Tate Frantz jumps to junior worlds silver

Lake Placid — Tate Frantz sat on the cold bar of the HS100 ski jump Wednesday evening, waiting for his turn to take flight. With no one behind him and a crowd of eager jumpers and spectators ahead, the Lake Placid native prepared for a momentous occasion at the FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships.

Frantz had been leading the individual competition in ski jumping with just one jump remaining. Despite a nearly 10-minute delay, he delivered a jump that went further than anyone else's that night. However, due to a wind deduction of 2.7 points, he ended up scoring 257.7 points overall, which was 0.4 points shy of the gold medal-winning score of 258.1 by Austria’s Stephan Embacher.

"When it came down to the points, I was kind of surprised and definitely kind of frustrated," Frantz said. "I wasn’t sure how to feel because I was frustrated and happy at the same time."

It was a historic moment for both Frantz and USA Ski Jumping, as he became only the second U.S. men’s jumper to medal at the event – following Erik Belshaw, who won silver last season. Frantz, who switched from Nordic combined to ski jumping after an injury in 2022, was delighted to achieve this milestone in front of his family and supporters at his home jump.

His performance in both the qualification and the opening round, where he posted scores of 127.9 and 129.8 points respectively, helped secure his silver and ensured an extra spot for the U.S. team on the FIS World Cup circuit next year. Other U.S. jumpers also posted competitive scores, with Jason Colby placing ninth, NYSEF athlete Henry Loher 21st, and Bryce Kloc finishing 40th.

Frantz expressed optimism about the future of the U.S. ski jumping team, adding, "As a team we’re looking very strong. This is definitely the best junior worlds maybe ever or in the last many, many years. I think we’re in a nice position going into the men’s team and the mixed teams as well. It’ll really be interesting to see what we can do to fight for a medal, and who knows, maybe even a gold one?"

The event schedule continued with the men’s team trial and first round later in the day, followed by competitions for the women’s team and the mixed team event.