Finn O’Connell – FasterSkier.com

Scott Patterson 14th in Toblach 10 k Freestyle, Norwegians Sweep the Podium

Ken RothFebruary 4, 2023

This World Cup 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. Racing in Toblach, Italy continued today with the Men’s 10-kilometer freestyle. Coming into the race Johannes Hosflot Klaebo (NOR) had won 13 men’s events and was only one victory away from tying...

Feature News Tour de Ski World Cup

World Cup: Period I into Period II

FasterSkierDecember 29, 2022

Editors note: FasterSkier’s coverage of FIS Cross Country World Cup Period I has been a cooperative effort among three dedicated staff writers: Ben Theyerl, Ken Roth, and John Teaford. Many early mornings, many calls and texts, many quotes and comments, many unforgiving deadlines bring this reporting to FasterSkier’s readers. We hope their insights have served to improve everyone’s enjoyment of the excellent racing witnessed in Period I, and that they can serve to prepare viewers...

Dryland General News Racing

Ben Ogden Leads Americans in Opening Race at Toppidrettsveka

Gavin KentchAugust 25, 2022

After technique work on snow comes race effort on rollerskis. Racing Thursday evening in Hitra, Norway, Ben Ogden led four American men when he placed 18th in a field of nearly 100 in the 54-kilometer classic mass start, the opening race of the Toppidrettsveka race series in the Trondheim region of western Norway. Ogden finished 50.2 seconds back of the winner, and 10.4 seconds off the podium. He was followed by fellow USST athletes Finn O’Connell...

Feature General News Racing

Men at Work: U.S. Ski Team Takes on Torsby Ski Tunnel

Gavin KentchAugust 21, 2022

If it’s August, it must be time to ski. Head Coach Matt Whitcomb and roughly half the men on the U.S. Ski Team, accompanied by a couple of well-known distaff guests, have spent the last week on snow in the Torsby Ski Tunnel in southwest Sweden. They raced in the nearby Inge Bråten Memorial rollerski race earlier today, and will compete in the Toppidrettsveka rollerski series in Norway starting on Thursday. It’s a multi-stage Scandinavian...

Community News Racing Regional / Local

In Bozeman, Jim Bridger Rollerski Races Look to Bring Summer Competition to the West

Ben TheyerlAugust 4, 2022

Logan Diekmann, Nina Seeman win on the streets of Bozeman, and BSF’s Rollerski races look to harness the momentum of summer training out West. Featuring Results and Video Highlights. BOZEMAN – Jim Bridger was a mountain man. One of those figures born firmly entrenched in the old ways back East, before he split for the Mountain West for something new. A character to chart a theme pervasive through the American vision of the West –...

Community Continental Cup Feature News Racing Team nominations US Ski Team

Two Years In, the BSF Pro Team is on the Rise: An Interview with Head Coach Andy Newell

Rachel PerkinsJune 15, 2022

In the spring of 2020, the Bridger Ski Foundation (BSF) launched a new professional racing team, led by Andy Newell, who spent nearly two decades on the U.S. Ski Team as a staple and leader of the American men’s program. Launching early in the pandemic, the BSF Pro Team had few opportunities to show their strength in the first race season, but they came on strong in 2021-22. During U.S. Nationals in Soldier Hollow in...

Community Feature News Racing US Ski Team

Q & A with New Faces on the U.S. Ski Team: Finn O’Connell

Ben TheyerlJune 7, 2022

U.S. Ski & Snowboard recently announced its U.S. Ski Team nominations for the 2022-23 season. Of the 22 athletes named to the team this season, six were not on the previous year’s roster, either newly named or renamed: Michael Earnhart, Walker Hall, Zak Ketterson, Will Koch, Finn O’Connell, and Sammy Smith. To help fans get to know these new(er) faces, FasterSkier is doing a series of interviews, providing insights into the factors that have contributed to development,...

