We're down to two short days before Seth flies off to Vancouver to get down to the nitty gritty of defending his gold medal, and to wish him well on his quest The Rack (his own bar and grille here at Sugarloaf) is throwing a little get together this afternoon for apres ski. There will be appetizer and drink specials throughout the afternoon, and you can wish Seth luck in person before he heads out on Monday. It all kicks off as soon as the lifts close today, down at the Rack.
Seth is back home after his thrilling X Games performance last weekend, and he'll be resting up here at Sugarloaf for a week before flying out to Vancouver early next week. Of course, resting up is a bit tougher when you're a defending Olympic gold medalist less than two week away from the Olympics. So in between spin sessions at the AGC and some training time on the snow, Seth takes time out to respond to the growing number of interview requests. Earlier this week he sat down with Bill Green from WCSH 6 in Portland (photo below), and yesterday he spent time filming with folks from WGME 13. You'll be seeing Seth's face on TV an awful lot over the coming weeks, and we'll try to keep you updated on where and when to tune in.
Seth traveled to Aspen for hiis 12th Winter X Games last week, looking to win his ninth xgames medal. He definitely didn't disappoint, finishing second to Aspen hometown hero Nate Holland in an absolutely thrilling final. Seth had the early lead in the race but a bit of trouble in the rollers slowed him down, and Holland took full advantage to win his fifth consecutive xgames gold. Check out the full results here, and watch the full race at the bottom of this post.
An X Games gold would have been nice and all, but Seth has his sites set on something bigger - namely a second Olympic Gold Medal in Vancouver on February 15. In a post race interview Seth said that getting edged out for the gold this weekend gives him just the motivation he needs to make a run at his second Olympic Gold.
We'll be posting regular updates here as the Olympics draw closer, and look for an update this week from the man himself while he prepares for Vancouver.
January 25, 2010 17:19 by
Seth
So its been a whirlwind since New Years. I spent two weeks in Europe with only two highlights to speak of. Austria's highlight was my first semi-big mountain line of the year on my new Team Eight pow board. Dropping into this chute with 18 inches of light dry pow and the actual feeling of joy while being on my board again was followed up by the Bad Gastein World Cup qualifiying round in pea soup fog, and my first time ever with a result in the 50's. The trials and tribulations of my 7 year history at Bad Gastein live on.
Getting to drive the ten hour trip across the Autobahn through Germany was the second highlight and, despite the snow, it was a speedy classic road trip with Holland, Palmer, Graham and Jason Smith. Things were looking up in Switzerland. A nice apartement with a beautiful view of the Alps that left me stunned daily was a hightlight every morning. The qualifiers turned around at Veysonnaz though and I popped a 2nd place, although in the process I took some landings a little to deep and found myself sore as hell on race day. That soreness slowed me down and resulted in a quick departure from the day's racing in the first round. As it turned out though, my good friend David Spieser from Germany pulled a late pass on Nick Baumgartner in the finals and I got to breathe a sigh of relief as my Olympic spot was locked and I could take the next week off to rest up and let my body get back to an equilibrium.
Getting home to the Loaf brought some great snow, and just the comfort of home was very welcome. I made the drive north of the border to watch the outcome of the Stoneham World Cup, and it was a day of drama for sure. Palmer pulled out a truly inspired performance and made it through to stand on the podium in the 3rd spot. It was one spot short of making the Olympic team, but it reinforced the true champion he has always been.
After a restful weekend at home I now find myself boarding my flight to colorado for the X Games. Here we go again...
Seth
Ed. Note: The X-Games SBX Finals will be broadcast live on ESPN 2 on Saturday, Jan 30 from 4-6pm. Click here for the full schedule and get your TiVo ready.
It probably wasn't quite as dramatic as we might have hoped, and it's not technically official until the US Olympic Committee announces it, but after today's World Cup event in Switzerland Seth's spot on the Olympic team is all locked up, and he'll have a shot to defend his gold medal in Vancouver.
