Nordic sports are pretty egalitarian, as far as athletics go – but women are still confronted, constantly, with stereotypes about what is and is not appropriate or possible for them to do. In southern France, two researchers are focusing on what effects these stereotypes have on women’s participation and performance in a wide range of sports, and explained their findings in an interview.
In its second year, NANANordic reached three times the amount of villages and more than twice as many students in Northwest Alaska. And if you ask founder Lars Flora, they’re not done with spreading cross-country skiing just yet.
Just over a week ago, Tad Elliott heard the news he had an inkling was coming: he was not re-nominated to the U.S. Ski Team. With two seasons of international skiing behind him, he’s decided to keep on the nordic path while renewing his other passion, mountain biking.
In his first year as a senior, Canada’s Kurtis Wenzel – last year’s World Junior Champion in the individual – saw his season progress as normal. Then, at the very end, things got exciting: he got the surprise call to race in his first World Cup, at the Olympic venue in Sochi, then returned home to win his first national championship.
When Andrew Gardner announced he was leaving his position as Middlebury’s head coach, speculation spread about who would fill the void. The answer came Tuesday when the college announced it hired Andrew Johnson, a Vermont native and former assistant at UVM and Utah.
Just over a year ago, Yulia Tchekaleva had her first child, and while she enjoyed the pregnancy and much-needed break from training, she entered 2012/2013 with a new kind of drive. Without an individual World Cup medal before this season, she’s now got four, including one from World Championships.
In a video interview on Sunday night, newly-crowned World Champions Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins talk more about their race, how they stayed calm through a missing pole and what their gold medals mean for cross-country skiing in the U.S.
Val di Fiemme’s no stranger to World Championships. The winter-sports mecca located in the heart of the Dolomites in northeastern Italy has been around the block a time or two, and is about to host its third FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.
Kris Freeman was ready for the Tour to be over sooner than he could get out of Europe. Afterward, the US Ski Team veteran headed home, where he spent a full week recovering then building back up to normal. Before picking things up again in Davos, Switzerland, Freeman won two domestic marathons and is feeling primed for the World Cup and World Championships.
A few days after calling it a season and flying home to Canmore, Alberta, Chandra Crawford and her coach Eric de Nys talk about her decision and what’s next for Canada’s Olympic gold medalist as she tries to recover for Sochi.
For over 20 years now, women have had their own race at Birkebeiner Skistadion – and while there’s serious competition, there’s also a whole lot of fun the week before the Birkebeiner proper. The 4,000 women of the Inga-Lami spend more money than the 16,000 Birkebeiners combined, making women-only ski races not only a great party, but also a good investment.
You’ll see her now and then in a World Cup race, and when she shows up, she’s usually a podium contender. FasterSkier caught up with Japan’s Masako Ishida to ask her about her recent achievements and World Championships goals.
You might think that Norway’s 54k Birkebeiner, one of the most famous and tradition-laden marathons in the world, has always been popular. But despite being situated in a ski-crazy country, the 17,000-entrant cap was only reached in the last decade, and demand is growing more every year. Here’s how the race got so popular, and how it’s continuing to grow as an event despite the cap.
After the Canmore World Cup, Alana Thomas decided to give up her spot on the Alberta World Cup Academy and resume training independently. Still living in Canmore, Thomas explains how she made the tough decision and what she’s gearing up for now.
A year after practically leaving the sport, Brittany Webster is back in action on the Canadian circuit with a new perspective on racing.
Despite an Olympic bronze medal and World Championships gold, Jakov Fak hadn’t won a regular World Cup competition until this season. How things change. After four podiums, the Croatian-turned-Slovenian is ranked eighth overall. He talked to FasterSkier about the ups and downs of his sport, and how he still returns to his roots in Croatia to train and to “find peace.”
After providing Canada’s best women’s result at the 2010 Olympics, biathlete Megan Heinicke moved to Germany, got married, and had a baby. Illness prevented her from skiing a full World Cup schedule in 2012, but this year she is back and has already notched a top-30 result.
If you watched last weekend’s Québec World Cup live via the USSA website, you’ll be happy to know that there’s more where that came from – potentially close to 20 more. In the immediate future, USSA will stream live footage from the Canmore World Cup, which includes races Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
Still waiting to hear from your favorite North American skier that failed to qualify for the Quebec World Cup heats on Saturday? We’ve got their responses.
It’s not brain surgery, or so Kent Gordis says. With around 35 employees and 13 cameras working within a relatively small space in front of Québec’s Parliament building, covering the World Cup cross-country ski races Friday and Saturday won’t be any small feat, either.
