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Nathaniel Herz

Nat Herz is an Alaska-based journalist who moonlights for FasterSkier as an occasional reporter and podcast host. He was FasterSkier's full-time reporter in 2010 and 2011.
The Devon Kershaw Show: Recapping the 15k with the Jessie Diggins of Swedish ski journalism

Tomas Petterson, a veteran sports reporter for the Swedish newspaper Expressen, joins us to recap the men’s 15 k at World Championships, and to discuss Sweden’s fantastic women’s team and the country’s hopes for its raw, talented men’s squad. Reach us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. Seven days down, four to go.

“Open your eyes”: Ukrainian skier recounts trials of war and calls for Russian ban to remain

PLANICA, SLOVENIA — If Victoriia Olekh isn’t having her best showing at the World Ski Championships here, she has a good reason: war. Olekh is from Ukraine. The Russian invasion of her country started just as she finished racing at the Olympics in Beijing last year. The Russian military has mined the fields and forests where she used to work out, Olekh said. Air raid sirens went off in the middle of running workouts, forcing...

Bonus World Champs episode: Hear straight from Diggins, and her coach

We wanted to let you hear straight from the medalist’s mouth. So we’re posting these short interviews Nat did yesterday with World Championships gold medalist Jessie Diggins and her coach Jason Cork. We’ll be back later today with coverage from the 15-kilometer men’s race. Stay tuned, and email us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.  

The Devon Kershaw Show: Kern and Diggins team up to deliver World Champs hardware in Planica

If you’re reading this, you already know: Jessie Diggins and Julia Kern teamed up to deliver a bronze medal for the U.S. at the World Championships in Slovenia. We’ve got a full breakdown and oh yeah, there was a men’s race, too, and a standout Canadian result. The championships is rolling along; email your notes and questions to devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.

After Olympic near-misses, Planica binding mishap postpones Brennan’s medal quest

PLANICA, SLOVENIA — From the stadium at this Slovenian ski venue, Wiggy Brennan watched on the jumbotron as her daughter, Rosie Brennan, raced with the lead pack in Saturday’s World Championships skiathlon race. Brennan, who trains with Anchorage’s Alaska Pacific University team, was feeling good and gunning for a medal against the best in the world. It’s easy to pick her out, Wiggy said, with her bright orange Rossignol skis. Then, someone crashed. “And I’m...

A Chinese athlete took cross-country skiing by storm last year. But as World Championships kick off, he’s stuck at home.

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. PLANICA, SLOVENIA – Wang Qiang was cross-country skiing’s Next Big Thing. Wang, 29, was the product of a colossal investment from his home country to identify and train potential medal winners in...

After Two COVID Winters, an Unusual Sight at World Championships: Parents

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. PLANICA, SLOVENIA – A year ago, Canadian cross-country skier Graham Ritchie had reached the pinnacle of his sport: He was competing at the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. His parents? They...

“Pretty sweet vibes” in sunny Slovenia as World Championships kick off Thursday

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. PLANICA, SLOVENIA — What a difference a year makes. Last February, the world’s top cross-country skiers were in China, hermetically sealed inside the Olympic Covid bubble. When they emerged to race, they...

The Devon Kershaw Show: The long-delayed mailbag, with Sadie Bjornsen Maubet

We’ve promised. And promised and promised. Now, it’s finally time for us to deliver: Answers to dozens of questions that came in from our dozens of listeners. Sadie Bjornsen Maubet, the World Championships medalist from Alaska, joins Devon and Nat to lend her insights into international cross-country ski racing. We’ll be back as World Championships get started in Slovenia next week; Nat will be on scene. Reach us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.  

The Devon Kershaw Show: Don’t sleep on Les Rousses

Holy smokes, that was an epic weekend of racing. Devon and Nat are joined by Tony Cyr, the breakout Canadian star, and a mystery guest drops in later on in the episode. We break down the sprint and two distance races held at the festive French venue in Les Rousses. And we promise, we’ll get you a mailbag episode before World Championships starts in a few weeks. Get at us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.

The Devon Kershaw Show: Getting high in Livigno

It’s been a couple weeks since you last heard from us. The World Cup and the Devon Kershaw Show are back from a hiatus with a recap of the high altitude sprint weekend in Livigno. Devon and Nat break down the individual and team sprints from the Italian Alps, including some strong American performances. We’re still planning a mailbag episode in the not-too-distant future, so keep those questions coming: devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. We’ll be back...

The Devon Kershaw Show: Norway’s COVID crisis, and a Latvian star is born

There’s too much going on in the Tour de Ski for us to cover in just one episode — so we’re back to quickly hype up a breakout performance by Latvia’s Patrīcija Eiduka yesterday, and to break down a COVID crisis on the Norwegian team that’s erupted in the past 24 hours. We’re at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com; we’ll be back Sunday.

The Devon Kershaw Show: Tour de Gus, from Oberstdorf

Gus Schumacher, one of the U.S. men to notch top-15 results at this week’s Tour de Ski stages, joins us to recap the two races in Oberstdorf, Germany. We hear from Schumacher about how his tour so far, and we break down the roller coaster performance of American superstar Jessie Diggins. We’ll be back in a few days once the racers summit the Alpe Cermis. Get at us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.