Kieran Jones – Page 8

Randall Gives Boost to Canada’s Female Talent Squad

Kieran JonesSeptember 8, 2010

Since the Olympics, Kikkan Randall has had anything but a relaxed spring and summer. Her activities have included the International Ski Federation (FIS) Congress in Turkey, a visit to Norway to spend time training with Marit Bjoergen, and a three week training camp in New Zealand. Randall’s latest stop has finally brought her a little closer to home. While the Ontario High Performance Camp in Barrie, Ontario, was still far from Alaska, at least she...

General News Tech

Van Wijk Grooms His Way to Olympic Glory

Kieran JonesAugust 24, 2010

While the majority of cross country ski fans last February were plumping pillows on couches, clearing work schedules, and getting Andy Newell’s name embroidered onto a foam finger, Dirk Van Wijk was gearing up to make sure the cross-country race courses met the standards of the best skiers in the world. Van Wijk, as chief of course preparation at Whistler Olympic Park (WOP) during the 2010 Games last February, was the man responsible for battling...

General Lifestyle News

Ox Carts, Monkeys, and School Building; Haugen Converts Skiing Background to Non-Profit Success

Kieran JonesAugust 9, 20104

If Nicaragua is not the last place you would look for a story about cross country skiing, it’s pretty darn close. But for former Junior National Champ and Alaskan Espen Haugen, the small Central American country has become an obsession. Growing up, Haugen was an avid skier and member of the Alaska Pacific University (APU) team with such greats as former U.S. Ski Team member Nina Kempall and 2009 World Championship medalist Kikkan Randall, as...

Canadian National Ski Team General News Olympics Racing

Bets, Babies, and the Boys: George Grey Rolls On

Kieran JonesAugust 3, 2010

George Grey has never been the flashiest male on the Canadian National Ski Team (CNST). He is not nearly as brash, or into Twitter as teammate Devon Kershaw. He’s not a young, fresh-faced Quebecer like Alex Harvey. He’s not a recent émigré from Russia with a sweet tooth as is Ivan Babikov. However, his ability on skis is equal to his slightly more enigmatic teammates, and the man affectionately nicknamed ‘Gino’ by the rest of...

Camps Canadian National Ski Team General News Racing Training

Canadians Tackle Long Days and Epic Amounts of Monopoly at Haig Training Camp

Kieran JonesJuly 30, 2010

During the month of June, the Canadian National Ski Team (CNST) tackled the usual Haig glacier ‘Yo-Yo’ Camp. Featuring 23 days of skiing, intervals, distance workouts and traveling from high to low altitudes and back again, the ‘Yo-Yo’ camp has been a fixture on the CNST schedule for the last couple of years. The training camp has always been a difficult one, due to its length and its strenuous workouts. The 2010 edition featured four...

Health Lifestyle Training

Barbeques, Beer, and Training

Kieran JonesJuly 28, 20106

The summer is in full swing. For athletes, that means building up your training base with long workouts, intensity sessions, and time in running shoes and on rollerskis. While the training is what will keep you fast for those race weekends in January and February, during July and August, the season can seem a long way off. The temptation to have a barbeque with your friends, knock back a few of your favorite adult drinks,...

Canadian National Ski Team General News Racing World Cup

Devon Kershaw Answers the Eternal Question: Who Would Win the Hushovd-Northug Cage Match?

Kieran JonesJuly 26, 20105

There are few sports that can challenge the intensity of cross-country skiing, but cycling is one of them. Anyone who has ever pedaled a road bike uphill–which includes almost all cross-country skiers–can appreciate the difficulty of the Tour de France, and as such, we decided to get some perspective on the race from Canadian Olympian Devon Kershaw. Kershaw himself is no stranger to the bicycle–Carlos Barredo-style? DK: Haha, Barredo was classic. Using the wheel for...

General News

The Greatest Rollerskiing Road in the World

Kieran JonesJuly 21, 2010

General News Other Racing World Cup

Pros of Tomorrow: Andrew Musgrave

Kieran JonesJuly 16, 20104

It is not often that a skier from Great Britain exists, much less turns heads on the international stage, but 20 year old Andrew Musgrave is doing just that. In 2008, Musgrave attended his first World Junior Championships. A year later, he was back, finishing 12th in the 20 k pursuit, and followed that up with a 9th place finish in the 10 k skate. This season (2009-2010) he took the opportunity to show the...

Canadian National Ski Team Continental Cup General News Racing

Mini-Tour Madness! CCC Schedules Three for 2010-2011

Kieran JonesJuly 12, 2010

A quick look at the Canadian draft event calendar will unearth one major revelation – Cross Country Canada (CCC) appears to have fully embraced the concept of the mini-tour. This upcoming season, there are three mini-tours on the CCC schedule. The second Haywood NorAm, held in Rossland, B.C. on December 16, 18 and 19 will be a mini-tour. As well, Western Canadian Championships, held in Kelowna, B.C. on February 4 to 6, and Eastern Canadian...

