Under 23 Questions with Ryan Jackson

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 19-year-old Ryan Jackson, of Team Hardwood, who’s representing Canada at his second Junior Worlds.

On Friday, Jackson raced to 31st in his first race of the week, the men’s 20 k skiathlon.

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“My full name is Ryan Jackson, but you can call me Rj. I was born in Barrie, Ontario, raised in Midhurst, Ontario, and one thing you should know about my hometown is that I used to live there.

I started cross-country skiing when I was pretty young, thanks to mom & dad. I currently train in Oro-Medonte, Ontario, with Team Hardwood.

If I’m not skiing, you might find me mossing in the doghole with Joe. If I had to pick a favorite book, it would be any colouring book.

One of the things I’m most excited about for Junior Worlds at Soldier Hollow is racing. One race I’m especially targeting there is the 20 k skiathlon.

The best advice anyone ever gave me about skiing or racing was ‘go faster’. One of the best race memories I have is winning Eastern Canadian Championships for the first time.

If I could meet one World Cup skier, it would be Lenny [Valjas].

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

I’m missing too many days of school to be here, and my teachers are probably thinking, ‘Who is Ryan Jackson?‘

You can follow me on Instagram @rjjackson97.”