In stadium sprint viewing at the 2019 Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Doug Stephen)
Images from the U20 women’s 1.4-kilometer classic sprint from the 2019 Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. (U.S. in white/blue, Canada in red/black.)
Mara McCollor during the 1.4 k classic sprint qualifier at Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Doug Stephen)
Sophia Mazzoni during the 1.4 k classic sprint qualifier at Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Doug Stephen)
Anna Pryce during the 1.4 k classic sprint qualifier at Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Doug Stephen)
Molly Miller during the 1.4 k classic sprint qualifier at Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Doug Stephen)
Isobel Hendry during the 1.4 k classic sprint qualifier at Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Doug Stephen)
Waverly Gebhardt during the 1.4 k classic sprint qualifier at Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Doug Stephen)
Images from the U20 men’s 1.4-kilometer classic sprint from the 2019 Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. (U.S. in white/blue, Canada in red/black.)
Pierrick Sarthou during the 1.6 k classic sprint qualifier at Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Doug Stephen)
Remi Drolet during the 1.6 k classic sprint qualifier at Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Doug Stephen)
Xavier McKeever during the 1.6 k classic sprint qualifier at Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Doug Stephen)
Thomas Stephen during the 1.6 k classic sprint qualifier at Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Doug Stephen)
Luke Jager checking results during the sprint 1.6 k classic sprint at Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Doug Stephen)
Bend Ogden during the 1.6 k classic sprint qualifier at Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Doug Stephen)
Gus Schumacher during the 1.6 k classic sprint qualifier at Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Doug Stephen)
Russia’s Alexander Terentev wins the 1.6 k classic sprint final at the 2019 Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Doug Stephen)
Noel Keeffe during the 1.6 k classic sprint qualifier at Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Doug Stephen)
Noel Keeffe, pictured above (left), placed 12th overall for the U.S. in the U20 men’s field. He is currently enrolled at the University of Utah where is also a member of the cross-country ski team. Keeffe grew up skiing with the Steamboat Winter Sports Club. He earned his first U.S. National’s podium recently in the skate sprint.
“The sprint race was a tough one,” Keeffe wrote in an email explaining his U20 Worlds experience. “The course was super challenging because of a pretty large sustained hill right out of the start. I believe it was one of the hardest courses I have ever raced.
“I am super stoked with my performance and the performance of the team. We were one of the best nation’s out there. It’s pretty cool when the top skiers from every nation start watching out for the kids in the red, white, and blue.”
