Nathaniel Herz – Page 35

Hard Luck Hamilton Loses Grip in Quarters; Norwegian Wins U-23 Skate Sprint

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 26, 2010

After a mishap in a race in Canada, Simi Hamilton said that he secured the grips on his Swix Stars with “about a pound” of glue. It still wasn’t enough. Leading his heat through the initial downhill in the U-23 skate sprint today, a Norwegian skied over one of Hamilton’s baskets as he came out of a tuck. The grip came off, and the whole pack went by. Hamilton was left screaming at the fans...

General News Racing US Ski Team

Sargent Sprints to Fourth at U-23’s; Finnish Biathlete Skis Away With Title

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 26, 2010

When Simi Hamilton lost a pole and was bounced from his quarterfinal heat, it was up to Ida Sargent to salvage the American hopes in the U-23 skate sprint. She didn’t disappoint. After qualifying in fourth, Sargent advanced easily through the quarters and semis, faltering only midway through the A-final. After some bad luck and tactical errors by the Americans over the last two days, you could almost hear the sigh of relief from her...

General News Racing US Ski Team

Hamilton Wins U-23 Sprint Qualifier; Sargent 4th as All Four Women Make Heats

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 26, 20101

He’s the real deal. That’s what U.S. Ski Team Development Coach Matt Whitcomb said this morning about Simi Hamilton, after the skate sprint national champ took first place in the qualifying round of the same event here in Hinterzarten. After some drizzle overnight, the race trails at the Notschrei Nordic Center were covered with a thin icy crust this morning, which made for some slick skiing and a fast qualifying round—Hamilton’s time was around 2:20....

General Juniors News Racing

In Germany, It’s Another Northug–Tomas Takes WJ Sprint

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 25, 20101

Different race, different Northug, same result. With a finishing kick eerily similar to the one his brother has made famous, Norway’s Tomas Northug won the championship in the World Junior Sprint today in dominating fashion. The resemblance between the two brothers is striking, and beyond their facial features, Tomas also has the same blazing speed and Casco headwear made famous by Petter. Their attitudes are similar, too. When asked if he had stepped out of...

Juniors News Racing

U.S. Women Out in WJ Sprint Quarters; Swede Takes the Win

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 25, 2010

One misstep and one mistake, and it was all over for the American women in Hinterzarten. 50 meters into her quarterfinal here, Jessie Diggins found herself on the ground, seeing stars. Sophie Caldwell lasted longer, and was in contention to advance, but she lost crucial ground coming into the final turn that she could not make up in the finishing sprint. Sitting in third on the final downhill, Caldwell swung to the outside of the...

Interviews Juniors News US Nationals

Two FAST Guys: David Norris and Reese Hanneman

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 22, 2010

When it’s -15 F outside, most lower-48 skiers resign themselves to an afternoon in the weight room or even on the couch. But temperatures like those don’t faze Reese Hanneman and David Norris, two members of the Fairbanks Alaska Ski Team who contend with bone-chilling cold for much of the winter. With readings hovering around the -25 mark, FasterSkier met Norris and Hanneman last week for an interview inside the lodge at their home venue,...

Canadian National Ski Team General News Olympics US Ski Team

U.S. Olympic Team Stays at Eight on Final FIS List; Canada Gets 11

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 18, 20101

In the final FIS quota allocation for the Olympics released this afternoon, the United States held steady with eight spots for its team in Whistler in February. That’s one more than the U.S. had earlier this year, but perhaps not quite as many as the American ski community had hoped for. Races over the weekend were the last events to count toward the quota – if results were submitted to the FIS on time. Finland,...

Nordic Combined Racing World Cup

Demong Fourth as Moan Doubles Up in Nordic Combined in France

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 17, 2010

It’s a pretty good sign for the U.S. Nordic Combined Team that a fourth-place World Cup finish for Bill Demong isn’t greeted with a whole lot of fanfare. With 28 days before the first race of the 2010 Olympic Games, Demong and his teammates have already been on the podium four times this year, despite the fact that Head Coach Dave Jarrett says that his athletes haven’t even tried to peak yet. In Sunday’s World...

General News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Newell Knocked Out in Otepaa Quarters; Joensson Holds Off Hattestad

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 17, 2010

Jesse Vaeaenaenen sure is a mouthful of a name. Apparently he’s a lot to handle in a classic sprint, too. In Otepaa, Estonia today, Vaeaenaenen (FIN) edged Andy Newell in their quarterfinal by a tiny margin, relegating the American to third place in the heat and ending his day. While it was an unexpected early departure from the rounds for Newell, he wrote in an e-mail that the race didn’t leave him too disappointed. His...

Biathlon Racing

Burke Misses the Mark But Ready For Tomorrow

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 16, 2010

Halfway through the 15k mass start biathlon World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany, things were going well for Tim Burke. Having hit all ten targets he’d fired upon, Burke was sitting in tenth and poised to move up, just 15 seconds behind the leader. Then things started going downhill. In the first standing stage, Burke missed two of five shots, and then missed another in the final stage, dropping him out of the top fifteen. By...