Seth finished 17th today, which by itself didn't do much to lock up his spot on the team. But Germany's David Spieser passed American Nick Baumgartner in the final stretch to take second place and push Baumgartner into third, which was all that needed to happen to officially confirm Seth's ticket to Vancouver.
Four riders will make the US Olympic SBX team, and according to ussnowboarding.com: "In the battle for up to four Olympic starting spots, (Nate) Holland leads the selection criteria with his win last weekend in Austria. Reigning Olympic champ Seth Wescott (Sugarloaf, ME) is next with a second place finish in the season opener in Argentina. Three riders now have a third, including Baumgartner, Watanabe and 2002 Olympic halfpipe champ Ross Powers (Okemo, VT). Baumgartner and Watanabe are tied in the first two tiebreakers (next best result), but Baumgartner leads in current World Cup rankings." (You can read the full article at http://www.ussnowboarding.com/news?storyId=2315)
Since there is only one more World Cup stop this season, and only two riders can possibly finish in second place or higher, Seth's spot is a lock. With his ticket to Vancouver assured, Seth will sit out during the final race in Quebec next week, and spend some time back here at Sugarloaf resting up before the ESPN X-Games in Aspen and then the Olympics in Vancouver.
So congrats Seth, from everyone at Sugarloaf. We'll see you soon.
Racers today in Switzerland. For more photos click here.
SnowboardSecrets.com caught up with Seth while he was brushing his teeth (seriously) back in November, and spent some time talking Sugarloaf and SBX. They posted the interview to YouTube last week. Check it out:
What does Seth do when it dumps 2 feet at Sugarloaf? He slays pow, rips laps on the Quad, and tracks down freshies just like you and me. Today's he's on a flight to Austria for the next World Cup stop, where he'll try to lock down his spot on the Olympic team. Check back soon for an update from the man himself. Until then, check out some pics from yesterday.
It comes as little surprise to those of us know Seth and have followed his career, but Team USA recently featured his 2006 Gold Medal run one of the most amazing moments in Olympic history. Seth's memorable run into the history books stands alongside those of such athletes as Jesse Owens, Michael Phelps, Dick Fosbury, Bob Beamon, Mark Spitz, Mary Lou Retton, Jim Thorpe, and fellow Mainer Joan Benoit-Samuelson, as well as many others. A well deserved honor for Seth.
You can check out the full story and video on Team USA's web site at http://teamusa.org/video?fr_story=437eea2bc6fd1cc5681f3496928549a9e2f709e3&rf=bm
Seth takes off next Monday for Telluride and the next (and hopefully final) step in qualifying for the Olympic team, and he's been plenty busy during his last two weeks at home, with interviews and photo shoots galore, including a brief jaunt to NYC for an appearance on the Today Show and an interview with Matt Lauer, a shoot with Maine Home and Design magazine, a interview and photo shoot for Sunday's Sun Journal, and a commercial shoot this morning. The crew hit the mountain at about 6am and scored some great full moon and sunrise shots as the clouds cleared out. (check out the pics below).
On Monday Seth will head for Telluride, where he'll have his biggest competition so far this year at the second World Cup. A good finish here could lock up a spot on the Olympic team and leave the rest of the season open to concetrate on nothing but training for Vancouver. Follow the World Cup and get the latest results at www.fissnowboard.com.
In one of the more useful articles that they've ever produced, the US Ski Team web site recently wrote about exactly what is required to represent the United States in the Olympics as a snowboardcross rider. The quick and dirty version is this: it takes A LOT.
The team can only take a total of two men and two women (base on World Cup results) and if there's enough room on the overall Team, they might be able to add one more. Considering that 6 of the top 20 SBX riders in the world right now are Americans, that's a pretty tall order.
As the top American finisher in the season's first World Cup, Seth is already well on his way to earning one of those two spots.
For all the info you can handle on how to be an Olympic SBX rider, check out the full article right here.