Beckie needs no introduction. She is one of the best skiers in the world, North America's first female cross-country Olympic medalist, and a wonderful ambassador for our sport. Beckie wins the sprint for a medal
Vidar Jakobsen, one of the leading kinesiologists at the Norwegian Institute for Sports, thinks Norway has been going down the wrong path when analyzing skating technique. “ Daehlie and Alsgaard skated technically very well in the early 90s, but instead of copying them, as most other countries did, Norway wanted to develop the technique even further. This led us down the wrong path. Now, we’re more back to what was done earlier. You may say...
After years of top results, in 2003 Justin Freeman made the World Championship Team and was named to the US Ski Team. Age: 26 Height: 5'11.5" Weight: 173 Single or married: married Hometown: Andover, NH Current town of residence: Park City Coach: Trond Nystad, Zach Caldwell Sponsors: I am very happy to have just signed with Fischer skis this year. I am also still sponsored by Toko and Rudy Project. Favorite food: blueberry pie Favorite...
This summer’s warm weather in Europe has created poor skiing conditions on the usually well-covered claciers in the European Alps. The Swedish National Team had originally planned on skiing on the Dachstein Glacier near Ramsau, Austria, but may have to change plans. Due to the poor conditions in Ramsau, they are now considering doing their training camp at the Voukatti ski tunnel in Finland, or as a dryland camp home in Bruksvallarna in Sweden. The...
Only one disappointing event marred what was an otherwise excellent New Zealand training Camp. We came to New Zealand with several goals in mind: Stay healthy. Improve technique (specifics below). Train a high (but manageable) volume. Complete 6 to 7 quality intensity sessions. Beat the Alpine team in Soccer. Our only disappointment came when we lost the soccer match against Alpine 2 goals to 1. We lost in spite of having a good number of...
Cory Schwartz has been the Head Cross Country Ski Coach at the University of New Hampshire for the past 17 years. Age: 44 Height: 5'4 but working on it Weight: 150 and also working on it Married to Julie Wolny who I met on the UNH Ski Team. We have two children Jacob and Jesse , both boys. Hometown: Center Conway, NH Current town of residence: Dover, NH Full-time or part-time coach: Full Time. I...
Dan Karig was a 2003 Masters National Champion in the M8 age class. Age: 66 Height: Age has shrunken me to 5' 6 1/2" Weight: 130+ (but much plus) Single or married: married Hometown: Ithaca, NY, I guess. I've lived here now over 25 years, but I still think I'm a Californian-from La Cañada, the same town Dick Hunt calls his hometown-but he lies Current town of residence: Ithaca Occupation: retired geology professor Coach: Torbjørn,...
The World Champions from last year’s Sprint World Championship were unbeatable in the 200 meter sprint rollerski races in Hamar, Norway this Thursday. A local super-sprinter did however beat the rest of the World elite. The “Super-Sprint” in Hamar had managed to attract much of the World’s elite sprinters, as well as the Olympic biathlon Champion Ole Einar Bjœrndalen. Bjœrndalen was however not speedy enough for the exceptionally short distance. No one was able to...
From The sprint race, both for men and ladies, will take place on the 5th of September by night in fantastic scenery along the main street of Naama Bay. The main street is visited every night by thousands of tourists going to the myriad of small characteristic shops. After the race there will be the opportunity to spend an exciting night in one of the many nightclubs of the typically Egyptian town, to celebrate the...
George Grey is a member of the Canadian National Program's Team 2006. He was on the 2003 Canadian World Championship Team and was the second Canadian overall in last year's Continental Cup.
The Crested Butte Nordic Team is building its Junior Program and is seeking an energetic, qualified assistant coach to help recruit, retain, and train new Nordic skiers. The ideal candidate will have both junior racing experience and some coaching experience. Ability to generate enthusiasm and interact well with kids a must. Duties include teaching and coaching children in the Ski-4-PE program and the After-School program. Will also serve as Assistant Coach for the Crested Butte...
The top 3 skiers from the Sprint distance at the 2003 World Ski Championship is starting in Hamar, Norway, this Thursday. They will be challenged by the quadruple Gold medal winner in biathlon from the 2002 Olympic Games, Ole Einar Bjœrndalen. It is time for revenge at the Grand Prix rollerski Race in Hamar, Norway on Thursday. Norwegians Tor Arne Hetland and HÃ¥vard Bjerkeli will have the chance to “dethrone” the current World Champion, Thobias...
The russian Cross-Country star and Olympic Gold medallist Julia Tsjepalova is suing Adidas for $1 million. According to Tsjepalova’s home page, she feels that the German equipment giant has abused her name in their product marketing since 1998. In a press release to NTB she says: “ I have never given Adidas the rights to use my name, and because of this I have missed lucrative agreements. I want to protect my marketing value and...
General thoughts What is efficient strength training for Cross-Country skiers? Very few of us can claim to have the exact answer. The question is usually not how to get stronger, but what is effective relative to skiing faster, and at the same time balancing this with other forms of Cross-Country training. It does not help to have big and strong legs and huge triceps when skiing up a long hill if your oxygen uptake (Max...
Results this early in the season should be taken with a grain of salt. After all, the fastest skiers in August are rarely the fastest skiers in February. But when the best skiers in the world get together to compete, it is always fun to examine the results – even if it is still summer. Many of the top World Cup skiers gathered in Estonia this weekend for the Saku Suverull pursuit race. The competition...
Kelly Milligan is a former US Ski Team member, who is still very fast. She may be a master skier now, but she is still a threat to win any race she enters. The vitals: I am 42, 5 feet 6 inches, 125 lbs married with one 8 year old daughter named Katie. I live in Park City now but have always considered Grand Teton and Jackson Hole my hometown or where I am from....
USST Report from New Zealand NZ National Championships New Zealand is having one of its driest winters in history. The Snow Farm still has over 2 hours of groomed skiing, and today for the New Zealand National Championship 5 and 10km classical — we had hard wax conditions (multi-grade and extra blue). The US Ski Team has been in New Zealand at Snow Farm near Wanaka on the South Island since the 4th of August....
Hard physical activity or training has a defining effect on the body, but perhaps not fully understood by many of our endurance athletes. The body itself is a most amazing organism that reacts to stimuli in many ways, and there are still many areas of human anatomy and physiology that are not completely understood. One of the areas we as endurance athletes are most concerned about, is how to make our body react to our...
Many of the world's best skiers will gather this weekend in Estonia for the Saku Suverull running/rollerskiing pursuit race. This will be the first major international test of the 2003-2004 season for most of these skiers. The start of the prologue is individual, with 30 seconds intervals. Mass start will be used in the running competition where racers are aligned in two columns, according to the results of the prologue, with the interval of 2...
Will Sweetser is a former Dartmouth Ski Team racer, who is currently coaching with the highly sucessful Maine Winter Sports Center. Age: 32 Height: 5’8" Weight: 156 Single or married: married (ex racer Sarah Dominick) Hometown: Auburn, ME Current town of residence: Stockholm, ME Full-time or part-time coach: full time On salary/paid or volunteer coach: salaried Athletes or Team: currently working as County Team Coach (high school age group) for the Maine Winter Sports Center....