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Alex Kochon

Alex Kochon (alexkochon@gmail.com) is a former FasterSkier editor and roving reporter who never really lost touch with the nordic scene. A freelance writer, editor, and outdoor-loving mom of two, she lives in northeastern New York and enjoys adventuring in the Adirondacks. She shares her passion for sports and recreation as the co-founder of "Ride On! Mountain Bike Trail Guide" and a sales and content contributor at Curated.com. When she's not skiing or chasing her kids around, Alex assists authors as a production and marketing coordinator for iPub Global Connection.
Nilsson Back to Winning Ways in Drammen Classic Sprint; Caldwell Top American in 9th
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Nilsson Back to Winning Ways in Drammen Classic Sprint; Caldwell Top American in 9th

Alex KochonMarch 9, 2017

Drammen is one of those staples on the World Cup, appearing on the circuit late each season and remembered for its trademark uphill finish in the middle of a city of 63,000 inhabitants, just 40 kilometers west of Oslo, Norway. “It tends to be fairly predictable snow,” U.S. Ski Team Women’s Coach Matt Whitcomb told FasterSkier during an in-person interview in Drammen on Wednesday. “It’s generally clean [snow]. It’s generally some sort of klister.” But...

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Levins Goes ‘Back to Basics’ for 4th in IBU Youth Worlds Pursuit; Bankes Scores 3rd Top 20 in Osrblie
BiathlonBiathlon CanadaJuniorsNewsRacingUS Biathlon

Levins Goes ‘Back to Basics’ for 4th in IBU Youth Worlds Pursuit; Bankes Scores 3rd Top 20 in Osrblie

Alex KochonFebruary 26, 2017

At just 18 years old, Lowell [Bailey] prepared for two decades before winning a World Championship title. Today’s race was simply more preparation for the future. Every race is a learning experience, and every race that you’re in contention is an even better learning experience. So for now, I’ll keep learning.” A Middlebury freshman who plays collegiate golf in the spring and fall, Levins had previously finished sprint result on Friday, and shot 18-for-20 to finish fourth,...

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More Top 15’s for Levins, Grandbois in IBU Youth Worlds Sprints
BiathlonJuniorsNewsRacing

More Top 15’s for Levins, Grandbois in IBU Youth Worlds Sprints

Alex KochonFebruary 25, 2017

Rounding the sprint course in Osrblie, Slovakia, on Friday, American Chloe Levins didn’t let her mind wander to what could be. She had cleaned her first prone stage, which put her in contention for a top 10 among the field of 92 in the youth women’s 6-kilometer sprint, and another shooting stage without a miss could mean the race of her life in her second race at the 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth World...

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Bankes Gets Gold #2 for Canada with Perfect Shooting at IBU Junior Worlds
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Bankes Gets Gold #2 for Canada with Perfect Shooting at IBU Junior Worlds

Alex KochonFebruary 23, 2017

(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Megan Bankes.) Just to review: 2004: Jean-Philippe “JP” Le Guellec becomes first Canadian to win an International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth World Championships title (in the youth men’s sprint). 2009: Kurtis Wenzel becomes second Canadian to win at IBU Youth Worlds, with a gold medal in the youth men’s sprint. 2012: Wenzel does it again as a junior, winning the 15-kilometer individual at IBU Junior...

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The Next Le Guellec? Grandbois Canada’s Third IBU Youth World Champ
BiathlonBiathlon CanadaGeneralJuniorsNewsRacingUS Biathlon

The Next Le Guellec? Grandbois Canada’s Third IBU Youth World Champ

Alex KochonFebruary 22, 2017

It was raining hard on Wednesday at the biathlon stadium in Brezno-Osrblie, Slovakia. Like, cats and dogs, “des grenouilles” (frogs, in French), or “junge Hunde” (puppies, in German). But that didn’t stop Biathlon Canada press release. told Biathlon Canada. “It has always been my goal to be like him so to follow that path and do what he did is an amazing feeling. “The nicest message I received today was from JP,” he continued. “He...

