Sports

Concord Skier Trying to Get to the Olympics

Friends of Christopher Lamb hold fundraiser at The Barley House on Oct. 30.

Concord resident Christopher Lamb is on a mission – to make it to the Olympics next year.

The 24-year-old, who grew up in Andover and still practices there, is in the process of raising money to compete in preliminary jumping competitions around the world in order to gain enough points to be considered for the team.

As part of the USA Ski Jumping team, Lamb will be heading to Utah soon to train and then, traveling to Norway, Finland, and other parts of the planet, competing with other skiers to be one of the three or four Americans chosen to represent the country and compete next year in Sochi, Russia.

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However, the jumping team doesn’t have enough funding to cover the costs for all the athletes. So Lamb, his family, and friends, are raising money so he can pay the expenses to compete.

“Ultimately, the USA Ski Jumping team will make the decision based on our overall ranking (on jumps) made between December 2013, to mid-January 2014,” Lamb said. “I’m down to the wire now … as soon as the snow falls, we’ll be gunning it, weekend after weekend.”

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On Wednesday, Oct. 30, at The Barley House downstairs, Lamb’s team will be holding a fundraising event at 5:30 p.m. to chip away at some of the costs. The fundraiser includes beer tasting, silent auction, and raffle, with a percentage of the proceeds going to the Concord Boys and Girls Club.

Lamb started jumping at 6-years-old and later, went to school in Lake Placid at the National Sports Academy, with a focus on ski jumping. He graduated in 2007, and made the U.S. national team. 

Lamb’s longest jump, so far, is 191 meters, the second longest jump of any active ski jumper in the United States, he said. And he hopes to take that ability to the Olympics.

“Depending on our teams’ ranking at that point, I think my chances are pretty good,” he said. “I placed third in the national championships this summer … if I can keep myself among the top three, I have a very good chance of going to the Olympics.”

After continuing to raise money and practice locally, Lamb heads to Utah and will start jumping on snow again within the next two weeks, with competitions starting in December.

For more information, visit chrislamb.us.


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