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This weekend marks the first time in five years that Soldier Hollow will host the World Cup. Thousands of people gathered to watch his more than 250 athletes from around the world compete for the podium.
Soldier Hollow general manager Luke Bodensteiner said the World Cup’s return to Wasatch County was “perfect.”
“It was great to get that back,” he said. “The atmosphere here yesterday was just shocking.”
The race had good results for American competitors. Vincent Bonacci, a local athlete from Salt Lake City, led the U.S. men’s relay team to a fourth-place finish on Saturday, March 9th. He said this was the team’s best relay finish since the 1980s.
“It was really fun to do it in front of my home crowd,” Bonacci said. “And it was really fun to have Team USA cheering all over the course, especially since this was my home venue where I did my first ski race many years ago.”
Bonacci said he enjoys racing against the best athletes in the world here in Utah.
“It’s a crazy feeling to see people that I looked up to as an athlete or have competed against them internationally,” he said.
Norway won both the men’s and women’s relays. France and Norway dominated the sprint. On the men’s side, American Wright Campbell placed 6th. Campbell was also the top American in the men’s pursuit on Sunday afternoon, finishing 14th.
Bodensteiner said after watching the World Cup over the weekend, he believes Soldier Hollow will be ready to host the world’s best athletes again in 2034.
“We know we can have the Olympics, and it would be really good to test that this weekend,” he said.
The next IBU World Cup begins on Thursday in Canada. For complete results from this weekend’s races, visit the IBU website.
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