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Bailey Caps World Champs Mass Start in Sixth; Schempp Finally Gets Gold
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Bailey Caps World Champs Mass Start in Sixth; Schempp Finally Gets Gold

Alex KochonFebruary 19, 2017

Before this year’s International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Championships, American Lowell Bailey had never cleaned a 20-kilometer individual or 15-kilometer mass start race. In layman’s terms, he had never hit all 20 targets in those types of races — the longest formats on the circuit. Not in a World Championships, not in a World Cup. That’s not to say shooting isn’t his strength; that’s just extremely difficult to do. Fast forward to Sunday, the last...

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Feeling Like His Old Self, Sundby Handily Wins Otepää 15 k; Harvey 19th
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Feeling Like His Old Self, Sundby Handily Wins Otepää 15 k; Harvey 19th

Alex KochonFebruary 19, 2017

If the Otepää World Cup = a World Championships tune-up, consider Martin Johnsrud Sundby primed and ready. On Sunday, the 32-year-old Norwegian put together one of his best races ever from start to finish, by his own assessment, which resulted in at 37.1-second win in the men’s 15-kilometer classic individual start in Otepää. For the last four years, Sundby (the 2014 and 2016 Overall and Distance World Cup winner, who was overall World Cup leader...

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Nilsson Cements Sprint-Favorite Status; Diggins 5th in Otepää Skate Sprint
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Nilsson Cements Sprint-Favorite Status; Diggins 5th in Otepää Skate Sprint

Alex KochonFebruary 18, 2017

At 23, Sweden’s Stina Nilsson has nailed a business-like approach to World Cup starts. Standing 5-foot-9, she appears to tower over most of her competitors, and before her signature races (sprints) she appears deep in contemplation, definitely in the zone. During those races, she’s usually the one setting the pace, and afterward, she’s almost always celebrating at the finish. So far this season, Nilsson has won seven World Cup races — including today’s freestyle sprint in Otepää,...

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Germany Wins First Gold of IBU World Champs; France and Russia Steal Mixed-Relay Show
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Germany Wins First Gold of IBU World Champs; France and Russia Steal Mixed-Relay Show

Alex KochonFebruary 9, 2017

Germany was front and center for the first race of 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Championships on Thursday in Hochfilzen, Austria, but there was a sideshow that stole a good chunk of the limelight between France (namely Martin Fourcade) and Russia (namely Alexander Loginov). The action began with the 2 x 6 + 2 x 7.5-kilometer mixed relay, a co-ed event where teams start women for the first and second legs, followed by men for the third and...

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GeneralJuniorsNewsOtherRacing

U23/Junior Worlds Recap: Weekend Highlights from Soldier Hollow

Alex KochonFebruary 6, 2017

For fans of North American skiing, some of the last races of U23 and Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, proved beyond captivating, surpassing most expectations and previous results. But for the U.S. junior women’s relay, a group of four that had set a goal two years ago at a U.S. development training camp, the podium was exactly where they had envisioned themselves. Relay bronze Hailey Swirbul, Julia Kern, Hannah Halvorsen, and...

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Canadian National Ski TeamJuniorsNewsNordic CombinedOtherRacingUS Ski TeamWorld Cup

Saturday Rundown: PyeongChang, Soldier Hollow & Eastern Canadian Champs (Updated x3)

Alex KochonFebruary 4, 2017

FIS Nordic Combined Junior World Championships (Park City and Midway, Utah): Normal hill/5 k [UPDATED] In the individual normal hill/5-kilometer Gundersen on Saturday, the last nordic-combined competition of 2017 Nordic Junior World Championships, American Ben Loomis captured his first top 10 in his third Junior Worlds in ninth place. Eighteen-year-old Loomis jumped to 10th then picked off one place in the 5 k to finish ninth, 1:22.3 minutes behind the winner, Germany’s Vinzenz Geiger. Geiger...

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Ogden Claims Bronze, First U.S. Individual Medal at Junior Worlds
JuniorsNewsRacing

Ogden Claims Bronze, First U.S. Individual Medal at Junior Worlds

Alex KochonFebruary 4, 2017

Almost exactly two years. That’s how long 19-year-old Katharine Ogden recalled her longing for a medal at Junior World Championships, but she can trace her inspiration back to much earlier as a kid growing up in southern Vermont. Her father, a ski coach,  third in the World Cup classic sprint in PyeongChang, South Korea. That got Ogden excited for the day, and she went on to navigate her usual pre-race nerves, which were somewhat amplified...

