Siblings win Nordic Combined/Ski Jumping National Championships

Lake Placid, N.Y.'s Olympic Ski Jumping Complex, host of this week's USA Nordic Nationional Championships for Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined as well as a FIS Continental Cup. Photo: Michele Roepke // TownLift

Park City Ski & Snowboard's Paige Jones and Josie Johnson came in second and third in the ski jumping

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — A brother and sister duo from Colorado took top spots at USA Nordic’s Ski Jumping National Championships in Lake Placid, New York on Monday. Annika and Erik Belshaw were the winners of their respective gender competitions on the HS (Hill Size) 128 ski jump. They grew up in the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. 

Proud parent Cathy Belshaw told TownLift, “We’re … extremely proud of our children and we’re excited that all their dedication has paid off in this event.” Dad Alan added, “Their competitors did an amazing job. We’re thankful to the volunteers and organizers here at this beautiful New York venue, and we hope Annika, Eric and their teammates can continue their momentum through the exciting upcoming winter season.”

Annika’s first place was followed, in order of finish, by Park City Ski & Snowboard’s Paige Jones, Josie Johnson, and Samantha Macuga in the ski jumping.

The 10K Nordic Combined portion of the National Championships, on Wednesday, was won by two-time Olympian Ben Loomis, who grew up competing for the Wisconsin Flying Eagles Ski Club but calls Park City home these days. Loomis told TownLift, “It was a good day for me, I was able to put down a solid jump and then race hard so it played out the way I’d hoped.” 

Olympian Stephen Schuman of Park City Ski & Snowboard placed third behind Steamboat’s Nicklas Malacinski. Schumann told TownLift, “I was happy with my jump this morning which was a little bit better than the usual trend as far as my ski jumping goes, so that was nice to see. The race was tough this afternoon, I had a pretty medium race overall but Nicklaus had a really good race. I caught up to him and he was able to stick with me and beat me at the end, so kudos to him for that. Overall, I felt like we had a pretty strong field and I’m happy to come away with a podium.”

Park City’s retired Olympian Lindsey Van was the assistant technical delegate, to the technical delegate, also traveling from Park City, Jarrett Moe.

American ski jumper Tate Franz finished ninth in Saturday’s FIS International Continental Cup, from Lake Placid, on his home hill on Saturday amid a downpour of rain.

The event was conducted on the same green plastic summer facility which Park City boasts, as the two towns are the only locales in the U.S. with with year-round training facilities on Olympic-sized hills.

The final moments of the week-long events, held on the exact Olympic venues that hosted the 1932 and the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, treated soaked spectators to a rainbow at the cross country roller skiing venue finish line.