Johnson announced as US Ski Team/USA Nordic Ski Jump/Nordic Combined Sport Director

Three-time Ski Jumping Olympian, Park City's Anders Johnson. Photo: courtesy of USA Nordic // US Ski and Snowboard

Park City, Utah – US Ski and Snowboard announced on Monday the hiring of Park City native Anders Johnson as the Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Sport Director.

“We are delighted to be reintegrating the nordic combined and jumping national teams within U.S. Ski and Snowboard,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, President and CEO of U.S. Ski and Snowboard in a statement. “Both these teams have a storied history and we’re excited about what the future holds under the leadership of newly announced Sport Director Anders Johnson. We also look forward to continuing to work closely with USA Nordic Sport throughout the coming seasons to see these athletes achieve top results.”

“I am excited for the upcoming year, and we are looking forward to building off of the success from last season,” said USA Nordic Sport CEO Adam Provost in a statement. “We have a great group of athletes on both nordic combined and ski jumping and believe that this team will be very competitive this season.”

The ski jumping team is highlighted by Annika Belshaw, who scored individual World Cup points nine times throughout the 2022-23 season and took home two national titles at the USA Nordic National Championships, and her brother Erik Belshaw, who had his best season with three individual World Cup point scores. Belshaw, along with his teammates Decker Dean, Casey Larson and Andrew Urlaub were also part of a historic eighth place finish at the 2023 World Championships—the best World Champs finish for the U.S. since 1985.

On the nordic combined side, Annika Malacinski headlines the women’s squad, scoring nine times on the World Cup tour last season and winning a national title. 2022 Olympian Steven Schumann of Park City and two-time Olympian Ben Loomis showed consistency throughout the season with multiple points scores.

With the integration of ski jumping and nordic combined into U.S. Ski and Snowboard, the organization has announced the hiring of new Nordic Combined and Ski Jumping Sport Director Anders Johnson. A three-time Olympic ski jumper, Johnson was the youngest U.S. Olympic ski jumper in history, growing up in Park City, when he qualified for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games at 16 years old. He has been coaching for the USA Nordic Sport women’s ski jumping team and now will head up both sports as they return under U.S. Ski and Snowboard.

“I am very excited and proud to be named the Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Sport Director,” said Johnson in a statement. “Over the past several years, our teams have done some amazing things internationally and I believe that with my skill set, passion and determination, I will be able to bring our athletes to the top of the podium. The ski jumping and nordic combined community has been in my life since I was a child, so to be put in this position is a huge honor.”

“These athletes are really progressing and starting to make a move on the World Cup,” said Anouk Patty, Chief of Sport at U.S. Ski and Snowboard in a statement. “With Anders as Sport Director, I am excited to see the leaps these teams will make.”