Olympics Racing US Ski Team

US Olympic Qualifying: How it Works

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 14, 201015

When the U.S. National Championships ended on Friday, Pete Vordenberg’s job started getting complicated. As the head coach of the U.S. Ski Team, it’s his responsibility to pick the group of athletes that will get to compete in February at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler. On January 19th, after four years of hard work by the nation’s top athletes, his announcement will simultaneously crush some dreams and bring others to fruition. In his deliberations,...

Continental Cup Racing US Nationals

Soederstrom Wins Classic Sprint, Kornfield Second, but Becomes National Champ–UPDATED

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 8, 20101

One by one, the favorites crumbled in the men’s classic sprint. The first to go was Garrott Kuzzy, who went down coming into the backstretch in his quarterfinal. Illness quashed Simi Hamilton’s hopes. And as he led his semifinal heat, Chris Cook took himself out on a downhill corner. When the snow finally settled, it was a Swede, Erik Soederstrom, who remained standing. A sophomore at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF) hailing from Ostersund,...

Continental Cup Racing US Nationals

Randall Goes Four for Four; Valaas Second, Sargent Third–UPDATED

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 8, 2010

Four races, four wins, and $4,800. Not a bad week for Kikkan Randall. The Alaskan capped off U.S. Nationals in her hometown by taking the victory in the classic sprint today. In another dominating performance, Randall won qualifying by four seconds, then led each of her heats from start to finish. Laura Valaas and Ida Sargent followed for second and third. “Kikkan sets a phenomenal example of how to be an elite skier,” Valaas said...

Continental Cup Racing US Nationals

Kuzzy Kicks to Qualifier win, Hinckley Second, Cook Third

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 8, 2010

After a disappointing first two races here at Nationals, Garrott Kuzzy scratched from the classic distance event on Wednesday to prepare for today’s classic sprint. It’s looking like that was a pretty good idea. In the qualifier this morning, Kuzzy topped the men’s field by almost two seconds, besting a pair of top domestic sprinters Mike Hinckley and Chris Cook, who were 1.73 and 2.31 seconds down, respectively. Using his lanky technique to stride all...

Continental Cup Racing US Nationals

Randall Crushes Nationals Classic Sprint Qualifier, Sargent Second and Brooks Third

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 8, 2010

It’s business as usual for the women at Kincaid Park, as Kikkan Randall again skied her way to a sizable victory in the classic sprint qualifier. 21-year-old Ida Sargent had a spectacular morning as the only woman to get within four seconds of Randall’s time, and Anchorage’s Holly Brooks slotted into third, just under six seconds back. The other frontrunners for women’s Olympic berths, Rebecca Dussault and Caitlin Compton, finished sixth and 13th, respectively, 11...

General News

World Junior, U-23, and Scando Cup Teams Named

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 7, 2010

The U.S. Ski Team named its 2010 World Junior, Under 23 and Scandinavian Cup teams yesterday at the 2010 ConocoPhillips U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage. The top two results from each athlete’s three races this week were used to determine the teams. The group “is peppered with some very strong skiers, some of whom will have a chance to take a swipe at a podium or top ten finish,” said Matt Whitcomb, the U.S....

Continental Cup General News Racing US Nationals

Southam Takes Nationals 30k; Freeman Second–UPDATED

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 6, 20102

With about 10 kilometers left in the 30k classic at U.S. Nationals, Kris Freeman was skiing even with James Southam. Then he stopped to check his blood sugar, thinking he would be able to close the 20-second gap that opened. He couldn’t. Though Freeman almost managed to claw his way back to Southam, the Alaskan’s smooth and steady skiing ultimately proved too much to handle. By the finish, the gap between the two was a...

Continental Cup Racing US Nationals

Randall Wins Again; Brooks Second–UPDATED

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 6, 20101

For four days, the big story here in Anchorage has been Kikkan Randall, who won both races held here on Saturday and Monday. But beneath Randall on the result sheet is where the drama has been unfolding, as a handful of women are fighting tooth and nail for coveted spots on the 2010 Olympic team. The narrative was no different today. In the 20k mass start classic race, Randall again skied her way to victory....

General News Training

These Guys Go Fast: A Workout with the U.S. Adaptive Team

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 6, 2010

90 seconds into my ski with two members of the U.S. Adaptive Team, I was done feeling sorry for them. I’d just stepped out of the Kincaid Park chalet and slapped a couple of layers of extra blue on my skis. The athletes were about a minute ahead of me, heading off down the hill. As they turned the corner and crested a small rise, they didn’t seem to be going very fast. I was...

General Interviews News

The Road to Sochi? An Interview with Tad Elliot

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 5, 2010

After Tad Elliot skied his way to a second place finish in yesterday’s 15k freestyle, the cross country cognoscenti didn’t quite express the same degree of confusion as they did over Tyler Kornfield’s fourth place in the sprint. After some solid racing at last year’s West Yellowstone SuperTours and a trip to the U-23 championships, Elliot has a little more name recognition. But it’s safe to say that there probably weren’t many people here in...

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