Lexi Hanus
Tommy Ford. US Alpine Championship GS. Photo: USST
The final day of the Sun Valley 2023 US Alpine Championships featured the men’s GS. In the morning, the sun was shining and temperatures rose steadily throughout the day.
Tommy Ford added to his collection of National titles on Wednesday. While Ford has not competed in the US National Championships since 2020, he is familiar with being a National Champion. Ford made his senior Nationals debut in 2006, winning his first title in 2010. This was his fourth National GS title, seventh total including super-G, GS and slalom.
“I had a more consistent run from top to bottom and I know how fast these other guys are skiing so I am happy to get in front of them,” said Ford. “I love racing here, the town, the people, it makes ski racing fun because the people love it. Shoutout to SVSEF for putting on a great event.”
Only (0.11) seconds separated Ford and Brian McLaughlin, who finished in second place. Right behind McLaughlin was River Radamus, who was (+0.25) seconds off of Ford.
McLaughlin has never won a US National Championship but is familiar with coming close.
“This will be the fourth time I have gotten second at nationals so I need a little more consistency,” said McLaughlin. “It’s been a long season, lots of travel so I am excited about the off-season.”
The 2022 US National GS champion, George Steffey, had the fastest first run, but his second run landed him just off the podium in fourth.
“It feels alright, I did not execute my first run, I skied a little too aggressive, we are not used to these conditions, but I knew that if I wanted a chance at the win I needed to leave it all out there so I pushed as hard as I could,” said Radamus. “I wanted George to win it so bummed to see him fall short but happy for Tommy and Brian.”
Notably, some younger athletes threw down some fast second runs. This included bib 52, Carson Hume, who made the flip with the 27th fastest first run and proceeded to win the second run. With a 2005 birth year, he showed that he could be competitive with the best in the right conditions.
This race concluded the season for many of the athletes. After some long winter months, they will finally have the opportunity to rest. Then, back to preparing for the 2023-24 season.
Top 10 Men
Quotes courtesy of USST.
