U.S. Ski Team notebook: SSCV’s Dunlop wins coach of the year
Shiffrin and Vonn top Denver Post list of most influential female athletes in Colorado
Alessandro Trovati/AP photo
U.S. Ski and Snowboard named its club and national coaches of the year on June 13, and Ian Dunlop of Ski and Snowboard Club Vail was named the Alpine Development Coach of the Year.
Dunlop, the head U16 men’s coach at SSCV, is a University of Denver alumnus who began ski racing in Wisconsin before moving to Winter Park, Colorado, where he started his coaching career. He has been in his current role at SSCV since 2019.
“This past season his U16 men dominated national junior championships with podium finishes across all disciplines, including four of the top five overall. Although top national results get the headlines, Dunlop is known for building an atmosphere where every single athlete on his team feels 100% committed to the team,” the press release stated.
Dunlop also serves as vice-chair of the Rocky Mountain Division Alpine Competition Committee and is on the national U16-and-older Development Working Group.
The overall development coach of the year award went to Ben Wisner, the director of freeski and snowboard for the Mammoth Mountain Ski and Snowboard Team. The overall team coach of the year was Forest Carey, the fourth time the recently ousted coach was given the award.
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“Clubs and coaches are core to the success of athletes both at the local level and nationally,” U.S. Ski & Snowboard Director of Sport Education Gar Trayner stated in the release.
“It’s exhilarating to recognize the amazing success stories we’re seeing around the country.”
Shiffrin on NBC’s 2022 Inspiration List, sits down with Forbes
Mikaela Shiffrin joined Olympians Nathan Chen and Erin Jackson on NBC’s Inspiring America: The 2022 Inspiration List earlier this month.
Craig Melvin’s interviews highlighted the trios’ motivating stories of perseverance.
Of Shiffrin, he said, “…who in losing it all, showed everyone it’s not your worst day on a mountain that matters most. It’s all the days after that.”
“I’m sitting on the side of the hill and like I would much rather prefer to just melt off the mountain,” Shiffrin told NBC about the unfamiliar experience of sitting on the side of the mountain after her rare DNF, one of the Beijing Games’ lasting images. “It was kind of dumbfounding.”
In the defeat, Melvin notes that Shiffrin’s grace — not a medal — is what “wowed the world.”
“Going through that disappointment so publicly was awful, but that’s kind of the risk you take in order to achieve the great moments,” Shiffrin stated in the feature.
“For many, her pain was relatable, and her response, admirable,” continued Melvin.
After her Olympic disappointment, Shiffrin locked up her fourth overall World Cup crystal globe.
“You feel the highs and the lows from the season,” she said.
“Mikaela inspired by showing that it’s OK to fall,” concluded Melvin. “Especially when you show the entire world how to get back up.”
Shiffrin’s title defense begins in Soelden, Austria on Oct. 22.
“My next move as a competitive skier is not really different from anything in the past,” she told Forbes contributor Andy Frye.
“You set new goals every year. There are performance-based goals, and also personal, value-based goals.”
Shiffrin also told Frye that the weight of her dad’s death still weighs heavily.
“Some days are just awful and that doesn’t line up with anything performance-wise. I might be on the hill one day, skiing out of my mind —better than I’ve ever skied — and still feel sad and angry and all of it,” she said.
“And sometimes I may be skiing mediocre but appreciating the day more. Emotions don’t always line up with performance, and that sometimes makes goals harder to address. Working through it better is one of my ongoing goals.”
Vonn and Shiffrin top Denver Post’s ranking of the 50 most influential women in Colorado sports history
The two most decorated U.S. Alpine skiers ever are on the podium of the Denver Post’s top 50 most influential women in Colorado sports history, a distinguished list composed in honor of the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX.
Edwards’ Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn, who had a home in Vail until 2020, were first and third, respectively, on the list. Five-time gold medalist and former world record holder Missy Franklin was ranked second. The trio finished in front of the legendary multi-sport queen, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, with Golden High School graduate Lindsey Horan, who became a pro soccer player right out of high school, rounding out the top five.
Vonn has the most World Cup wins in Alpine skiing history (82), while Shiffrin is second (74). The rankings were “based on the combination of athletic achievement and impact on women’s athletics,” according to The Denver Post.