Biathlon Canadian National Ski Team General News Racing World Cup

Williams Trades Skis for Running Shoes

Kieran JonesJuly 11, 2010

On July 1st, (otherwise known as Canada Day in the Great White North) Canmore, Alberta hosted its Canada Day Fun Run. Despite the title, it was, in fact, a race, as dozens of local skiers toed the start line. Canmore is home to both Canada’s National Cross Country Ski Team, National Biathlon Team, the Alberta World Cup Academy National Development Center, as well as several powerful Canadian clubs–and the nordic sports were well represented. The 8 k course...

General News Racing World Cup

Kraas Calls It Quits

Kieran JonesJuly 9, 2010

With the World Cup of Soccer taking place in South Africa this summer, FasterSkier tracked down Oliver Kraas. The enigmatic South African was eager to talk about his season on the World Cup, the Olympics and the state of cross country skiing in South Africa. FasterSkier: Can you tell us about your South African heritage? And how does a South African get into a sport like cross-country skiing? Oliver Kraas: I was born and raised...

General News Other Racing

Alberta World Cup Academy Joins Canadian High Performance System

Kieran JonesJuly 7, 2010

The Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) may not be a household name yet, but the by-product of the recent World Cups held in Canmore, Alberta, has made moves in that direction. This past winter the program sent two athletes (Gord Jewett and Madeleine Williams) to the Winter Olympic Games, as well as several to Under 23 World Championships and World Junior Championships. Now, as a result of Cross Country Canada (CCC) revising the development system...

General News Other Racing

2010 Paralympic Bronze Medalist Andy Soule Nominated for an ESPY

Kieran JonesJuly 7, 2010

NEW GLOUCESTER, Maine (July 6. 2010) US Biathlon is proud to announce that 2010 Paralympic bronze medalist and Afghanistan war veteran, Andy Soule (Pearland, TX), has been nominated for an ESPN ESPY in the category of Best Male Athlete with a Physical Disability. On the opening day of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, Andy came back from fifth place to win a bronze medal in the 2.4 km biathlon pursuit. This was not only the first...

Canadian National Ski Team Continental Cup General News Racing World Cup

McMurtry Endures Highs and Lows of a Whirlwind Season

Kieran JonesJune 24, 20102

Even for a cross country skier, Brent McMurtry spent an obscene amount time this season travelling. His short list of skiing locations in the 2009-2010 season includes New Zealand with the Canadian National Team, World Cup weekends in Estonia, Russia, and Alberta, the Olympic Winter Games, Canadian Nationals in the Yukon and to wrap it all up, US Super Tour finals in Fort Kent, Maine. When the dust settled on his whirlwind season, 24 year-old...

General News Racing World Cup

FIS Mulls Changes to Sprint Events at Major Championships

Kieran JonesJune 14, 20105

At the recent International Ski Federation (FIS) Congress in Turkey, one of the hot button topics was the future of the team sprint event. In a recent e-mail, U.S. Ski Team Athlete Representative Kikkan Randall informed FasterSkier that a proposal was put forth to change the sprint racing formula for major championships. The proposed change was to remove the team sprint in favor of a second individual sprint, or add a second individual sprint in...

Continental Cup General News Racing

Canada Releases Race Calendar for 2010-2011; Features Three Mini-Tours

Kieran JonesJune 8, 2010

The 2010-2011 Cross Country Canada (CCC) Race Events Calendar, while still in draft stages, is heavy on new formats. Three mini-tours are slated for the upcoming season, and while none of them are completely finalized, it would mark the first time in NorAm and Canadian history that such races would be held—much less three in one season. But tours have risen in popularity around the world since the inception of the Tour de Ski in...

Camps Canadian National Ski Team US Ski Team

Canadians in America: Canada, U.S. Hold First Camp in Bend, Oregon

Kieran JonesJune 3, 20101

With American Justin Wadsworth now at the helm of the Canadian National Team, it should come as little surprise that the first camp of the year for the Canadians is being held in Bend, Oregon, in conjunction with the USST. “I wanted my first camp with the team to be really dialed in, in a place I really felt comfortable with,” said Wadsworth on Wednesday “I just wanted a really good quality camp with good...

Canadian National Ski Team Continental Cup General News Racing World Cup

Gaiazova Takes a Gentle Climb to the Top

Kieran JonesJune 1, 2010

Dasha Gaiazova exploded onto the North American cross-country scene this past season. She dominated the Nor-Am Cup Circuit, earning seven victories, and never once did she step off the podium in her 11 starts in North America. Gaiazova also made her mark on the international arena, collecting 63 World Cup points. After being an alternate at the Turin Games in 2006, she earned her first Olympic starts for the Canadian team in Vancouver in the...

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