Its Official – Olympic XC Team Expanded!

PARK CITY, UT (Jan. 26) – A week after naming the 2010 Olympic Cross Country Ski Team, two additional athletes have been added to the roster with expanded quotas received Tuesday by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA). Named to the Olympic Team were Holly Brooks (Anchorage) and Garrot Kuzzy (Minneapolis).

The additional quotas expand the team to 10 athletes, according to USSA Nordic Director John Farra.

“Both Holly and Garrot had outstanding early season results on the USSA SuperTour and we were excited today to be able to add them to our Olympic Team,” said Farra.

Brooks, a Seattle native, is a youth program coach at APU Nordic (Alaska Pacific University), the home program for now Olympic teammates Kikkan Randall and James Southam. She took four wins this season and made her mark in the rankings with a second and fourth behind Randall in the ConocoPhillips U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships in Anchorage earlier in January.

Kuzzy, who trains with CXC Vertical Limit, is a versatile skier who excels in both sprints and distance. He won a combination of three SuperTours and Canadian NorAms and was second in the U.S. Championship freestyle sprint.

Athletes are presently training around the country, preparing for a pre-Olympic camp and World Cup on the 1988 Olympic trails in Canmore, AB Feb. 1-8. The team will arrive in Vancouver on Feb. 9 to prepare for a schedule that includes 12 medal events.

The Team is subject to final review by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

2010 U.S. OLYMPIC CROSS COUNTRY SKI TEAM
(name, hometown, age as of opening ceremonies, birthdate, (past Olympics))

Morgan Arritola, Ketchum, ID, 23, 5/13/86
Holly Brooks, Anchorage, 27, 4/17/82
Caitlin Compton, Minneapolis, 29, 11/7/80
Kris Freeman, Andover, NH, 29, 10/14/80 (2002, 2006)
Torin Koos, Leavenworth, 29, 7/19/80 (2002, 2006)
Garrott Kuzzy, Minneaplis, 27, 11/26/82
Andy Newell, Shaftsbury, VT, 25, 11/30/84 (2006)
Kikkan Randall, Anchorage, 27, 12/31/82 (2002, 2006)
James Southam, Anchorage, 31, 6/5/78 (2006)
Liz Stephen, Montpelier, VT, 22, 1/12/87

Source: USSA