After an illustrious profession that included two Winter Olympics, three World Championship workforce appearances, and 116 World Cup appearances, Scott Patterson (Alaska native) of the Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team formally retires from World Cup ski racing. It was introduced on .
Patterson grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, and first joined the workforce seven years in the past in 2018, making his World Cup debut with Nova Mesto within the Czech Republic. Patterson does all of it. He is an expert ski racer, an expert mechanical engineer, and some of the succesful long-distance skiers the Stifel US Ski Team has ever seen.
“Scott has been a cornerstone of the U.S. males’s distance workforce over the previous two Olympic cycles,” stated Chris Glover, program director for the Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team. “He is a participant we’re within the Championship 30k and 50k and has constantly delivered outcomes. He has gained momentum in health and efficiency all through the season and is wholesome and able to ship ends in the large races. Scott’s capacity to be part of the workforce is at all times spectacular. Beyond his efficiency, Scott is an instance of quiet management for his workforce, demonstrating his professionalism and decided strategy to coaching, restoration, and balancing athletics and profession day by day. Scott is a good athlete and a fantastic human being. It’s a disgrace he will not be on the World Cup Tour, however I’m positive he’ll proceed to move me frequently on the mountain trails and ski slopes.”
Patterson’s profession consists of 116 World Cup appearances, two Winter Olympics, two World Championships, two levels in mechanical engineering and arithmetic, and a wealth of life expertise. You can see that. He has 12 Super Tour wins, six U.S. Championships, 4 prime 10s at three World Championships, 11 World Cup prime 10s, and will likely be a part of the all-time blended relay workforce in 2022. This was the primary blended relay victory. Going into the Winter Olympics, he could not have anticipated a better stage, and on the Beijing Winter Olympics he earned two top-10 finishes and marked the very best end in U.S. males’s cross nation in additional than 50 years. did. Patterson could also be quiet and never boastful about his accomplishments, however his presence on the workforce over time and the success and satisfaction he brings to the Stifel U.S. Ski Team are noteworthy.
Beyond his outcomes, Patterson made an influence on this workforce due to his humanity. Even with harm or sickness, he at all times arrived on the different facet with calmness and compassion. He was the one who at all times knew all the paths the workforce may run, the ski trails outdoors the venue. Did he need an journey in a small city in Europe? You ought to ask Scott. He discovered steadiness in a life-style the place discovering steadiness is troublesome.
“Scott was among the best American long-distance skiers of all time, and he’s retiring,” stated Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team D Team Coach Kristen Bohn. “He not solely achieved success on the highest stage of his sport, however was additionally a significant function mannequin for the athletes on his workforce. Scott is among the most decided and hard-working individuals I’ve ever met. When he finishes a 50km race, he’ll nearly at all times be a man who needs he may run longer. He loves the wrestle and the troublesome problem that comes with it. Scott will not have the ability to come on the highway. We will miss him, however we all know that his success outdoors of snowboarding has already begun and can proceed for a few years to return.”
Patterson shared reflections on his profession, what he realized, and what he thinks concerning the future in a Q&A.
Q: What are you most happy with?
Scott: A number of outcomes stand out in my profession, however wanting again, there are additionally developments that outline my ski profession. I’m happy with my resilience, which has allowed me to beat a couple of powerful years of harm and sickness and are available again stronger than earlier than. I’m proud that my coaching has progressed over time, my outcomes have regularly improved, and I’ve achieved peak efficiency among the many most profitable athletes within the United States at championship occasions. Through all of this, I’m additionally proud that I used to be capable of preserve a balanced life-style that included success on the World Cup, rising as an engineer, incomes my skilled engineering certification, and having fun with adventures in Alaska. I’m.
Q: What is the most important factor you realized about your self after racing on the highest stage of the game?
Scott: Throughout my World Cup racing profession, I’ve spent a number of time determining what’s vital to me. It was additionally a lesson in making the very best of a really completely different scenario. A summer season coaching interval and a four-month expedition in Europe pose very completely different challenges in minimizing stress and staying centered. I realized that it is rather vital to seek out small adventures in on a regular basis life, strive new issues, and obtain some form of mental stimulation. I additionally realized a number of issues that I do not want or attempt to keep away from, however they will stay anonymous.
Q: What will you miss essentially the most?
Scott: One of the nice issues about ski racing is the readability of goal for a single occasion. There are clear targets in coaching, there’s a race to deal with, and rather a lot goes into being at your greatest at a sure time on a sure day. That applies not solely to me as an athlete, but in addition to the complete help workforce. There are alternatives like this in different points of life, however snowboarding offered such a transparent instance that will probably be missed.
Q: What is one piece of recommendation you want to go away your teammates and all upcoming athletes?
Scott: One of the important thing issues that has outlined my profession is balancing it with different actions. I’ve been working as an engineer since my college days. This steadiness has tremendously prolonged the longevity of my ski racing profession and allowed me to really feel productive outdoors of ski racing. My recommendation to all my teammates and athletes is to seek out your personal steadiness. It does not should be engineering, however it’s essential to have one thing in your each day life that challenges and evokes you. This will make it simpler to endure the times while you begin seeing outcomes or when your coaching does not appear to be going properly. Sports are vital, however do not let your sport or your success in it outline you fully.
Q: Outside of racing, what’s your favourite exercise on the highway?
Scott: Outside of racing, my favourite exercise on the highway was discovering little methods to include journey into or between coaching classes. Often that is just a bit exploratory driving round new roads or the occasional sledding journey, however journey snowboarding is what units it aside. I often attempt to ski all of the Nordic trails within the space and even enterprise past. A memorable journey snowboarding occurred in Davos in 2021 throughout the preparations for the World Championships. Our group ran midway up the alpine mountain and located a straightforward path to slip down a couple of thousand ft to a different city the place we have been picked up by a van. An absurd mixture of working.