Fischer Ski Athlete Kikkan Randall Makes History as the First American Woman to Win the FIS Cross Country World Cup Sprint Title

Lifelong Fischer Skier Adds to Legacy of Firsts for Women in Nordic Ski Racing

Fischer Sports, the world’s leading cross country ski manufacturer, today announced that Fischer skier and U.S. Ski Team member Kikkan Randall made history as the first American woman to win the FIS Cross Country World Cup sprint title. The 29-year-old native of Anchorage, Alaska, and lifelong Fischer skier, clinched the title with an eleventh-place finish in Drammen, Norway. She is currently ranked fourth in the 2012 World Cup overall standings. In 2011, Randall placed third in the World Cup sprint. Her title is the first by an American cross country skier since Bill Koch won the overall in 1982.

“This season has proven to be my best to date, and I’m so excited to have captured the sprint,” said Kikkan Randall, Fischer ski athlete and 2012 Nordic Skiing World Cup sprint winner. “I have relied on Fischer all of my race career, and I always feel confident that my skis will allow me to compete with the best in the world.”

Randall enjoyed a strong start to this season, placing fourth in the opening World Cup sprint in Kuusamo, Finland, and winning the next two World Cup sprint races. She was consistent in her results throughout January, skiing well in the World Cup Tour de Ski and placing tenth overall, which is the best U.S. finish in the history of the event. In early February, Randall had to sit out some World Cup distance races due to illness, but continued to compete in the sprint events and gained valuable World Cup sprint points. Randall enters the final sprint race with 628 points, a 135-point lead over the second place finisher. Her season-long point lead makes Randall unbeatable going into the final sprint next week in Stockholm.

The three-time Olympian, who began cross country skiing at the age of six, has achieved many firsts along her way to today’s World Cup success. Randall’s record of American firsts in Nordic skiing includes first World Cup women’s podium, first World Cup women’s victory, first World Championship women’s medal, first Olympic women’s top ten and first World Cup Overall women’s discipline leader. In the 2010 Winter Olympics she placed eighth in the women’s sprint, the best ever American women’s finish.

About Fischer Sports Nordic Ski Division

Founded in Austria in 1924, Fischer Sports is the world’s preeminent Nordic ski manufacturer, with a long history of dominating the race circuit as well as recreational sales. Fischer athletes dominated the 2011 global race circuit, capturing 79% of the ski podiums and 33% of the boot podiums in the 2010-2011 Nordic World Cup. In addition to skis, the company also markets bindings, boots and poles for Nordic racing, cruising, touring, jumping, backcountry and recreational skiing. For more information please visit www.fischersports.com.