![American Hailey Swirbul (29), of the University of Alaska Anchorage, racing to 24th in the women's 10 k skiathlon on Friday at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, for her best result at a Junior World Championships. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF8752.jpg")
In an effort to showcase the North Americans competing at this week’s International Ski Federation (FIS) 2017 USANA Nordic Junior World Championships and U23 Cross Country World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, we asked those qualifying athletes several questions about themselves — actually, we had them fill in the blanks. Here we have 18-year-old Hailey Swirbul, of the University of Alaska Anchorage, who’s representing the U.S. at her second Junior Worlds.
On Friday, Swirbul raced to 24th in the women’s 10 k skiathlon for her first individual top 30 at Junior Worlds, and she was 31st in the 5 k freestyle on Wednesday.
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“My full name is Hailey Swirbul, but you can call me Swirb. Or whatever. I was born in Grand Junction, Colo., raised in El Jebel, Colo., and one thing you should know about my hometown is that there is a Whole Foods grocery store. That’s the most exciting thing that has happened recently.
I started cross-country skiing when I was in 5th grade, thanks to my brother, Keegan. I currently train in Anchorage, Alaska, with the University of Alaska Anchorage.
If I’m not skiing, you might find me shredding around campus on my retro Raleigh bike named Ralph. If I had to pick a favorite book, it would be ‘Thug Kitchen’ (a cookbook).