Andy Newell - after a long frustrating stretch wins the prelim by a good margin and then takes his second podium result ever with a second place. Kikkan Randall had a good day as well finishing 5th. Great, great work Andy and Kikkan. Chandra Crawford won the thing (congrats) and Devon Kershaw was 5th.
The US Junior men's team of Reid Pletcher, Max Treinen, Noah Hoffman and Kevin Cutts, finished 7th in the field of 21 teams at the final event of the 2008 World Junior Championships. They completed the race in a time of 1:01.01, finishing just over two minutes behind the winning team from Russia. Pletcher skied the first leg, entering the tag zone in 10th place, less than 30 seconds down. He came in with a...
The International Herald Tribune reported that the German ski federation filed a libel suit Tuesday after its athletes were named in a police complaint about an alleged blood doping operation in Austria. Several Germans were included in a list of 30 cyclists and biathletes who were accused of using the services of a blood bank and hospital in Vienna that is being investigated. The list was published in the Austrian newspaper Osterreich on Saturday. German...
Pyeong Chang, Korea. Lowell Bailey (Lake Placid, NY) placed 29th in the 10K Sprint yesterday in the first-ever Biathlon World cup competition in Korea. Bailey had a single penalty in the standing stage, after shooting clean in prone to finish 29th, 1:47.7 behind Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway. Svendsen’s winning time of 29:57.4, with one penalty is a good indicator of the just how hard the Pyeong Chang Layout is, as 10K winning times are...
The powerhouses in the past for the Central Collegiate Ski Association have been Northern Michigan University, the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Michigan Tech University. Add tiny Gustavus Adolphus College from St. Peter, Minn., to the mix. The Gusties have qualified a maximum three women to the NCAA Skiing Championships March 5-8 in Bozeman, Mont. Earning berths by virtue of their performances in eight CCSA-qualifying races this season were senior Laura Edlund (Forest Lake, Minn.),...
The 2008 Biathlon World Championship in Østersund was a historical championship for Rottefella. 85% of gold medals and 73.3% of all medals were won on Rottefella bindings. Rottefella skiers saw immediate success – nn the first day of the championships, Russian Maxim Tchoudov won the sprint, with Halvard Hanevold of Norway in second place. The king of biathlon, Norweigan Ole Einar Bjœrndalen (1 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze) and the “young new star†from...
World Masters is set to start in just two days — a celebration of Cross-Country skiing bringing together thousands of participants from skiing nations around the world. Held in McCall, Idaho, this year’s event features a staggering number of American participants. Over 600 US master skiers of all levels and ages will be competing. Says US National Masters Director John Downing, “The really cool thing about the massive US numbers this year is that not...
Liz Stephen posted the best US result of the Championships in winning the bronze medal this morning in Malles, Italy. Stephen, a member of the US B-team, was a solid 19th in the 10km classic earlier in the week. But she skied at another level today, completing the three 15km loops in a time of 37:25.1, just over 21 seconds behind the winner, Olga Tiagai of Russia. While Stephen led the way, her American teammates...
Nathan Schultz is the owner of Boulder Nordic Sport and a former ski racer. www.bouldernordicsport.com The Master World Cup comes to McCall, Idaho Mar 1-7, 2008 and it is looking to be a big event. Boulder Nordic Sport is running a Race Waxing Service at World Masters and in preparation I previewed the courses and tested grinds in McCall February 16 and 17th. I also had the chance to talk to John Downing, the National...
The Birkie wasn't the only major marathon in the US last weekend. The Yellowstone Rendezvous, held at an earlier date due to World Masters, went off in beautiful conditions in West Yellowstone, Montana. Shayla Swanson, fresh off the World Cups in Canmore, won the women's 50km freestyle by an impressive 16 minutes. Swanson mixed it up with the men, finishing 6th overall. Barry Makarewicz won the men's 50km freestyle in a time of 2:28:19.6, two...
What has become known as “The Sweden Trip†is gearing up for its 7th summer training tour to Sweden and Norway. It is a lot more than the name implies, and brings special memories to alums from all across the US, from Canada, and of course from Sweden and Norway. It begins with an inspiring dry-land camp with the Solleftea Ski Gymnasium in Sweden , and the chance to work on a daily basis with...
Malles, ITA — Heading into the Nordic World Junior Championships Alex Harvey was known in the cross-country skiing circles as the son of Pierre. After posting his second fourth-place finish on Wednesday to go along with a silver-medal performance against the top junior cross-country skiers on the globe, the world is finding out more than just the younger Harvey’s first name. They are now convinced the 19-year-old from St-Ferreol les Neiges, Que., is one of...
In her first year at U-23 Liz Stephen (USST) scored a 38.6 point FIS race and a podium result. Not far back Tazlina Mannix (APU/USST) finished 8th with a 45 point race and Morgan Arritola (SVSEF/USST) finished 11th with a 54 point race. Great skiing all!
Virpi Kuitunen (FIN) add valuable points to her overall World Cup lead with her victory in the classic sprint in Stockholm, Sweden. Kuitunen has led the World Cup since Canmore, but Norweigan Astrid Jacobsen has closed the gap over the past few weeks. Kuitunen showed her usual strong form in classic sprinting. She won the qualification and each of her heats on the way to the top of the podium. Petra Majdic, always near the...
In what has become the norm, the Norweigan men's team dominated the World Cup classic sprint in Stockholm, Sweden. Taking places 1,2,4,6,8,9 Norway combined with host Sweden to take 9 of the top 10 spots. Jens Arne Svartedal won the event after qualifying in 29th. Boerre Naess, the top qualifier, was second and Emil Joensson gave the hometown fans something to cheer about with his third place finish. Cyril Miranda of France was the only...
Torin Koos advanced out of the qualification round, posting the 20th fastest time of the morning. The classic sprints, held in downtown Stockholm, featured an incredibly difficult field. As has become the norm, the Norweigans dominated the men's qualification round, placing 10 skiers in the top 30, led by the fastest qualifier, Boerre Naess. Naess completed the course in a time of 2:12.11. Koos finished 4.28 seconds back. The host nation qualified four, including the...
23-year-old Olga Tiagai (RUS) won the today’s 10km classic interval start race in Schlinig in a time of 29:41.6. The young Russian was the 2005 FIS Nordic Junior World Champion in the Pursuit. She finished 11.9 seconds ahead of French World Cup skier Aurore Cuinet. Silja Tarvonen of Finland took third, 37.3 seconds behind the winner. Tiagai increased her speed over the course of the race. At the intermediate point at 5km, she was 4th...
Birkie greetings from the land of the Vasaloppet, where it’s a balmy 38 degrees and sunny. The past week in Europe seems to have flown by. Here are some highlights from my adventures in the Czech Republic and Sweden. . . We were lucky enough to be able to ski on the Jizerska Padesatka (Czech Birkie) trails the next day. Here Lief navigates the icy roads, er, trails. . . He wanted to buy the...
Swix Sport USA, a proud sponsor of the 2008 Master’s World Cup, will be providing Racing Service Support for all events. A Staff of 8 Service Technicians will be on hand wax testing, posting wax recommendations and providing technical support. Feel free to stop by the Swix Command Center at the race venue to obtain the latest waxing information. Swix Racing Service USA will begin arriving in McCall Thursday, Feb. 27th after a very successful...
This comes under the heading of “Last Minute Opportunitiesâ€! Burke Mountain Academy has received an invitation to compete in a race weekend in Sweden and has arranged for accommodations, and some great touring and training. Dates are April 4th through April 18th, so if you have interest we need to act fast. This trip will be small and is geared to J1/OJ, and PG skiers who may have vacation time in this period. We see...