2014 Sprint U.S. Grand Prix Finals Preview at Breck

With just a month to go before the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, local athletes are once again on their home snow trying to punch their ticket for Sochi at the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix Finals this week. The third Olympic selection event of the season, and second to be held in Breckenridge, rolled into town on Wednesday. The qualifier competition has been fierce, and should make for an exciting finals.

Breckenridge locals made sure to take advantage of competing in their own backyard, with both Bobby Brown and Keri Herman qualifying first in their respective Ski Slopestyle events. Both will compete in their final events today, January 10, 2014 and try to strengthen their standings for the coveted spots on the first ever Olympic Freeski team. Bobby is currently sitting pretty in the second qualifying spot behind Nick Goepper. On the ladies side, Keri is currently in spot 4 after two qualifiers; a strong showing today would potentially move her up in those rankings.  Keystone’s Torstein Horgmo, who has already earned his spot on Team Norway , also made it through the Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle qualifiers, joining Shaun White in the  finals scheduled for Friday.

Over in the halfpipe, Northstar’s Elena Hight qualified third in the ladies snowboard category, with finals set for Saturday. The men’s snowboard heat was filled with Vail Resorts’ team members as Breck locals Brett Esser and Zack Black joined Northstar’s Chas Guldemond and Shaun White. Chas currently sits atop the qualifying ranks, followed by Shaun. David Wise represented the VR portfolio in the men’s ski pipe competition, finishing second in his heat.

The finals take place today through Sunday and are sure to be filled with amazing moves and breathtaking finishes as the world’s best athletes compete for the remaining spots on Olympic teams. Be sure to tune into NBC to watch the events, or head to Breck to watch the events live!

– Laura Parquette