US reveal 17 skiers heading to Panorama 2015

“This will be our biggest international competition since Sochi.”

US Paralympics, a division of the United States Olympic Committee, announced the seventeen athletes including two guides who will represent Team USA at the 2015 IPC Alpine Skiing World Championships in Panorama, Canada from 28 February-10 March.

“This will be our biggest international competition since Sochi,” high performance director for US Paralympics alpine skiing and snowboarding Kevin Jardine said. “With so many of our athletes competing and finding success at the Games, that experience will be invaluable for the World Championships. This will be a great opportunity coming off of the World Cup circuit and national championships for us to finish the season with momentum.”

The US returns a strong contingent from the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games with 14 athletes competing in the World Championships. The team also consists of 10 national team members.

One of the leaders is Laurie Stephens who won the sole US gold medal in the women’s downhill sitting and a bronze medal in the super-G at the 2013 World Championships in La Molina, Spain. Stephen Lawler joins Stephens as the event’s other US medallist, securing silver after coming within a fraction of the gold medal in the men’s downhill sitting race.

The women’s team comes out of the 2014-2015 World Cup season as the second ranked nation in the world behind Germany in the women's standings. Danelle Umstead, a two-time Paralympian, leads the way as the overall World Cup globe winner in the visually impaired class, coming in first in speed, second in slalom and second in giant slalom.

World cup standings also feature Tyler Walker as the second ranked men’s athlete in the giant slalom sitting category. Mark Bathum and guide Cade Yamamoto are currently ranked first in both downhill and super-G in the world.

Full biographies of all skiers can be found at the US Paralympics website.