’s 16-year-old daughter. The U.S. will also play Denmark on Saturday and Scotland on Sunday. After a round robin involving 12 countries, the page playoffs at The Grand Arena in Esbjerg, Denmark, begin March 25.
Also in curling:
USA Curling Mixed National Championship, March 19-26, Midland, Mich.
WRESTLING
NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, March 17-20, Philadelphia
Two-time NCAA wrestling champion Brent Metcalf defeated Heinrich Barnes of South Africa, 5-1, 3-0, finishing off a 12-10 win by the U.S. over a team of international stars Thursday in the USA Wrestling National Team All-Star Meet in Philadelphia. The exhibition was a part of the opening day of the NCAA Wrestling Championships, in which Penn State grabbed an early lead. Other U.S. winners included 2005 World bronze medalist Justin Ruiz, Keith Gavin and Wynn Michalak.
TV: 7-9:30 p.m. ET Friday, ESPNU; 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, ESPNU; 7:30-10:30 p.m. Saturday, ESPN
BIATHLON
IBU World Cup, March 17-19, Oslo, Norway
Haley Johnson, a 2010 Olympian, placed 22nd in the women’s 7.5k sprint competition Thursday, posting the second-best finish of her career. Another 2010 Olympian, Sara Studebaker, finished 23rd while another Olympian, Tim Burke, placed 21st in the men’s event. The men’s and women’s pursuit races will be held Saturday.
FENCING
World Cup, March 18-20, Paris, France
Team USA, which includes 2010 World Team members Seth Kelsey, Cody Mattern and Benjamin Bratton, will head back to Paris this weekend for World Cup competition in men’s epee. It was in Paris back in November that the U.S. won silver in epee at the World Championships for the first time in history.
Also in fencing:
Men’s Foil, individuals and teams, March 18-20, Bonn, Germany
Men’s Saber and Women‘s Epee, individuals and teams, March 18-20, Moscow, Russia
GYMNASTICS
City of Jesolo Trophy, March 19, Jesolo, Italy
Jordyn Wieber, the 2011 AT&T American Cup champion, and 2010 World silver medalist Alexandra Raisman will be among 14 U.S. women competing Saturday in the City of Jesolo Trophy. Raisman won the all-around title at last year’s competition, at which the U.S. won the team championship. Gymnasts from Japan, Italy and Russia are also expected to compete.
Also in gymnastics:
Flower Cup, U.S. Trampoline Team, March 19, Aalsmeer, Netherlands
FIELD HOCKEY
USA U-19 Women vs. Canada, March 18-19, Chula Vista, Calif.
The USA U-19 Junior National Women’s Team, which lost to Canada 2-0 on Wednesday and 1-0 on Tuesday, will meet the Canadians twice this weekend in the final two meetings of their exhibition series at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. The U.S. and Canada will play 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. local time) Friday and noon ET Saturday.
ARCHERY
Copa Merengue de Tiro Con Arco World Ranking Tournament, March 14-20, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Sixteen members of United States Archery Team are competing this week in the season-opening Copa Merengue de Tiro Con Arco World Ranking Tournament. The U.S. archers are those ranked No. 5 through No. 8, and the field was split between compound and recurve archers to given them international experience. Berths in the Pan Am Games will be up for grabs Friday, followed by open team rounds Saturday.
“We are excited to offer international competition opportunities to all of our USAT members this year,” said Robby Beyer, USA Archery High Performance Manager. “Through this event, we ensure that our athletes who may not compete in the initial World Cup events of 2011 will obtain the international experience they need to help them improve their game.”
SNOWBOARDING
European Winter X Games, March 16-18, Tignes, France
Kelly Clark and Hannah Teter finished one-two in the women’s halfpipe snowboarding event Thursday at the European Winter X Games. Clark had previously won the Dew Tour championship, European Open and gold in the U.S. Winter X Games. In the men’s competition, Greg Bretz led five U.S. snowboarders into Friday’s final of the men’s halfpipe.
TV: 7-10 p.m. ET Friday, ESPN
Also in snowboarding:
World Cup, March 18-19, Valmalenco, Italy
CYCLING
San Remo Classic, March 19, Milan, Italy
The longest one-day race of the year takes to the roads of northwest Italy on Saturday.
TV: 6-8 p.m. ET, 9:30-11:30 p.m. Saturday, Universal Sports
LUGE
Norton Youth Championships, March 19-20, Lake Placid, N.Y.
Youth ages 17 and under will take to the luge track at Lake Placid this weekend for the seeding races on Saturday and Norton Youth National Championships on Sunday. The races will be used to determine spots on next year’s Junior Development Team.
Webcast: usaluge.org
CANOE/KAYAK
4th annual March Slalom Race, March 19-20, Charlotte, N.C.
The U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., will be host to the 4th annual March Slalom Race, an event that is expected to attract 2010 Olympic hopefuls.
JUDO
International Youth Judo Team Championship, March 21-27, St. Petersburg, Russia
Ten U.S. athletes are headed to Russia to compete in the International Youth Judo Team Championship, which begins Sunday.
Also in judo:
Midwestern Judo Championships, March 18-20, Rosemont, Ill.
Louisiana State Judo Championships, March 19, Lafayette, La.
Spyns is an active travel company based in Whistler, BC (Canada). For more information about Spyns and our package tours to the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, including London Olympics hotels, London 2012 tickets, and summer games VIP access, please visit our websites http://www.london-olympiad.com/ http://www.london2012-tours.com/ and http://www.london-tours-2012.com/ or call us toll-free at 1.888.825.4720. www.spyns.com.
