Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson skied to a strong 22nd place in the 30K skate race at the 2002 Olympics, but is not overly excited when he talks about last season’s results. At the 2003 World Championships in Italy he placed 37th in the 50K skate race and 38th in the double Pursuit – not exactly what he had planned or hoped for. Head coach Trond Nystad is quoted calling it “over-training due to lack of adequate rest” and “training a little too hard too many times”.
When we caught up with a smiling Andrew minutes after the US Ski Team’s running time-trial at Soldier Hollow where he was (only) 47 seconds behind the winner Kris Freeman after making an impressive PR improvement of almost 50 seconds.
A few weeks ago he was only 53 seconds behind Kris Freeman in a 10K-rollerski race despite skiing 2.5K with a broken pole-tip. He is clearly excited and optimistic ahead of the start of the new season:
“I’m making progress in both running and rollerskiing and should see results in skiing as well. I have made some changes from what I did last year and I’m feeling good”
What are those changes?
“The key words are better quality and training monitoring. I’m also trying to adjust more to how I feel. I have tried to include more and better rest in between workouts. Last month I trained a bit less than last year”
You are not skiing World Cup races before Christmas?
“No, and I’m fine with that. Last season wasn’t as good as I had hoped for and I like the idea of finding a good rhythm in domestic races. Ski fast at home and get (back my) confidence”
What’s your strongest event and what’s your goal for the upcoming season?
“Skate races from 15K and up has been my best events. I also like the double Pursuit and the increased length of this event from 20K to 30K should fit me well. My goal is to place top 20 in World Cup races – this season”
