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The brand new president and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard has vivid recollections of her first time clicking into boots on a mountain in Chamonix, France, throughout a faculty journey at age 12. Sophie Goldschmidt’s greatest sport was all the time tennis — that’s what introduced her from London to Baylor College on a scholarship — however the affinity for snowboarding caught.
Now Goldschmidt runs the federation that can account for about half of the U.S. athletes headed to the Beijing Olympics in lower than two months, and certain a few of the largest names, reminiscent of ski racer Mikaela Shiffrin and snowboarders Chloe Kim and Shaun White.
“We have now inner targets that we don’t share publicly, as a result of I feel it simply provides stress to athletes and others, however we’ve got process-oriented targets, medal targets, the variety of athletes that really qualify general. … So we’ve received these proper measurements and processes in place,” she stated Wednesday in a video interview with The Related Press. “However we’re assured that we are able to ship some actually good outcomes and hopefully a bunch of medals.”
Goldschmidt had been CEO of the World Surf League and her earlier expertise consists of stints with the NBA, the Ladies’s Tennis Affiliation and golf’s European Tour. Her hiring by U.S. Ski & Snowboard to switch Tiger Shaw as CEO was introduced in September; she started working there in October, primarily based in Park Metropolis, Utah.
The group governs Alpine, cross-country, freeski, freestyle, snowboard, Nordic mixed and ski leaping in the US.
Given the short turnaround to the Winter Video games, which open Feb. 4, Goldschmidt doesn’t foresee any fast strikes.
“I’ve no set plans or adjustments that I’ve selected at this stage. I feel that will be placing the cart earlier than the horse,” Goldschmidt stated. “I feel I’m bringing a number of related expertise to the function, however I’m additionally considerably of an outsider, as a result of I’ve by no means labored in snow sports activities. So I need to be very considerate. I’m not going to delay making adjustments as wanted. However I additionally need to ensure that I actually spend time studying, listening.”
Throughout her time on the girls’s skilled tennis tour, Goldschmidt stated, she received to know Peng Shuai, the Grand Slam doubles champion from China who dropped out of public view final month after accusing a former high-ranking authorities official there of sexual assault in a social media put up that rapidly disappeared.
The WTA introduced final week it could be suspending all tournaments in China till it could actually have contact with Peng and there’s a full investigation into her allegations.
The problem has resonated with China set to host the Olympics.
“What occurred to Peng … was scary. … There must be deeper understanding and direct, in-person communication, to ensure that that she’s OK,” Goldschmidt stated. “However at this stage, our athletes, rightly so, need to be centered on their coaching, the competitions which can be developing and placing themselves in one of the best place attainable to compete for the U.S. staff and hopefully have success in Beijing. And I feel that’s their job. … Clearly on the finish of the day, athletes are free to speak nevertheless they need and we’re by no means going to restrict or stop them from having their voice. That goes in opposition to every thing that we stand for.”
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Extra AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics
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Extra AP snowboarding: https://apnews.com/hub/snowboarding and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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