Two-time U.S. Olympic cross-country skier Liz Stephen competed in a different kind of race Saturday, a 400-meter climb up the 2002 Olympic ski jumping hill in Park City, Utah.
And she won.
Stephen finished in 4 minutes, 39.2 seconds (full results here).
“I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into,” Stephen said on Park City TV. “I thought it was just going to be pure pain, but it was really an enjoyable event.”
U.S. men’s Olympic skiers Bryan Fletcher, Torin Koos and Billy Demong were fifth, seventh and ninth, respectively, in the men’s standings. Demong, who in 2010 became the first U.S. Olympic Nordic combined champion, ran the 2014 New York City Marathon in 2:33:05.
The Red Bull 400 climb has been done in Europe, but this marked its U.S. debut.
The Park City ski jump is at an elevation of 6,870 feet, has a 36-degree incline at its steepest point and a total altitude gain of 528 feet, according to Red Bull.
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