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U.S. Ski Team wants to bring Alpine World Cup back to eastern U.S.

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Associated PressOct 2, 2015, 7:50 AM EDT

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association will submit a proposal for Killington, Vt., to host a women’s World Cup giant slalom and slalom race next season.

The plan will be presented this week at the International Ski Federation meetings in Zurich. The dates are Nov. 26-27, 2016.

Traditionally, Aspen, Colorado, has held the World Cup event over Thanksgiving weekend. But since the resort is hosting World Cup Finals in March 2017, there’s an opening on the calendar. If selected, Killington would become the first resort in the eastern United States to host a World Cup event since Waterville Valley, N.H., in 1991.

USSA presented the bid in conjunction with its resort partner Powdr Corp.

Tiger Shaw, the president and CEO of USSA, says he’s confident “Killington is well suited to produce an exceptional early season World Cup.”

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U.S. figure skater Adam Rippon comes out as gay

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By Nick ZaccardiOct 2, 2015, 3:12 PM EDT

U.S. silver medalist Adam Rippon said he is gay in this month’s issue of U.S. Figure Skating’s official magazine and that he considered coming out before the Sochi Olympics.

“Being gay is not something that defines me,” Rippon, 25, said in Skating magazine. “What defines me is what my mom always taught me: to treat everyone with respect, to always be a hard worker and to be kind.”

Rippon has skated in three World Championships, with a best finish of sixth in 2010, but never the Olympics. He was eighth at the January 2014 U.S. Championships, missing the two-man 2014 U.S. Olympic team.

“It’s the year 2015. So many more athletes are willing to be open, and it’s part of the culture now to be more open about who you are and what your interests are,” Rippon said in the magazine. “Of course people are interested in your sexual orientation. People love rumors. When athletes come out and say that they’re gay, it makes it a little more normal and less of a big deal — especially in the athletic community. You have a lot of respect for your fellow athletes for working hard toward a goal. Their sexual orientation takes a backseat to that.”

Rippon is scheduled to open his season at Finlandia Trophy in Finland next week. He is entered in Skate Canada on Halloween weekend.

“I want to be a relatable example,” Rippon said in the article. “And I want to say something to the dad out there who might be concerned that his son is a figure skater. I mean look at me; I’m just a normal son from small-town Pennsylvania. Nothing changed. I’d just like to be a good role model. I’ve been honest with myself the whole time. I worked hard and loved what I did.”

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Ex-No. 2 women’s marathoner of all time eyes Olympics after doping ban

Liliya Shobukhova
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By Nick ZaccardiOct 2, 2015, 8:28 AM EDT

Liliya Shobukhova, who was the second fastest women’s marathoner of all time before her three Chicago Marathon wins were stripped due to a doping suspension, aims to return from that ban with an eye on the Rio 2016 Olympics at age 38, according to Russian news agency TASS, quoting her husband and manager.

Shobukhova was retroactively banned in April 2014 due to abnormal levels on her biological passport, wiping out results since 2009.

She then provided “substantial assistance” to the World Anti-Doping Agency in the fight against doping, and her ban was reduced from three years, two months, to two years, seven months. That meant her ban ended in August.

She reportedly returned to competition in September, finishing fifth in the Russian Half Marathon Championships.

Shobukhova won the Chicago Marathon three straight times from 2009 to 2011, the first man or woman to accomplish the feat. Her last title in Chicago came in 2 hours, 18 minutes, 20 seconds, making her the second fastest woman over 26.2 miles ever behind Brit Paula Radcliffe, who holds the three fastest times. Shobukhova’s wins and times were annulled.

Shobukhova also won the 2010 London Marathon (that win also annulled) but never finished better than sixth in three Olympic track and field races.

In 2016, she will be older than any of the previous Olympic women’s marathon medalists. The event debuted at the Olympics in 1984.

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