Continental Cup Feature Juniors News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

“It’s a Good Time to be an American Ski Racer”: A Look Inside the OPA Cup Finals Trip to Sappada, ITA

Rachel PerkinsApril 6, 2022

While World Cup Finals were underway in mid-March in Falun, Sweden, a second contingent of top American skiers was lining up roughly 2,000 kilometers south to race in the OPA Cup Finals in Sappada, Italy. Located along the northern edge of Italy near the Austrian border, the small town is nestled among the spectacular, jagged massifs of the Italian Dolomites, roughly an hour’s drive east of Toblach, which typically hosts the final stages of the...

Canadian Nationals Continental Cup Racing

Martin and Kern Stride to the Top on Day Two in Whistler

Rachel PerkinsMarch 22, 2022

Carrying the momentum from the first day of racing into a second distance event, athletes lined up once more at the Whistler Olympic Park for a 10 / 15-kilometer interval start classic. Over 130 men and 90 women participated in the open categories, representing clubs across Canada and the United States. Adding a springtime layer of complexity to remind us that we are officially past the equinox, temperatures in Whistler hovered above freezing while a...

Canadian Nationals Continental Cup Racing

Diggins and Drolet Top 5/10 k Skate Podium to Kick Off Combined Championships in Whistler

Ella HallMarch 21, 2022

Sunday kicked off a week of racing at the combined Canadian Cross-Country National Championship and U.S. Super Tour Finals event held in Whistler, British Columbia. Hosted by the Black Tusk Nordic Events Society (BTNES) on the Whistler Olympic Park courses, this event also offers junior and U23 skiers a preview of the courses for next year’s Junior and U23 World Championships. With Paranordic, Nordic Combined, and both junior and senior cross-country events, it looks to...

News Racing Regional / Local

Race Rundown: Lake Placid SuperTour Continues with 10k Mass Start Free

Rachel PerkinsJanuary 30, 2022

Here’s a quick results recap from today’s SuperTour 10-kilometer mass start freestyle race in Lake Placid, NY. Stay tuned tomorrow for detailed coverage including comments from athletes. Racing continued at Mt. Van Hoevenberg this morning in what Weather.com called “bitterly cold” conditions. Near-zero temperatures and skate skiing can be a challenging combination for a distance race on a World Cup–level course, but racers nonetheless put together strong performances on the three-lap 10-kilometer course. In the...

Community News Regional / Local

Elite Team Preview: Bridger Ski Foundation Pro Team

Gavin KentchNovember 15, 2021

Team name and location: Bridger Ski Foundation Nordic Pro Team (BSF); Bozeman, Montana Coaches: Andy Newell (Nordic Pro Team), Hannah Cole (Post Grad Team) Current roster: Finn O’Connell, Graham Houtsma, Hannah Rudd, Lauren Jortberg, Leah Lange, Logan Diekmann, Mariah Bredal, Reid Goble, Simon Zink, Erika Flowers Who’s still on this team, or otherwise involved in American skiing, from when we did this in 2012: No one; Torin Koos and Leif Zimmermann haven’t raced in years,...

Juniors Racing

U23 World’s 15 k / 30 k Mass Start Rundown

Jason AlbertMarch 5, 2020

U23 Women’s 15 k Mass Start Sweden-Sweden-Sweden: Ebba Andersson, Moa Lundgren, and Emma Ribom went 1-2-3 for the all Sweden podium. If one thing is certain from our race coverage this season, we know Sweden is ready for World Cup podiums now. The U23 sweep in Oberwiesenthal, Germany at these U23 World Championships likely means more to come. Andersson crossed the finish line alone in 35:44.4. Lundgren came across 37.1 seconds back, Ribom 45.2 seconds...

Canadian National Ski Team Juniors News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Wednesday Rundown: Drammen & Lake Placid (Updated)

FasterSkierMarch 8, 2017

FIS Cross-Country World Cup (Drammen, Norway): Classic sprints Just three days after 2017 Nordic World Championships ended in Lahti, Finland, World Cup cross-country skiers were back to their regular-season grind with 1.2-kilometer classic sprints on Wednesday in Drammen, Norway. In the men’s race, Norway stole the day with Eirik Brandsdal notching his first World Cup win since 2015 in Drammen, but Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov broke up the team’s total domination of the final with a...