Utah Olympic Park nordic ski jumping. Photo: USA Nordic

PARK CITY, Utah — USA Nordic announced today its nominations for the U.S. Olympic Nordic Combined Team to represent Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. Nominations are to be confirmed by The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) when it formally announces the U.S. Olympic Team.

2022 U.S. OLYMPIC NORDIC COMBINED TEAM:

(Name; hometown, age; club; past Olympics)

Taylor Fletcher, Steamboat Springs, CO; 31; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club (Olympics: 2010, 2014, 2018)
Ben Loomis, Eau Claire, WI; 24; Flying Eagles Ski Club (Olympics: 2018)
Jasper Good, Steamboat Springs, CO; 26; Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club (Olympics: 2018)
*Jared Shumate, Park City, UT; 23; Park City Ski & Snowboard*
*Stephen Schumann, Park City, UT; 22; Park City Ski & Snowboard*

*Denotes first-time Olympian

The team is headlined by Three time Olympian Taylor Fletcherr, looking for his first Olympic podium. Fletcher’s top Olympic finishes include sixth-place in the Team Large Hill Ski Jump/4×5 km Cross Country ski combination, and a 20th place result in the Large Hill Ski Jump/10 km Cross Country Individual ski combination competition at the 2014 Sochi Games. Fletcher will be accompanied by 2018 Olympian Ben Loomis, who was 10th in the Team Large Hill Ski Jump/4×5 km Cross Country ski combination in PyeongChang, and 2018 Olympian Jasper Good. Jared Shumate and Stephen Schumann will make their Olympic debuts.

Shumate, who grew up as a participant in Park City’s nonprofit afterschool sports program Youth Sports Alliance (YSA), said to USA Nordic in a statement, “I’m honored to be selected to represent the USA at the 2022 Olympics. It has been a goal of mine since I was a kid to compete at the Olympics, and I am overjoyed to officially be selected to my first Olympic team. I feel like I have made some big steps forward in the last few months, including scoring my first World Cup points in Predazzo, Italy, which qualified me for the team, and I am looking forward to keeping the momentum going into Beijing! I’m excited to compete with the rest of my teammates at the highest level of sport and am looking forward to experiencing my first Olympic Games, even though COVID is making these games a bit different than previous years. In the weeks leading up to the Olympics, the goal is to stay healthy and train hard!”

Schumann patiently and persistently battled all the way back from injuries over the last few years. Although there were breaks in his international competition schedule, neither Schumann nor his parents, Jon and Penny, ever took a break from volunteering at local competitions for younger athletes. He said in a statement, “I’m beyond excited for the opportunity to represent the USA at the upcoming Olympics in Beijing. It has been a dream of mine to compete at the Olympics since I first stepped on a ski jump at 5 years old. To think that the dream I had as a little kid is coming true 16 years later is surreal, and the fact that I get to do it with some of my best friends makes it so much better. I could not be more excited! Thank you so much to everyone who has believed in me and helped me get to this point through all the setbacks and hard times; it wouldn’t have been possible without you. Now, time to buckle down and polish things up before heading to Beijing!”

The winner of the 2021 Olympic Trails in Lake Placid, New York, decided the first spot on the U.S. Olympic Nordic Combined Team. Additional spots on the team were chosen based on athletes’ results at FIS World Cup and Continental Cup events during the 2021-22 winter qualification period.

Fletcher, Good, and Loomis have all moved to Park City.

“I’m extremely proud to have been named to the 2022 Olympic Team,” said Loomis in a statement to USA Nordic. “It’ll be a true honor to represent both USA Nordic and the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program in Beijing. Amongst the current state of COVID-19, it will be great to bring the world together in a safe manner and showcase what the Olympics are all about. I couldn’t be more excited to have a team of both experienced Olympians and athletes heading to their first games alongside me in Beijing.” Loomis’ brother Adam is a world championship level nordic combined athlete and the coach for the Park City Ski and Snowboard Nordic Combined Team (PCSS). Their parents, Karyl and Paul were hosting the PCSS team in their home in Wisconsin for a Midwest competition when the news broke of Loomis’ nomination to his second Olympic Team. Ben is a graduate of the Winter Sports School in Park Cityyears ago when it was located at the Utah Olympic Park.

Nick Hendrickson, Men’s Nordic Combined Team Director also resides in Park City. “With the nomination of our 2022 Olympic Team, I am extremely excited to have every one of these athletes selected to represent the USA in Beijing. I am proud of each individual for their accomplishments throughout the qualification process, but I am most proud of the teamwork that has been invested behind the scenes to raise our competition level. Collectively, our team is composed of four-time Olympic veterans, two-time Olympians, as well as first-timers; we have a lot of both experience and opportunity in this group of talented guys. The team momentum that we have at the moment is contagious and we can’t wait to keep it rolling into Beijing,” He said in a statement to USA Nordic. Hendrickson’s sister, Sarah, is a former Olympian in ski jumping and she also helps coach members of the PCSS Nordic Combined team,

Nordic Combined has an action-packed schedule at the 2022 Games. The first of three medal events kick off on Wednesday, February 9, with the Individual Gunderson Normal Hill Ski Jump/10 km Cross Country ski competition, followed by the Individual Gunderson Large Hill Ski Jump/10 km Cross Country ski on Tuesday, February 15. The final event –Team Gunderson Large Hill Ski Jump/4×5 km Cross Country ski – is scheduled for Thursday, February 17.

Nordic Combined is not contested as a women’s sport in the Olympic Games program.

Watch Team USA compete on the networks of NBC throughout the Olympics, February 4-20, 2022. Team pages include Instagram: @usskiteam and Facebook: @usskiandsnowboard.