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US Ski Team

Information about the United States Ski Team.
Getting to Know Fin Bailey: One of the Newest Members of the Stifel U.S. Ski Team

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...

US Ski and Snowboard Announces World Cup Team for Period 1

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...

2025 Trondheim Nordic World Championships and the 2024-25 World Cup Criteria Announced

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...

Bend Camp—Building the Team Dynamic:  Part I

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...

Jack Young Kicks Like a (Colby) Mule

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...

Smith Awarded US Nordic Olympic Women Gold Rush Award

By Leann Bentley – Stifel U.S. Ski Team May, 2 2024 In recognition of her outstanding performance and versatility, Sammy Smith of the Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team has been awarded the US Nordic Olympic Women (US NOW) Gold Rush Award. The Gold Rush Award is an annual award that celebrates exceptional achievements and versatility among cross country athletes and is awarded to a World Cup woman athlete who demonstrates outstanding qualities of grit and...

2024 Stifel Season Awards

Last week, the Stifel U.S. Ski Team announced the 2024 recipients of the Stifel Awards, named after the team’s title sponsor for the 2023-2024 season. Awardees for the “Athlete of the Year” and “Best Comeback of the Year,” among other categories, were nominated and voted on by team members and staff; with Stifel’s backing, those categories were awarded with a monetary prize attached. The 2023-24 season is the first time each discipline represented within the...

Matt Whitcomb: Reflecting on a Special Season with Stifel U.S. Ski Team Head Coach

Asked for a reflection on the 2023-24 World Cup season, US Ski Team Head Coach Matt Whitcomb pointed straight towards one place; Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on a sunny February day, filled to the brim with 20,000 people cheering loud and clear.  “We often talk about athletes peaking for big events,” he said. “But I’d never considered that our American ski culture could peak for an event.” The specific dynamics between performance and...

The Devon Kershaw Show, Glitter Edition: Jessie Diggins Joins Us

Jessie Diggins should not need an introduction at this point, but for anyone who needs a quick reminder: This episode of the Devon Kershaw Show features the best American cross-country skier of all time. Diggins has three Olympic medals to her name, a gold from the last World Championships and, most recently, a crystal globe she was awarded a few days ago as the past season’s overall World Cup champion. Diggins joins us for a...

The Devon Kershaw Show: Finale in Falun, or the not-last episode of the 2024 season

Reports of our demise are greatly exaggerated. Apologies for the tardiness of this episode, but we’re back with a wrap from Falun, the last World Cup weekend of the season. It’s just Devon and Nat kicking it old school again here, but we’ll return soon with some guests. Seriously. Send us your 2025 predictions, Russian troll comments and Gjøran Tefre memes: devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. Thanks for hanging out with us for the whole World Cup...

US Announces Period 4 World Cup Selections

Dear Cross Country Community, We are pleased to announce the Team for Period 4 of the 2023-24 World Cup season: Lahti 20 km C, Holmenkollen 50 km C, & Falun 10 km C Men Michael Earnhart                      Objective          23-24 Overall SuperTour Leader Gus Schumacher                       Objective          16th Distance World Cup Standings Scott Patterson                         Objective          30th Distance World Cup Standings Ben Ogden                                Objective          39th Distance World Cup Standings Zanden McMullen                     Discretion         29th Trondheim 10 km C David Norris                             ...

The Devon Kershaw Show: Minneapolis magic with Muzzy, Benny and an extra special guest

What a weekend. If you weren’t able to make it to Minneapolis, we had the good fortune of taping this episode of the podcast in front of a live audience at a local brewery, and we think it brings through a little of the amazing atmosphere. British skier Andrew Musgrave joined us in-person, Ben Ogden zoomed in from mono jail and a very special guest whose name ends with Schumacher joined us mid-pod. The audio...

For U.S. Skiing, Minneapolis is a High-Water Mark

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. MINNEAPOLIS — The last time cross-country ski racing’s most elite race circuit, the World Cup, traveled to the United States from Europe, Jessie Diggins was nine years old. At the time, in 2001,...

The Devon Kershaw Show: A tale of two races in Canmore distance classic

We’re grinding on with our third episode in four days. Hope you’re still listening. If you don’t get the hat reference, read our coverage. We’ll be back with another episode after the last race in Canmore. To keep you from podcast withdrawal later in the week, we’ll roll out some interviews we did with a couple of international athletes here. Then we’ll be back again from Minneapolis this weekend. Speaking of Minneapolis, if you’ll be...

Vermont Talent Jack Young Breaks Through in First-Ever World Cup start

CANMORE, ALBERTA — Jack Young’s home in Vermont is two miles from the Canadian border. So it makes sense that he skied like he was right at home in Canada on Saturday, in a smoking fast finish in his first-ever race on the World Cup—the top-level circuit that saw him lining up against a bevy of Olympic medalists. Young, 21, placed 11th in the qualifying round of Saturday’s sprint race in Canmore, and 23rd in...

The Devon Kershaw Show: fast and furious in Canmore, Day 2

We’re back, in less than 24 hours since hour last pod. Devon is burning the midnight oil in Norway to bring you this new episode recapping the excellent sprint races in Canmore today. Stay tuned for another episode after tomorrow’s race and a bonus episode where Nat will interview Sweden’s William Poromaa. Email us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com with questions, comments and race predictions. We’ll be back.

Olympic Medalists and Rookies Rub Shoulders in Canmore

CANMORE, ALBERTA — Abbey Zimmer and Natalie Meinert peered over a railing out onto the course at the cross-country ski center here Thursday, where dozens of the world’s best athletes were amidst their pre-race routines. The 14-year-olds had driven seven hours to Canmore with their parents from icy Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. They were there to ski on some snowy trails and for a weekend of watching racers that they normally only see on highlight reels. “We...

The Devon Kershaw Show: A James Clinton Canmore bonus with JC Schoonmaker

Coming in hot from Canmore, Alberta, where the World Cup circuit makes its North American return after five years away. We’ve got a preview here of sorts, featuring an interview with JC Schoonmaker, the California-raised U.S. Ski Team member who made his first World Cup podium earlier this season. We cover his rude awakening to the demands of elite-level training, his affection for his adopted home of Alaska and get some fun details about his...