Hyncicova Scheduled For Three Olympic Races

BOULDER — University of Colorado women's Nordic skier Petra Hyncicova arrived in PyeongChang last Saturday, joining her Czech Republic Olympic teammates to begin training in advance of the 2018 Winter Olympics.

For the CU senior and two-time NCAA champion, competing in the Olympics fulfills a life-long dream and so much more. All the hours of training to become a world class athlete, all of the travel, and in Hyncicova's case as a student-athlete, a balancing act between school and sport.

She also takes great pride in being able to represent her country.

"Here studying in the U.S. is a really cool experience, but I still feel fully Czech and I'm really proud that I was called and get to represent the Czech Republic," Hyncicova said. "I would do everything for the Czech, so it just means a lot for me."

Living in Boulder and attending CU, there is an eight-hour time difference between her hometown of Liberec, Czech Republic, which made for a laughable memory in how she got the call that she was selected to the Olympic team.

"When they got the news it was during the night here and I usually have my cell phone off," Hyncicova explained of how her Czech coaches had to call her parents because they could not get in touch with her.

"I woke up and I had 10 missed calls and so many messages saying congratulations and I didn't know what for because I don't have a birthday in January. But then I find out that I am actually going to the Olympics, so I was just really surprised and it was the best morning call that I've ever had."

As it stood when Hyncicova had departed for PyeongChang, she was scheduled to compete in three cross country skiing races (PyeongChang is 16 hours ahead of Mountain time in the United States):

Saturday, Feb. 10 – Ladies' 15K Skiathlon (combines 7.5K of both disciplines into one race, starting at 12:15 a.m. MT)
Tuesday, Feb. 13 – Ladies Sprint Classic (qualification heats start at 1:30 a.m. MT)
Sunday, Feb. 25 – Ladies' 30K Mass Start Classic (actually will start at 11:15 p.m. MT on Saturday, Feb. 24 in the U.S.)

Hyncicova will be one of 10 Nordic skiers competing for the Czech Republic. This past December she competed in two World Cup races in Toblach, Italy and can draw on that experience in South Korea, but she is entering her first Olympic Games with a clear mind.

"I didn't think about it too much and I don't what to think about it much because it is kind of stressful," she said when asked if she had contemplated setting any goals for herself. "It is hard to compare the results which I had before Christmas in the World Cup and now in the Olympic Games because there would be different people racing and also a different number from each country racing. It is hard to tell, but just starting at the Olympic games is a big goal for me."

And now that she is there and has achieved that goal, she didn't really know how to describe the felling other than being thankful for the opportunities given to her.

"There is the academic side and the side of CU Boulder, which I owe them so much for helping me to achieve this goal," Hyncicova said. "I definitely owe so much to my coaches and especially Jana (Weinberger) because she was helping me a lot. I am really thankful for all my professors because they are helping me through even starting the process and now during the Olympics. I am really thankful for the entire CU department, but also on the other side, I'm Czech and I'm really proud that I can represent them.

"I'm actually happy that I can show my family that I can achieve what I can achieve and that they can actually watch me on the TV, that's so nice."

It is safe to say that two separate parts of the world will be cheering Hyncicova on.

The opening ceremony of the Olympics will take place on Friday, Feb. 9, beginning at 8 p.m. local time in PyeongChang (4 a.m. MT). Later that day at 6 p.m. MT, NBC will air a "fully-produced" television broadcast of the opening ceremony. For the first time ever, NBC will feature live streaming of every event at NBCOlympics.com and on the NBC Sports app.

How's She Got There
Hyncicova last Friday boarded a plane in Denver for a three-hour jaunt to Seattle and then from there took a 12-hour flight to Seoul, South Korea. After arriving in Seoul, she had another three-hour drive to the Olympic Village in PyeongChang where she is staying with her teammates.

More from Hyncicova
On all the hours of hard work put in and there being no greater reward than going to compete at the Olympics
"If you are training every day, at least twice a day, and you just are waiting for the rest days and don't see anything paying off then it is kind of sad, but if you are going to the Olympics that is always a big reward. It means so much for the athlete, it means that you actually achieved something that you were probably dreaming of since you were a child. It is a big experience, it is a big achievement and having a good result there is just icing on the cake."

List of current NCAA skiers competing at the Olympics

Name	School	Country	2018 Olympic Sport
Andrea Komsic	Denver	Croatia	Alpine Skiing
Freydis Einarsdottir	Plymouth State	Iceland	Alpine Skiing
Petra Hyncicova	Colorado	Czech Republic	Nordic Skiing
Dinos Lefkaritis	Bates College	Cyprus	Alpine Skiing
Laurence St. Germain	Vermont	Canada	Alpine Skiing
Johanna Taliharm	Montana State	Estonia	Biathlon
Casey Wright	Alaska Anchorage	Australia	Nordic Skiing

CU connections at the 2018 Winter Olympics

Name	Country Representing	Olympic Sport	Note
Casey Andringa*	USA	Freestyle Skiing	CU student; marketing major in the Leeds School of Business
Arielle Gold*	USA	Snowboarding	Enrolled at CU in August 2015
Brian Hansen*	USA	Speedskating	2017 CU Leeds School of Business graduate (marketing) Making his third Olympic appearance
Petra Hyncicova	Czech Republic	Nordic Skiing	Current CU women's Nordic skier; two-time NCAA Champion
Joanne Reid	USA	Biathlon	CU Nordic skier 2010-13; 2013 NCAA freestyle champion First Olympic appearance, holds a bachelor's & master's degree from CU
Kendall Wesenberg*	USA	Skelton	2012 CU Leeds School of Business graduate (business admin)

* denotes Olympian was a Colorado student not on the CU ski team

Team USA alpine skier Tommy Ford – his father Mark Ford skied at CU and was the recipient of the 1975 Dick Schoenberg Memorial Award (CU's outstanding skier of the year) and the 1973 Buddy Werner Memorial Scholarship Award winner. CU won the NCAA Championship in both of those seasons Mark was honored.

Team USA alpine skier Wiley Maple – His father, Mike, helped lead the Buffs to two NCAA titles in the early 80s while his sister, Alex, also skied at CU on the club team.

Doug Klyn, audio specialist for NBC Sports at hockey – 1995 CU graduate
Chris Connolly, senior engineer and operations NBC Sports - overseeing all venues – former BuffVision employee
Lisa Menzies, Live event editor and replay operator for NBC Sports at Alpine Events in Jeongseon - 1994 CU graduate
Mike Rotolo, camera operator at the Park Venue for NBC – CU graduate
Russel Cunningham, Super Utility at the IBC for NBC. – former BuffVision employee

Players Mentioned

Petra Hyncicova

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