Under 23 Questions with Ben Loomis

In an effort to showcase the North Americans competing at this week’s International Ski Federation (FIS) 2017 USANA Nordic Junior World Championships and U23 Cross Country World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, we asked those qualifying athletes several questions about themselves — actually, we had them fill in the blanks. Here we have 18-year-old Ben Loomis, of the U.S. Nordic Combined Team, who’s representing the U.S. at his third Junior Worlds.

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“My full name is Benjamin Loomis but you can call me Sawyer. I was born in Eau Claire, Wis., raised in Eau Claire, and one thing you should know about my hometown is it does in fact have ski jumps.

I started skiing when I was two and jumping when I was five, thanks to my older brother Adam getting me into the sport. I currently train in Park City, Utah, with the US Nordic Combined Team.

If I’m not skiing, you might find me exploring on my bike. If I had to pick a favorite book, it would be whatever holds my attention.

One of the things I’m most excited about for U23/Junior Worlds at Soldier Hollow is having my family and home crowd to cheer me on. One race I’m especially targeting there is the 10 k skate.

The best advice anyone ever gave me about skiing or racing was ‘don’t look back.‘ One of the best race memories I have is finishing second at the [2016] Youth Olympic Games.

If I could meet one World Cup skier, it would be Dorothea Wierer.

If I don’t end up being a professional skier, I’ll probably be a master blaster.

I’m missing zero days of school to be here, and my teachers are probably thinking, ‘Glad he is done with high school.‘