"She is setting the pace for Womens Nordic Combined"

So declared the announcer ...
Yesterday our courtesy niece Tara Geraghty-Moats won the first ever International Ski Federation (FIS-it's French) Women's Nordic Combined Continental Cup. This level of international competition is one level below the World Cup where Tara goes next. The sport consists of a jump whose ranking sets up the seeding for a cross-country ski race. As Tara explains in the video, she likes the endurance demands of hard racing -- and the feeling of flying on the jumps.

At age 25, she was almost a grizzled veteran at the Continental Cup; this sport is a new addition to the highest level of international competition for women. Women ski athletes are still settling into it. But for Tara, it's a natural, a combination of demands on her body and mind that will allow her to show her strongest talents.

There's nothing easy about the life of a world class professional athlete in a lower profile sport. Especially a young woman world class professional athlete. There are the satisfactions of training and competing -- but also there is also a nomadic existence while grubbing for sponsorship. Tara is a deserving winner likely on her way to greater recognition.