Paralympians headline US Nordic team

Eleven athletes who all competed at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games have been named to the 2018/19 US Paralympics Nordic Skiing National Team.

“Each athlete on the national team played a huge role in Team USA’s success in PyeongChang,” said Eileen Carey, Director of US Paralympics Nordic Skiing. “It’s an incredibly exciting time for the US Paralympics Nordic Skiing programme, and we are eager to continue developing our programme as we get ready for the upcoming season and look ahead to Beijing 2022.”

The team is headlined by Paralympic gold medallists Oksana Masters, Kendall Gretsch and Dan Cnossen. Overcoming an injury to her right elbow during the Paralympic Winter Games, Masters won five medals in biathlon and cross-country events, leaving PyeongChang as the most decorated female athlete on the team and in the history of the Para Nordic programme.

Dan Cnossen and Kendall Gretsch made history in the biathlon sprint by becoming the first US athletes to win biathlon gold in Paralympic or Olympic Winter Games history. On top of their performances in the biathlon sprint, Cnossen medalled in every cross-country and biathlon event he entered en-route to winning one gold, four silver and one bronze medals, while Gretsch also claimed gold in the 12km cross-country competition.

Aaron Pike, who shot clean in the individual biathlon in PyeongChang, returns to the national team after recording three top-10 finishes at the Paralympic Winter Games.

Seven athletes were named to the development team: Sean Halsted, Grace Miller, Bryan Price, Ruslan Reiter, Joy Rondeau, Mia Zutter and Jeremy Wagner.

The US Paralympics Nordic Skiing programme is coming off a record-breaking performance in PyeongChang. Improving from three medals won in Sochi, Team USA took home an unprecedented 16 medals, including six golds, seven silvers and three bronze. Of the 16, nine were secured in cross-country races and seven were in biathlon events.

2018-19 US Paralympics Nordic Skiing National Teams

A Team

Dan Cnossen – sitting

Kendall Gretsch – sitting

Oksana Masters – sitting

B Team

Aaron Pike – sitting

Development team

Sean Halsted – sitting

Grace Miller – standing

Bryan Price – sitting

Ruslan Reiter – standing

Joy Rondeau – sitting

Jeremy Wagner – sitting

Mia Zutter – vision impaired