Noah Hoffman (born August 1, 1989) is a retired[2] American Olympic cross-country skier. He competed for the United States at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Noah Hoffman
Country United States
Born (1989-08-01) August 1, 1989 (age 35)
Evergreen, Colorado[1]
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Ski clubSki and Snowboard Club Vail
World Cup career
Seasons10 – (20092018)
Indiv. starts127
Indiv. podiums1
Indiv. wins1
Team starts8
Team podiums0
Overall titles0 – (35th in 2014)
Discipline titles0
Medal record
Men's cross-country skiing
Representing  United States
U23 World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2012 Erzurum 15 km classical

Personal

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Hoffman was born in Evergreen, Colorado to Mike and Sharon Hoffman.[3][4] He has a sister named Maggie.[4] He grew up in Aspen, Colorado.[5] In middle school, he ran cross-country.[6]

Hoffman graduated from Aspen High School in 2007.[7] He postponed college to focus on skiing.[8]

After retiring from professional skiing in 2018, Hoffman earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Brown University.[9] In 2022 Hoffman matriculated at Yale Law School.[9]

Career

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Hoffman began skiing at age four.[10] His club is the Ski and Snowboard Club Vail.[11] Hoffman's coaches are John Callahan, Zach Caldwell, Jason Cork, Matt Whitcomb, Chris Grover, Eric Pepper, and Dan Weiland.[8]

Early years

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Hoffman came in 12th in the 10k in the 2008 Junior World Championships.[11]

Hoffman debuted in the FIS World Cup at Vancouver in January 2009, placing 25th in the 30 km skiathlon.[12] His first European appearance in the World Cup was at the 2010–11 season opener in Gällivare, where he placed 31st in the 15 km freestyle, only just missing out on a points finish.[12]

He represented the United States at the 2011 World Championships in Oslo, Norway, where Hoffman placed 14th in the Men's 4x10k Relay, 29th in the 15 km classic, and 30th in the 50 km freestyle mass start.[12][11]

2012–13

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Hoffman opened the 2012–13 season well, placing a career-best 19th in the second stage of the Nordic Opening at Ruka, a 10 km freestyle race;[12][13] he went on to place 26th in the final standings of the Ruka Triple.[12] He scored his first top 10 finish two weeks later at Canmore, placing 8th in the 30 km skiathlon.[12][14] Hoffman also completed his first Tour de Ski, finishing 46th with a best stage finish of 17th in the final climb.[12][15] He came in 8th in the 4x10k Relay in the 2012 World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.[11] He came in second in the 15k CL at the U23 2012 World Championships, the highest finish ever by an American at the U23 World Championships.[11][16]

Hoffman won the 2012 U.S. Championship Title in the 30k CL, in Rumford, Maine.[11]

At the 2013 World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy, Hoffman improved on his results from two years before. He finished strong to place 15th in the 15 km freestyle, his best World Championship result to date.[17] In the 50 km classic mass start he placed 27th after going with an early five-man breakaway.[18] He was the top American in both races.[18] He placed 10th in the 4x10k Relay.[11]

Hoffman narrowly qualified for his first World Cup Final in Falun, Sweden, scoring seven World Cup points at the last opportunity (a 50 km freestyle mass start at Oslo) to move to 47th in the World Cup overall standings as the top 50 qualified for the final weekend.[19] He eventually finished 48th in the overall World Cup and 36th in the distance World Cup.[20]

2013–14

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Hoffman underwent shoulder surgery in the off-season, hoping to eliminate a recurring shoulder dislocation problem.[21] He placed a career-best 9th in the season-opening Ruka Triple, being the fastest skier in the final stage (a 15 km freestyle pursuit) and thus receiving the maximum 50 World Cup points for a stage win.[22] Hoffman also had the fastest time on the day during the 35 km pursuit during the Tour de Ski.

