It’s been 14 years since I became an Olympian, competing as a cross country skier in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. Since then, it hasn’t been easy to get to the Olympics as a spectator. The Winter Games have been in Sochi, Pyeongchang and Beijing, while the summer games have been in Rio and Tokyo, with an interruption by the Covid pandemic. The Paris Games were finally an opportunity for me to attend my...
Finnegan Bailey—a resident of Landgrove, Vermont, and team member of SMST2 and the University of Vermont—was selected this spring to become one of the newest members of the Stifel U.S. Ski Team at the staggering age of 18. So how’d he do it? In the last twelve months, Finnegan (Fin) Bailey has received quite the accolades in the competitive nordic skiing scene. To name a few: he was named to the SMST2 club team, he...
The Colorado Ski team was one of several NCAA Championship teams at the White House Monday that were celebrated at the College Champions Day. About 20 members of the 2024 NCAA Championship Ski team were in attendance for the Buffaloes along with six coaches and staff members. The day began with a tour of the White House and culminated with speeches from NCAA Senior Vice President of Championships Lynda Taeler and Vice President Kamala Harris....
“If you’re not pedaling, you’re going to fall over.” Last month, the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation sprang into registrants’ inboxes with a summer announcement: Ben Popp, Wisconsin native and ABSF Executive Director since 2013, had been elected President of the Worldloppet International Ski Federation. Replacing Finland’s Juho Viljamaa, Popp will serve a four year term, effective immediately. He already has the regalia to prove it. The Federation’s gavel, a relic of the Tony Wise...
The SMST2 Team is proud to announce this year’s Gap Grant program to support elite World Cup skiers in their pursuit of excellence on the international stage. This initiative provides financial assistance to unfunded (D Team and non-USST) athletes that qualify to race on the FIS World Cup for any period of time. Gap Grants were made possible by the generous contribution of an anonymous donor and will be available to SMST2 skiers for the...
Dear Cross Country Community, We are pleased to announce the XC Team for Period 1 of the 2024-25 World Cup season: Ruka, FIN Sprint C Men Michael Earnhart Objective 23-24 Overall SuperTour Leader JC Schoonmaker Objective 10th 23-24 Sprint World Cup Ben Ogden Objective 15th 23-24 Sprint World Cup Gus Schumacher Objective 27th 23-24 Sprint World Cup Kevin Bolger Objective 30th 23-24 Sprint World Cup Zak Ketterson Objective 35th 23-24 Sprint World Cup...
Anhelina Hryhorenko is a typical 14-year-old girl in many ways—she loves art and isn’t a fan of math. And she’s excited to have her freshman year of school over. But she’s got a lot of unique qualities, too. For one, she’s a junior national champion with more medals than she can hold in two hands. She’s also the daughter of a former national cross-country ski team member team and the niece of a three-time...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. All of us need to take a break from our jobs every now and then and do something a little bit—out there— which challenges us. For many, that’s going for a long ski,...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. In part I of our interview with Julia Kern we talked about her summer training changes, and what was a very challenging winter of racing. Please continue reading for Part II of our...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. Julia Kern is firmly established as a veteran member of the U.S. Ski team. She is uniquely sandwiched between the venerable veterans Jessie Diggins and Rosie Brennan, and the up and coming squad of...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. In Part I of FasterSkier’s article about the Lake Placid organizing committee’s work to be chosen as a venue for a World Cup, we spoke with Kris Seymour, Nordic Program Coordinator for the...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. The Minneapolis World Cup was a sensational success. Now, the announcement of the upcoming vote on Lake Placid as a host venue for a cross-country World Cup weekend has kindled hopes of another...
Dear Cross Country Community, The finalized selection criteria for the 2025 Trondheim Nordic World Championships and the 2024-25 World Cup have been approved by the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Cross Country Sport Committee and can be found here: https://usskiandsnowboard.org/sport-programs/criteria You’ll notice the selection methods are the same as in recent past seasons. As always, if you have any questions or concerns about the criteria, please reach out. My contact info is below. I wish everyone...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. In part one of our interview with U.S. coach, Matt Whitcomb, about Bend spring training camp he told us about training regimens and the team building approach. In part II, Whitcomb talks more...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. May 4th through the 17th marked the return to the unofficial start of serious cross-country ski training for Team USA with their annual return to Bend, Oregon for their spring camp held at...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. After the smash success of the Minneapolis World Cup, a question being asked by American cross-country fans was whether Minneapolis was a one trick pony, or would we see other World Cup events...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. Skiing is an activity divided into seasons of the year: summer is when fast skiers are made; winter leaves us feeling like it went by all too fast; spring is for politics....
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. Last week, the International Ski Federation (FIS) held its annual spring meeting. Among the topics were finalizing next year’s calendar and fine tuning of some of the sport’s rules. All actions taken...
Midway, UT – U.S. Biathlon announced today the implementation of its Women’s Coaching Initiative, designed to increase the number, experience and visibility of female biathlon coaches in the U.S. and internationally and inspire future generations of female coaches and athletes. This new initiative, building on the coaching apprenticeship opportunities available over the past several years, will provide formal mentorship and professional development opportunities for female coaches from all Nordic backgrounds to gain biathlon coaching experience across...
The story of how Colby College became the Mules traces back to years of listless play from their football team, before a season in which the team suddenly became one of the best in New England. That led the Sports Editor at the student newspaper, The Colby Echo, to remark that instead of “black horse” to win their conference, Colby was suddenly a “white mule.” A couple of creative undergrads took the cue, sourced the...