Most of the thunder from the US Ski Team these days comes from the women’s side, but I thought it worth pointing out that Andrew Newell is quietly on track for one of his best sprinting seasons ever:
Granted, the season is only about half over, and I really, really don’t want to jinx him, but things are looking good here. Of course, Newell has historically struggled to advance past the semis and when he has he frequently has ended up towards the back of the final heat. As you can see in this graph, and this year isn’t much different. But if he continues on this track in terms of consistency, that would still be a major improvement I think.
Consider that over the past four seasons the most often Newell has qualified for the semifinals is ~58% back in 2009-2010. So far this season he’s 4 for 5. Five races is a small sample, obviously, but it also is roughly half the major sprint races Newell will likely do for the season. If he continues on this pace, he’ll qualify for the semis ~80% of the time.
Post a Comment