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Show SPORTS The Park Record. Editor: Ben Ramsey sports@parkrecord.com 435.649.9014 ex.15704 Twitter: @ParkRecSports BOARDERS GET THE BEST AMERICANS FALL SHORT OF MOTHER NATURE, B-2 IN SKICROSS, B-4 www.parkrecord.com B-1 WED/THURS/FRI, FEBRUARY 6-8, 2019 A silver surprise SNOWBOARD, FREESTYLE AND FREESKI WORLDS Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley Resort and Solitude Mountain Resort are hosting the FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships through Feb. 10. All events are free to attend. For more information, visit 2019WorldChamps. com. For up-to-date coverage of the competitions, visit parkrecord.com. BIATHLON WORLD CUP Soldier Hollow is hosting the IBU BMW Biathlon World Cup on Feb. 14-17. The event will include biathlon races featuring some of the best biathletes from around the world, as well as live music, food and activities. The event is free to the public. For more information go to biathlonworldcuputah.com. ADULT VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE The six vs. six Winter Coed Volleyball League at the PC MARC is scheduled to begin on Feb. 13 running from 6 to 10 p.m. at the MARC Gymnasium. The round robin league has a Feb. 6 registration deadline. Players ages 18 and up are welcome. Visit parkcityrecreation.org or contact 435-615-5400 to register. LACROSSE REGISTRATION OPEN Park City Youth Lacrosse has opened registration for the 2019 spring season. To get information about the upcoming season and to register, go to parkcitylacrosse.org and click on “Youth Registration.” The deadline to register is March 11. ADULT NORDIC SKATE SKI CLINICS TANZI PROPST/PARK RECORD U.S. freestyle skier Julia Krass, a part-time Park City resident, won a silver medal Saturday at the FIS World Championships’ big air competition. Krass, whose primary discipline is slopestyle, had never before competed in big air. Parkite lands on world champs podium during first big air competition BEN RAMSEY The Park Record living in a whirlwind. On Jan. 27, the 21-year-old freestyle skier participated in the Sieser Alm World Cup in Italy, where she took third in slopestyle — her specialty — her first World Cup podium. On Jan. 28, she flew to Park City, where she lives part time, and on Tuesday she found out her results in Seiser Alm bumped up her rankings enough to qualify her for the World Championships. Not content to com- pete only in slopestyle, she started training for her first-ever big air competition on Friday. By Saturday night, she was standing on a World Championship podium in her home away from home. “It’s pretty crazy,” she said after the medals ceremony. “I was still feeling a little jet lagged. Right before finals I was starting to crash, so I drank some coffee.” With no prior records in big air, she had nearly nothing to prove. Her focus was solely on giving it a good go. She ignored the thought that her parents were somewhere in the massive crowd below — larger than she sees on the World Cup circuit — and dropped into the big air ramp above Canyons Village at Park City Mountain Resort. Her fatigue didn’t show in her per- Basin Recreation is offering adult Nordic ski clinics to prepare skiers to skate ski the organization’s trails. Each week, skiers will learn new skills and ski progressively more difficult trails to improve fitness and form. Skiers should bring their own equipment and water and snacks each day. Outings take place on Sundays from 10 a.m. to noon on various trails. The next session runs Feb. 3 to 24. The cost per session is $50. For more information and to register, visit basinrecreation.org. Faith rewarded for snowboardcross rider WALK WITH EASE BEN RAMSEY Basin Recreation is conducting another Walk with Ease program, a fourweek session that focuses on walking as a way to help or prevent arthritis. The program is taught by instructors certified through the Arthritis Foundation. This program is intended as a resource for those going through rehab for an injury and to increase mobility while meeting walking buddies. Classes are Tuesdays and Thursdays through Jan. 31 from 10-11 a.m. at The Fieldhouse. The cost is $20 or free with a Silver Sneakers card. For more information and to register, visit basinrecreation.org. The Park Record For more sports briefs, please visit www.parkrecord.com/sports Julia Krass, the World Championship big air silver medalist, has been Steamboat’s Mick Dierdorff’s first gold medal comes at Worlds Snowboardcross rider Mick Dierdorff knew he could win the World Championships at Solitude Mountain Resort, even if he had never won a World Cup. Two years ago, he took third in a qualifying event at the Utah resort, and that was all the proof he needed. On Friday, that belief carried him through to a photo finish — one that he had dreamed of for years — where he edged out his competitors, Hanno Douschan of Austria, and Emanuel Perathoner of Italy, to take first. At the bottom of the run, Dierdorff was embraced by his coaches, friends and teammates, who mobbed him and poured beer over his head. He became the first U.S. competitor to medal in the 2019 FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships. “I knew that I was badass on this course,” he said standing in the finish area, the American flag not yet draped over his shoulders, but on its way. “I knew, coming into today, in the back of my mind, it was like, ‘You can do this, you just have to execute.’” Before Friday, satisfying results had often eluded the 27-year-old native of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Growing up, he was the youngest American to win a Nor-Am cup, but as soon as he broke onto the World Cup circuit at 18, he was pushed back out. “It was tough,” he said. “Just never giving up, that’s been my whole career.” Dierdorff, who works as a framer in the summers, is used to hard work, and he said little successes kept him in the sport. He said he never considered hang- ing up his board, even while taking the “12-year plan” to getting his business degree, including some classes at the University of Utah. In 2013 his World Cup rankings started to climb, though he has stood on a World Cup podium just twice in 28 individual snowboardcross appearances — a second-place finish in Switzerland, in 2018, and a third in Argentina in 2017. Last season, he narrowly missed medaling at the Pyeongchang Winter Games, taking fifth. “You have those little spurts of brilliance, that’s what keeps me going,” he said. His hard work paid off on Friday. Before his final run, he stayed loose, chatting with coaches and teammates. He had just watched the last of his teammates, Jake Vedder, get eliminated from the super finals. When the gate opened, Dierdorff Please see Faith, B-4 Please see Silver, B-4 BEN RAMSEY/PARK RECORD Snowboardcross rider Mick Dierdorff won the first gold medal of the 2019 FIS World Championships Friday at Solitude Mountain Resort. 1704 Kings Peak Circle 4 Bedrooms | 4 Bath | 3,650 Sq. Ft. MLS 11807769 | $1,295,000 • Located on quiet cul-de-sac • Stunning views of Mt. Timpanogos • Luxurious stone and wood features • Landscaping and snow removal done by HOA • Mountain rustic exterior detailing • Heated floors in master bath • Smart home features including Vivint Security • Walking distance to the new Village Center that is currently under construction Chris Beardsley 435.657.4050 Chris.Beardsley@RedLedges.com RedLedges.com |