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Olympic Skiing Medalist Andrew Weibrecht Coming to Ski Country Sports in Banner Elk December 9; SMARL Registration Underway

By Nathan Ham

A three-time Olympian and two-time Olympic Medalist Andrew Weibrecht will take part in a special meet and greet at Ski Country Sports on Sunday, December 9.

The meet and greet will happen from 4-6 p.m.

Weibrecht, 32, competed in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics before announcing his retirement earlier this year. The Lake Placid native won the bronze in Super-G at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and followed that up with a silver in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi in the same event.

“He’s going to be at Sugar for a race clinic for the weekend so we invited him over with us to do a meet and greet,” said Bill Leonard, owner of Ski Country Sports in Banner Elk. “We will have posters of him available and he’s going to autograph the posters for whoever wants one, take pictures with people and talk about skiing and ski racing and let these kids associate with the athletes that are in their sport.”

Leonard said that they will have a table set up in the rental portion of the shop where he will be signing autographs and talking to fans.

“Not many people come down to the Southeast that have the credentials of Andrew. We just thought it would be kind of cool to do something like this,” said Leonard.

Weibrecht, who earned the nickname “Warhorse,” struggled at times in smaller events, but when it came time to compete for the podium in the Olympics, it was his time to shine. At one point, Weibrecht was demoted to the “B team” on the U.S. Ski Team, meaning he had to foot the bill for some of his own expenses just to get to the Olympics in 2014 where he had his best finish, finishing second to Kjetil Jansrud of Norway.

SMARL Registration Underway

Registration for the annual Sugar Mountain Adult Racing League is underway with racing events set to get underway on Monday, January 7.

“We’ve still got some spots for some more teams if anyone is interested in doing it,” Leonard said.

SMARL is entering its 16th year and is held on Monday nights in January and February. The racing league is a fun, friendly atmosphere for local skiers who like to add a little competition on the slopes.

Call Bill Leonard at 828-898-9786 if you would like to be a part of the racing league.