It was a sea of red on Saturday at the front of the women's 15 k skiathlon at World Championships. Marit Bjørgen took home her second gold medal of the week with an impressive show of strength on the final climb that left the field in her dust.
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Audrey Mangan
Audrey Mangan (@audreymangan) is an Associate Editor at FasterSkier and lives in Colorado. She learned to love skiing at home in Western New York.
‘Heia Norge’ — Bjørgen Leads an Unstoppable Norway in World Champs Skiathlon
Audrey ManganFebruary 23, 2013
There are few ways to make a gold medal taste sweeter than it does on its own, but Marit Bjørgen and teammates Therese Johaug, Heidi Weng and Kristin Stoermer Steira somehow accomplished it for Norway in the women’s 15 k skiathlon on Saturday at the 2013 Nordic World Ski Championships. With Bjørgen leading the way, the women swept the top four spots in the finish for one of the most dominant performances ever seen from one country.
The classic sprint at the 2013 World Championships was preceded by promise and excitement for the Americans, but when only three out of seven starters advanced to the heats on Thursday and none moved past the quarterfinals the team was left feeling frustrated by slippery skis. Kikkan Randall and Sophie Caldwell each finished fourth in their quarterfinals to place 19th and 20th, respectively, and Andy Newell was 21st after placing fifth in his heat.
Caldwell Shines In World Championships Debut
Audrey ManganFebruary 21, 2013
Where Sophie Caldwell lacks in international experience she made up for in poise, adaptability and sheer speed on Thursday in the World Championships classic sprint. After “squeaking” into 30th by 0.12 seconds in the qualifier she raced as if she belonged in the heats, placing fourth in the quarters to finish 20th overall.
Bjørgen Reigns Supreme in World Championship Classic Sprint
Audrey ManganFebruary 21, 2013
The Queen is back — as new snow fell in Val di Fiemme, Italy, on Thursday, Norwegian superstar Marit Bjørgen won the classic sprint by over two seconds to claim her ninth career World Championships gold medal. Ida Ingemarsdotter took silver and Maiken Caspersen Falla was third; Justyna Kowalczyk left the venue empty-handed after a disastrous fall in the final.
No one has ever raced skied the sprint course at World Championships at full speed before in a pack of six before. There is not yet a standard script written for these 1.2 k and 1.5 k loops, and when athletes don’t know what to expect from their competitors in a tactics-drive sprint heat, an exciting race is sure to follow.
WIth a more experienced team than they've had before the Americans are approaching the next six races at World Championships more calmly than they have in recent years. On the eve of the classic sprint Kikkan Randall said she wants to perform well on Thursday, "but there’s not really big expectations on it. I’m feeling excited to race and see what’s in the tank."
Photo Gallery: World Championships Freestyle Qualification
Audrey ManganFebruary 20, 2013
You won't be reading most of these names on results for the rest of the next two weeks, but athletes from Wednesday's freestyle qualifying race at World Championships were the embodiment of sportsmanship and nordic camaraderie. The top ten men and women to finish the 5/10 k qualified for subsequent distance events.
In front of the capitol building in downtown Madison, Wis., Rosie Brennan and Dmitry Ozerskiy out-sprinted a tight field for the first wins of this weekend's SuperTour.
Kikkan Randall was eighth to pace three American women to the top 30 in classic sprint in Davos, Switzerland, on Saturday. "It’s the kind of day we wanted to have before going to world championships," said USST women's coach Matt Whitcomb.
LeGuellec Paces Canada in 10th, Canucks Put Three in Top 31
Audrey ManganFebruary 14, 2013
Despite feeling less that great on his skis, Canada's Jean Phillippe LeGuellec finished 10th in the 20 k individual at World Championships on Thursday to lead three teammates into the top 31.
Tim Burke ended America's 26-year medal draught at World Championships on Thursday by claiming a silver medal in the 20 k individual. "I was crying in the woods," said his coach Per Nilsson. It was both a historic day for U.S. Biathlon and a momentous personal triumph for Burke in a season of up and down results.
Tim Burke’s silver medal-winning performance for the U.S. Biathlon team gave the Americans a big reason to celebrate on Thursday, but the team’s performance as a whole was worth noting, too. Three members finished in the top 30 — after Burke, Leif Nordgren took 22nd with two penalties and Lowell Bailey was 29th with three errors.
With "electricity" in the air, France's Martin Fourcade finally claimed the gold medal that has eluded him at the 2013 World Championships so far, winning the 20k individual on Thursday by 23 seconds over Tim Burke (USA). The American's silver medal, meanwhile, was a huge personal best and is only the second podium finish ever for an American at the championships.
The ski industry comes out with better, faster, lighter equipment every year, and one of the most-hyped new skis unveiled at the SIA On-Snow demo this month was Fischer's new Speedmax ski.
The Nationals Dilemma
Audrey ManganFebruary 12, 2013
Petter Northug, Jr., revealed last week that he lied about an illness in 2011 in order to get out of racing at Norwegian Nationals prior to the Oslo World Championships. The revelation sparked debate across Norway about whether nationals should move to the spring. The discussion should be a familiar one for Americans as the best U.S. athletes increasingly skip the event to focus on international races.
On a bluebird day in Aspen, Colo., Brian Gregg (CXC) and Nicole DeYong (SVSEF) claimed the 2013 Owl Creek Chase titles on Sunday. They outlasted a 'murderously painful' course at 8,000 feet and a charging field to cross the line with room to spare.
Johnson Makes Podium Debut with Aspen Win; Brennan Prevails in Women’s Classic
Audrey ManganFebruary 10, 2013
On a snowy day in Aspen, Colo., Mike Sinnott won the opening sprint prologue of the SuperTour weekend, Patrick Johnson claimed his first career win in the 10 k classic and Rosie Brennan went two-for-two in both women's races,
Brian and Caitlin Gregg doubled up to sweep the men's and women's 10 k freestyle at the Vail Mountain Games on Friday. The pair have been training in the Rockies all week to get ready for the Aspen SuperTour this weekend and the altitude training clearly paid off. Click through for photos and video of the event.
Caitlin Patterson led the American squad at the Madona, Latvia, Scando Cup with a ninth-place finish in the 10 k freestyle mass start on Thursday. Eric Packer, meanwhile, had a "breakthrough" race in the 20 k — he was 16th, only 24 seconds out of first.