Hoffman represented the United States at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and came in 11th in the Men's 4x10k Relay, 26th in the Men's 50k Freestyle Mass Start, 31st in the Men's 15K classic, and 35th in the Men's Skiathlon 30K in which he crashed as he rounded a 180-degree corner turn and broke his ski pole.[11][4][6]

In November 2014 Hoffman crashed and broke his left fibula above the ankle and suffered medial collateral ligament damage when his skis got caught in the course fencing at the Kuusamo World Cup in Finland.[11][23][24][25][26] He had surgery to implant pins and a plate near his ankle to repair his leg.[24]

In the 2015 World Ski Championships in Falun, Sweden, he placed 11th in the 4x10k Relay.[11]

2015-16

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In 2015-16 Hoffman was the top distance racer in the United States, as he won several World Cup points throughout the season.[11] His best result was 19th in a 10k freestyle race in Toblach, Italy.[11] He also had his career-best Tour de Ski, in which he finished 22nd overall in the Tour standings.[11]

2017-18

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At the 2017 World Championships, he came in 50th in the 50K mass start, and 57th in the skiathlon 15/15K.[10]

He competed for the United States at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.[10] He came in 48th in the 15K freestyle, and 54th in the skiathlon 15/15K.[10]

Hoffman retired from cross-country skiing at the Holmenkollen Ski Festival two weeks after the conclusion of the 2018 Winter Olympics.[27]

Cross-country skiing results

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All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[28]

Olympic Games

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 Year   Age   15 km 
 individual 
 30 km 
 skiathlon 
 50 km 
 mass start 
 Sprint   4 × 10 km 
 relay 
 Team 
 sprint 
2014 25 31 34 26 11
2018 29 48 54 33 14

World Championships

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 Year   Age   15 km 
 individual 
 30 km 
 skiathlon 
 50 km 
 mass start 
 Sprint   4 × 10 km 
 relay 
 Team 
 sprint 
2011 22 29 37 30 14
2013 24 15 42 27 10
2015 26 34 44 31 11
2017 28 57 50

World Cup

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Season standings

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 Season   Age  Discipline standings Ski Tour standings
Overall Distance Sprint Nordic
Opening
Tour de
Ski
World Cup
Final
Ski Tour
Canada
2009 20 162 101
2010 21 NC NC
2011 22 NC NC NC 42
2012 23 128 78 NC 58
2013 24 48 35 NC 26 46 27
2014 25 35 27 NC 9 24 21
2015 26 NC NC
2016 27 54 38 NC 52 22 34
2017 28 51 33 NC 36 26 52
2018 29 147 96 NC 39

Individual podiums

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  • 1 victory – (1 SWC)
  • 1 podium – (1 SWC)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
1 2013–14 1 December 2013   Rukatunturi, Finland 15 km Pursuit F Stage World Cup 1st

References

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  1. ^ "Noah Hoffman". U.S. Ski Team. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  2. ^ "Noah Hoffman retires from cross-country ski racing, readies for next phase of life"
  3. ^ "Sizing up some of the non-Israeli Jews in Sochi," The Jerusalem Post.
  4. ^ a b c Noah Hoffman
  5. ^ "PyeongChang Race Day #2"
  6. ^ a b "Noah Hoffman skis for the gold," Washington Jewish Week.
  7. ^ Noah Hoffman – Stats
  8. ^ a b "About - Noah Hoffman"
  9. ^ a b "Noah Hoffman". Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d Noah Hoffman
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Noah Hoffman | U.S. Ski Team - Nordic". Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Noah Hoffman at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
  13. ^ "Randall Leads Another Historic USA Day". U.S. Ski Team. December 1, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  14. ^ "Top 10 for Hoffman, Freeman". U.S. Ski Team. December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  15. ^ "Men 9 km Free Final Climb Pursuit Start Winner Of The Day" (PDF). FIS. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  16. ^ "Noah Hoffman's Life as a Nordic Skier" | News | Julbo Eyewear
  17. ^ "Hoffman Notches Career-Best 15th in Val di Fiemme". FasterSkier.com. February 27, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  18. ^ a b "Aspen's Hoffman leads U.S. nordic team". Aspen Times. March 4, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  19. ^ "Hoffman Leads at Holmenkollen". U.S. Ski Team. March 16, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  20. ^ "Cup Standings 2012–13". FIS. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  21. ^ Mangan, Audrey (May 17, 2013). "Hoffman Capitalizes on Recovery Process". FasterSkier.com. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  22. ^ "Sundby (NOR) takes the final stage of Ruka Triple". FIS. December 1, 2013. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
  23. ^ "Aspen Nordic Skier Recovering From Broken Fibula" | Aspen Public Radio
  24. ^ a b "Olympic Nordic skier Noah Hoffman tunes up in local race after breaking leg," Summit Daily.
  25. ^ "Broken Fibula - Noah Hoffman"
  26. ^ "Noah Hoffman eager to meet challenge after suffering broken leg," The Denver Post.
  27. ^ "Nordic Notes with Noah Hoffman: One final race before calling it a career"
  28. ^ "HOFFMAN Noah". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
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  NODES
INTERN 4
Note 2