Patterson Makes Olympic Debut; Sargent Races Classic Sprint with Broken Thumb

The Green Racing Project ski and biathlon ladies (plus coach Pepa) at the Olympic rings in Pyeongchang!

Last Updated: 18.Feb.2018

The 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea are well underway, with four races down and just two more remaining. Green Racing Project skiers Caitlin Patterson and Ida Sargent have represented the USA in one race each so far, Patterson in the skiathlon and Sargent in the classic sprint. For Patterson, it was her Olympic debut after a strong early season qualified her for the Games. Sargent is competing in her second Olympic Games.

February 10- 7.5/7.5k Skiathlon
The skiathlon doesn’t make an appearance on the World Cup very often, but it’s a staple event at World Championship and Olympic events. For the women’s race, skiers start with 7.5k of classic, then halfway through the race switch equipment to freestyle skis and poles and finish with 7.5k in that discipline. Patterson was 4th in the skiathlon at the pre-Olympic World Cup in Pyeongchang last season. In her Olympic debut, with a full field, she finished 34th as the second American, moving up from 36th after the classic leg.

February 13- Classic Sprint
Sargent was one of four US skiers to start in the classic sprint, but her real battle was getting to the start line. Back in January, she crashed while warming up for a World Cup and broke her thumb. She flew back to the States for emergency surgery and then over to Korea in time for the Olympics. A few weeks after that ordeal, she placed 33rd in the classic sprint qualifier, just over a second out from the top 30.

Full results from the events can be found on FIS-ski.com. There are two races remaining on the Olympic schedule, the team sprint and the 30k classic. On Monday, Kaitlynn Miller will be flying over to join the GRP contingent in Korea. Start spots are not yet determined, but hopefully the GRP skiers will race again near the end of the Games!