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Lake Placid hosts two major events

Kaysha Love makes her way down the indoor track at the Olympic Sports Complex in Lake Placid this past weekend. (Provided photo — Olympic Regional Development Authority)

LAKE PLACID — The state Olympic Regional Development Authority hosted two major events this past weekend in Lake Placid. The events were the USA Bobsled National Push Championships and the Dick Button Artistic Skating Festival.

The USABS National Push Championships, which were held at the Olympic Sports Complex at Mount Van Hoevenberg, featured some of top bobsled athletes in the country in three days of individual and team competition to determine who qualifies for the FIS World Push Championship in December.

The women’s push division winner Aja Evans set a track record with a push time of 5.574 seconds, while Martin Christofferson won the men’s push competition with a time of 5.097 seconds. Second and third places were awarded to Emily Renna and Jasmine Jones in the women’s division and Kris Horn and Adrian Adams in the men’s.

In the men’s pilots competition, Kris Horn won with a time of 5.151 seconds. Derek White and Frankie Del Duca placed second and third. In the women’s pilots competition, Sylvia Hoffman came out on top with a time of 5.519 seconds, with Lauren Brzozowski and Kaysha Love taking second and third.

At the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, some of the top American artistic skating companies and some of figure skating’s most distinguished athletes and artists gathered for the inaugural Dick Button Artistic Skating Festival on Saturday and Sunday.

The event celebrated the life and contributions of two-time Olympic Champion, five-time World Champion and Emmy-Award-winning commentator Dick Button while providing an opportunity for the artistic figure skating world to advance their passions through a series of workshops and performances.

Among the skaters in attendance was Dr. Tenley Albright, the 1956 Olympic Gold medalist and the first American woman to win the Olympics in figure skating. Tenley attended with her daughter Elin Schran, who presented an Ice Flow Workshop Sunday morning. Schran is also the choregrapher of “Serpentine Loop,” among Sunday afternoon’s performances. Renowned skating coach Stephanee Grosscup also attended. Grosscup, 2022 Olympic Gold Medalist Nathan Chen’s first skating coach, spoke on her choreographic journey and demonstrated for Ice Dance International’s skating clinic.

Lake Placid is slated to host another event this weekend with the Flaming Leaves Festival. The event, which kicks off on Saturday, will feature the FIS Continental Cup Ski Jumping competition and other activities. For details on this event, visit lakeplacidlegacysites.com.

Later this fall, USABS competitions will return to Lake Placid, with the USA Skeleton Championships and the USA Bobsled and Skeleton National Team Trials.

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