News Release

GIRDWOOD, ALASKA, March 5, 2004

Alaska’s Olympians race at Alyeska Resort in Chevrolet 2004 U.S. Alpine Championship Race, Return of the Champions

Alaska’s Olympic Gold Medalist and U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame inductee, Tommy Moe, and fellow Alaska Olympians Megan Gerety and Hilary Lindh, will ski in the Return of the Champions, at Alyeska Resort on Saturday, March 20, 2004 at 2:00pm. The event, along with the week long Chevrolet 2004 U.S. Alpine Championship races it is a part of, is open and free to the public.

Return of the Champions is a Slalom dual race where both current and former U.S. Ski Team members will compete. The dual format creates a fast-paced race which will be enhanced by a new nonstop timing method that uses one constant clock timing an entire team’s runs. These features will make for an exciting event for competitors and spectators alike.

Other returning alumni for Return of the Champions race include 1984 Olympic Downhill Gold Medalist Bill Johnson, who sustained a massive head injury in 2001 while trying to qualify for the U.S. Alpine Championships, two-time Olympian Eva Twardokens, and other former Olympians and U.S. Alpine champions. ESPN will syndicate the race for broadcasting next fall.

Spectators are encouraged to come cheer their favorite skiers from the Return of the Champions, and for the entire six days of the Chevrolet 2004 U.S. Alpine Championships. The races take place March 18-23, and provide a unique opportunity for Alaskans to see the nation’s best and top award-winning alpine athletes. The last U.S. Alpine Championship held in Alaska was 23 years ago.

Tommy Moe thrilled Alaskans and the sports world when he won the gold medal in the downhill and silver medal in the Super G at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. Moe was the first American skier to win two Alpine medals in the same Olympics (Bode Miller is the second) and the second American to win the gold in the Alpine downhill. Currently Moe keeps busy as Ski Ambassador for Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and other ski related activities. Moe was inducted into the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in Ishpeming, Michigan on January 29, 2004.

Megan Gerety, from Anchorage, Alaska, is a World Cup racer and two-time Olympian. After 13 years on the U.S. National Ski Team, Gerety retired in 2003 after knee injuries prevented her from competing for two years. Hilary Lindh, from Juneau, Alaska, is a 1992 and 1994 Olympic medalist and 1997 World Cup champion.

Alyeska Resort has plenty of parking areas to accommodate both spectators and people skiing on the other areas of the mountain; 95 percent of Alyeska is scheduled to be open to the public during the week. An option to driving to Girdwood is to take the Alyeska Ski / Snowboard Bus from the Peter Glenn Ski & Sports parking lot (located at 1520 O’Malley Rd.) to Alyeska for $12 for a round trip. Peter Glenn Ski & Sports phone number is 349-2929. The shuttle accommodates riders and ski/snowboards, and will run daily during the week. The shuttle normally runs only on the weekends.

Contacts:

Gary Scott
Communications Manager, Alyeska Resort
907-754-2211
gscott@alyeskaresort.com
Explore www.skianchorage.net

Jeanette Anderson Moores
907-229-6925
Press Room Manager
jmoores@anchorage.net
Explore www.skianchorage.net