In this episode we have Ben Ogden, Gus Schumacher and JC Schoonmaker, members of the new generation of American men who were internationally successful in the junior sector and are now switching to the World Cup as athletes. In this conversation, we examine this transition from different angles, along with goal setting, team dynamics and how to tackle the challenges of competing for very limited and selected Olympic spots without compromising the friendship and culture that the team has developed.
For those who didn’t know these athletes before they were present at the World Cup, each athlete is 21 years old. Both Schumacher and Ogden were members of the World Junior Relay, winning gold medals in succession in 2019 and 2020, building on their silver medal in 2018. Both athletes have also achieved top 10 results in the World Juniors, with Schumacher making the 10k. won Classic, the first gold medal in the World Juniors for American men. Ogden scored two top 10 results in 2020, with Schoonmaker finishing 13th just outside the top 10 in the freestyle sprint.
JC Schoonmaker on his way to 11th place in the Freestyle Sprint in Lillehammer, NOR. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Ben Ogden drives the second classic stage of the 4 x 7.5 km relay in Lillehammer, NOR. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Everyone took slightly different paths in the transition from junior to senior racing. Ogden stayed close to his hometown of Landgrove, VT by enrolling full-time at the University of Vermont. Schoonmaker also took the NCAA route, but traveled much further, from his home in Tahoe City, CA, to the University of Alaska Anchorage. Schumacher decided to go skiing and opted for part-time college in Anchorage while staying with his junior trainer Jan Buron, with whom he had made steady progress.
As Devon Kershaw has often stated in his podcast, success in the World Juniors does not directly correlate with success in the World Cup. The trajectory is often non-linear, with exceptions such as Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Alexander Bolshunov, who immediately began to dominate the World Cup when they arrived. There is pressure and attention on the task of making this transition as American ski fans closely watch and perhaps criticize these young men as they try to build on the results of their predecessors in order to guide the Stars and Strips to results that reflect consistently reflects that of the women’s program.
While it remains to be seen what results these men will achieve in their careers in senior racing, the laughter during this conversation shows they are enjoying the ride. Regardless of skiing, these men as individuals are academically motivated, supportive of their teammates, and are truly charismatic which makes it easy for them to take root regardless of World Cup or Olympic results.
Gus Schumacher navigates a high-speed turn-on course in Davos, SUI. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Related reading:
The phenomenon next door: An interview from January 2019 with Gus Schumacher
2020 World Juniors relay gold medal (Photo series)
2020 World Juniors 10k Classic: Gus Schumacher 1st, Ben Ogden 9th, Luke Jager 10.
2020 World Juniors Freestyle Sprint: Ben Ogden 6th, Gus Schumacher 7th, JC Schoonmaker 13th
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