Community College of Vermont athlete wins gold medal in FISU Games
Evan Nichols helps bring the U.S. its first gold medal of the 2023 FISU Games
Evan Nichols helps bring the U.S. its first gold medal of the 2023 FISU Games
Evan Nichols helps bring the U.S. its first gold medal of the 2023 FISU Games
The first five days of the 2023 FISU World University Games in Lake Placid were a slow one for the host country. Not only did the Americans fall behind in the medal table, but they hadn't won a single gold medal entering Tuesday evening.
Enter Evan Nichols.
The 19-year-old helped lead a come-from-behind victory in Nordic Combined on Tuesday night with his teammate Niklas Malacinski to secure Team USA its first gold medal of the FISU games.
"I was a little giddy with excitement," Nichols said right after the race.
As a Lyme, New Hampshire, native, Nichols recalls growing up around skiing. Nordic Combined, though, is a different animal in its own right. The sport combines both ski jumping with cross-country skiing, requiring a diverse set of skills to be successful.
"We have a great young crew coming up for the United States," Nichols said. "If we get more viewership, we can get more medals for the United States."
Nichols said that while competing in Paris for the 2024 winter Olympics is his end goal, winning a gold at this year's FISU games is a step in the right direction. The Community College of Vermont student had multiple surgeries om his ankle in the last year, forcing him to battle back into racing condition.
"This winter has been really amazing to see how he's coming back from that," said Team USA Nordic combined coach Harrison Harb.
The former cross-country skier remembers meeting Nichols for the first time at World Junior Championships two years ago in Finland.
Nichols' performance in Finland helped him qualify for the U.S. national team. Due to the sport's popularity in Europe, Nichols and Harb travel frequently for events. Thus, a partnership between the Community College of Vermont and Nichols was born to allow him to get his studies in.
"I'm happy to represent a small university," Nichols said. "I think it's really cool to represent not only the country but a university."
Nichols is done competing in the FISU games, but will stay in Lake Placid to train ahead of the world junior championships starting on Jan. 27 in Whistler, Canada.