Team USA named for IPC Nordic Skiing World Cup

"The Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games may be more than 400 days away but our athletes are already on the road to high calibre performances in Russia."

U.S. Paralympics has announced the names of 16 athletes selected to compete at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Nordic Skiing World Cup, 13-20 January in Cable, Wisconsin. The athletes, selected after the U.S. Adaptive Nordic National Championships in Soldiers Hollow, Utah, include five members of the 2012-13 U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing National Team and three from the development team.

One of the new members selected is Tatyana McFadden, a winner of four gold and one bronze medal in T54 track races at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, who has recently ventured into Nordic Skiing racing.

"Team USA will be represented in Cable by some familiar faces like Dan Cnossen and Andy Soule," said John Farra, high performance director for U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing. "But we also have some incredible new talent, especially on the women's side, which makes it an exciting time for Nordic skiing in the United States. The Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games may be more than 400 days away but our athletes are already on the road to high calibre performances in Russia."

The action in Cable starts this Sunday (13 January) with the cross country short (5/10km freestyle). The cross country long (20/15/10km classic) is on 14 January with the sprint (freestyle) the following day. On 17 January, biathletes will compete with the biathlon long (12.5/15km) event. The biathlon short (6/7.5km) and biathlon middle (10/12.5km) competitions are scheduled for 19 and 20 January respectively.

The Nordic season kicked off last month in Finland, where Cnossen and Soule had multiple Top 10 placements. The world cup circuit finishes 14-21 March with a test event in Sochi, Russia, at the site of the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.

The world championships are from 23 February- 5 March in Solleftea, Sweden.

Roster for the 2013 IPC Nordic Skiing World Cup

Men

- Omar Bermejo (Grand Rapids, Mich.), ret., Marines

- Kevin Burton (Boulder, Colo.), ret., Navy

- Dan Cnossen (Jamestown, Mich.), Navy

- Travis Dodson (Deming, N.M.), ret, Marines

- Eric Frazier (Maple Hill, N.C.), ret., Marines

- Sean Halsted (Spokane, Wash./Twin Lakes, Idaho), ret., Air Force

- Augusto Perez (East Syracuse, N.Y.)

- John Oman (Hudson, Wis.)

- Aaron Pike (Park Rapids, Minn.)

- Andy Soule (Pearland, Texas), ret., Army

- Jeremy Wagner (Honolulu, Hawaii), ret., Army Reserves

Women

- Alicia Brelsford Dana (Putney, Vt.)

- Oksana Masters (Louisville, Ky.)

- Tatyana McFadden (Clarksville, Md.)

- Beth Requist (Grand Lake, Colo.)

- Kristy Vaughn (Corry, Pa.)

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Caption

Tatyana McFadden celebrates the gold in the women's 800m T54 at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.