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JuniorsNewsRacing

Williams 11th, Gebhardt 12th in Junior Worlds 20 k Skiathlon

Alex KochonFebruary 4, 2017

Earlier this week, Gareth Williams, 19 of Kelowna, British Columbia, had no idea what to expect in his first Junior Worlds Championships race. Was top 20 realistic? He’d soon find out. Williams, of the Telemark Race Team, which, he explained will soon be known as the Okanagan Racers, raced to 20th to lead Canada in the told the U.S. Ski Team in a post-race interview. “When I did the first race in the sprint, I...

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NewsOtherRacing

Caldwell Cracks Top 10 in Third U23 Worlds, 9th in 15 k Skate

Alex KochonFebruary 3, 2017

(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Paddy Caldwell.) Three years ago, American Patrick “Paddy” Caldwell made his debut at Junior World Championships, racing to classic sprint. Then, on Thursday in the men’s 15 k freestyle, he cracked the top 10 for the first time in his U23/Junior Worlds career. “I was really excited going into today’s race,” Caldwell wrote in an email on Friday morning. “15km FS is one of my...

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JuniorsNewsRacing

Ogden Ties Second-Best U.S. Result at Junior Worlds in Fifth

Alex KochonFebruary 2, 2017

(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Americans Katharine Ogden and Taeler McCrerey, as well as Canada’s Gareth Williams.) Katharine Ogden’s name had already been in the target race on Friday. “In the skiathalon I’m really hoping for another top 6 and maybe (hopefully) a podium.” “It’s really encouraging to know that all those U.S. Ski Team girls that are doing so well [on the World Cup] right now were in the same place that...

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GeneralNewsOtherRacing

Morgan Gets What He Came For, 9th in U23 Classic Sprint

Alex KochonFebruary 1, 2017

Two weeks after being Cole Morgan still felt like he had something to prove, goals to chase, races to qualify for. That’s where U23 World Championships came in. For Morgan, a former University of Vermont skier who graduated last spring and began a professional racing career with the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) in Sun Valley, Idaho, his goal for the one race he was competing in at his first U23 Worlds was to finish in the top...

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Schumann Races to 10th at Home NoCo Junior Worlds
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Schumann Races to 10th at Home NoCo Junior Worlds

Alex KochonFebruary 1, 2017

Sixteen-year-old Stephen Schumann knew the drill when it came to Nordic Junior World Championships. He had been to his first Junior Worlds last year in Rasnov and Cheile Gradistei, Romania, and competed in three events: two individual and the team 4 x 5-kilometer relay. This year, he’s on his home turf in Park City, Utah. And while most U.S. nordic-combined up-and-comers migrate there to train with the U.S. Ski Team at Utah Olympic Park, Schumann...

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Beatty 12th in SoHo Classic Sprint for U23/Junior Worlds Career Best

Alex KochonFebruary 1, 2017

A year ago, Canada’s breakthrough at the Ski Tour Canada classic sprint in Canmore, Alberta. Beatty lives and trains in Canmore as a member of both the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) and Canadian National U25 Team. She led the NorAm (Continental Cup) standings at the end of last season, reiterating her position as freestyle sprint prologue at U.S. nationals at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Then on Tuesday, on the same 1.3-kilometer sprint course...

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JuniorsNewsRacing

Career-Best Ninth for Kern at Junior Worlds; Russia’s Nekrasova Wins Classic Sprint

Alex KochonJanuary 31, 2017

Germany, Germany, Germany. That was the way the women’s 1.3-kilometer classic sprint started on Monday at the first day of Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, with Antonia Fräbel putting down the fastest qualifying time in 3:40.83, a full 6.15 and 8.03 seconds faster than her German teammates Coletta Rydzek and Julia Richter, who qualified in second and third, respectively. The 10th woman to qualify (out of 30), Russia’s Polina Nekrasova, was...

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