LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – As the Chevy Truck U.S. Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships completed the third of four competition days, over 400 skiers were greeted by a brief, near blizzard-like snowfall shortly after the start of Friday’s Free Technique races, presented by I LOVE NY.
Fortunately, the squall was short-lived and its impact on skier performances over the five and 10 kilometer distances at the Verizon Sports Complex was minimal.
Sadie Bjornsen of Winthrop, Wash., in her first Junior Olympic appearance, captured first place in the women’s junior 2 category. Her time of 15 minutes, 25.4 seconds was 33 seconds ahead of the field despite weather issues.
“When I went out, it was not snowing,” replayed Bjornsen. “Then the blizzard came and I had no eyeglasses. My eyelids froze shut and I couldn’t see. I was snowplowing around the corners. But I love these hills. That’s what I’m best at.”
In anticipation of the weather, Bjornsen’s coaches had the skis stone-ground prior to the race. “And they also have this new wax. It’s awesome in this snow,” she said.
Like Kristina Owen, another Washington state skier who took a gold medal on Wednesday, Bjornsen runs cross country in the fall and won a U.S. title Dec. 15 in New Mexico.