Under 23 Questions: Ben Loomis

Ben Loomis (USA Nordic) jumping to 20th in a Continental Cup on Jan. 5 in Klingenthal, Germany. He went on to finish 19th in the 5 k that followed. (Photo: Romina Eggert)

In an effort to showcase the North Americans competing at next week’s International Ski Federation (FIS) 2018 Nordic Combined Junior World Championships in Kandersteg, Switzerland, we asked those qualifying athletes several questions about themselves — actually, we had them fill in the blanks. Here we have 19-year-old Ben Loomis, of USA Nordic, who’s representing the U.S. at his fourth Junior Worlds.

Loomis is also headed to his first Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, but plans to attend and compete at Junior Worlds “in full force,” Loomis wrote in an email. After his last competition in Kandersteg on Feb. 3, he’ll fly to South Korea on Feb. 6.

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“My full name is Ben Loomis, but you can call me Sawyer if you know me well.

I was born and raised in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and I learned to ski at the Flying Eagles Ski Club. The club or team I currently train with is the US Nordic Combined team in Park City.

Ben Loomis (USA Nordic) during a training session Dec. 29 in preparation for the U.S. Olympic Trials at the Utah Olympic Park. (Photo: Team USA/Getty Images)

I spent the time between U.S. Olympic team trials in Park City and Junior Worlds competing in Germany, Italy, and France.

The hardest workout I did in the last training year to prepare for this was getting my ASS kicked in boot camp by the University of Utah ROTC with the rest of the USA Nordic Team.

This is my second time in Switzerland and 15th time (I think) racing internationally, and so far it’s been Uber Gucci.

One difference I’ve noticed between Switzerland and the U.S. is the cows in Switzerland are way louder and Swiss cheese tastes better.

Skiing and racing in the Alps is amazing. Usually racing at altitude is too slow for me because it’s not my forte, even though there are many mountains around where I live.

One of the things I’m most excited about for Junior Worlds in Kandersteg is competing on a new hill.

One race I’m especially targeting there is the women’s nordic combined test event.

I really hope I can chat with someone from my team and ask them how they slept.

My favorite thing at the breakfast where we are staying is the black coffee.

Fondue is DANK. The cheese here is mega DANK. And the chocolate is expensive.

If I had a totally free day here and didn’t have to worry about race fitness or training, I’d spend it swimming in Lake Geneva.

The best way to follow me on social media is on Instablam @LenBoomis. “