Under 23 Questions with Natalie Hynes

In an effort to showcase the North Americans competing at this past 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 19-year-old Natalie Hynes, of the University of Alaska Anchorage, who represented Canada at her second Junior Worlds.

Last Friday, Hynes led Canada with a career-best 28th in the 10-kilometer skiathlon, and in the classic sprint at the start of the week, she finished 42nd. She finished the week out in the junior women’s 4 x 3.3 k relay, in which Canada placed 12th.

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“My full name is Natalie Hynes, but you can call me Natalie. I was born in Whitehorse, Yukon, raised in Whitehorse, and one thing you should know about my hometown is it is home to 3 current Senior National Ski Team members.

I started cross-country skiing when I was four, thanks to my parents. I currently train in Anchorage, Alaska with the University of Alaska Anchorage Ski Team.

If I’m not skiing, you might find me baking muffins. If I had to pick a favorite book, it would be ‘One Day‘.

One of the things I’m most excited about for Junior Worlds at Soldier Hollow is racing on trails that were once used for the Olympics. One race I’m especially targeting there is the skiathlon.

The best advice anyone ever gave me about skiing or racing was stay on your feet. One of the best race memories I have is the team relay in Greenland.

If I could meet one World Cup skier, it would be Charlotte Kalla.

If I don’t end up being a professional skier, I’ll probably be a physiotherapist.

I’m missing ten days of school to be here, and my teachers are probably thinking, ‘I wish I could come, too.’

You can follow me on Instagram @natalie.heinz.”