Beijing Bound: E.C.’s Loomis Named to U.S. Olympic Team
Nordic athlete will make second trip to Winter Games
Eau Claire native Ben Loomis will once again represent the United States on the world’s largest athletic stage, the Olympic Games.
The 23-year-old was nominated Wednesday by USA Nordic Sport to a coveted spot on Team USA. Loomis is one of five American men who will compete in the Nordic combined event, which includes ski jumping and cross-country skiing, at the XXIV Olympic Winter Games in Beijing next month.
“I am extremely proud to have been named to the 2022 Olympic Team,” Loomis said in a media release. “It will be a true honor to represent both USA Nordic and the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program in Beijing. Amongst the current state of COVID-19, it will be great to bring the world together in a safe manner and showcase what the Olympics are all about. I couldn't be more excited to have a team of both experienced Olympians and athletes heading to their first games alongside me in Beijing.”
Loomis – who grew up jumping with the Eau Claire-based Flying Eagles Ski Club – took part in the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, placing 40th in the 10km Nordic combined competition. He also was a member of America’s World Championship teams in 2017, 2019, and 2021 World Championship, and won silver medals at the U.S. National Championships in 2017 and 2018. He joined the U.S. Army in 2019, and is part of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program.
Loomis’ Nordic combined teammates will include three-time Olympian Taylor Fletcher and 2018 teammate Jasper Good, both of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and first-time Olympians Jared Shumate and Stephen Schumann, both of Park City, Utah.
A second Eau Claire native, Andrew Urlaub, may also be named to Team USA this week as part of the Olumpic ski jumping team. Urlaub, 20, placed sixth in the U.S. Olympic Trials in December, but may still make the team based upon points he’s accumulated in World Cup competition this season.
And yet another Eau Clairian, Dan Mattoon, will serve as a style judge for ski jumping events in Beijing. Mattoon is director of the Silver Mine Ski Invitational in Eau Claire, which was held last weekend.
