FasterSkier Collegiate Skier of the Year Collegiate Skier of the Year (women): Maria Graefnings (SWE/University of Utah) A senior at the University of Utah, and a native of Falun, Sweden, Graefnings dominated the RMISA circuit during the regular season, winning seven of eight starts. Graefnings transferred to Utah from the University of Nevada when that program was cut. In addition to her success in the western region, Graefnings won the NCAA national title in the...
FasterSkier Breakthrough Skier of the Year For the first time we are naming a Breakthrough Skier of the Year. The award is even less defined than the Rookie of the Year. Any skier who took a significant step forward is eligible. Though not limited to domestic skiers, we will lean toward such athletes, as the Rookie of the Year has generally gone to the World Cup level. Breakthrough Skier of the Year (women): Kate Fitzgerald...
FasterSkier Rookie of the Year It is hard to define a “rookie” in cross-country skiing. First year on the World Cup? First season as a senior? First year in college? First year skiing? We keep it loose and give the award to skiers who take a major step forward while moving up to a new level of competition. Rookie of the Year (women): Jessie Diggins (USA/CXC Elite) The choice for the female Rookie of the...
They may not be getting much more than a black shirt and a pair of tights, but two young sprinters have secured one of cross-country skiing’s most coveted prizes: a nomination to the U.S. Ski Team (USST). On Thursday, the USST announced that Erik Bjornsen and Skyler Davis, both 19, had been offered spots as the first-ever members of its “D-team.” According to Head Coach Chris Grover, the D-team is a new development squad intended...
The North American elite racing season may be over, but there is still plenty of action to be found in Europe, including the second annual Tour de Barents, a four-stage mini-tour in the Barents region of northern Europe. While fields are not large – just 11 women and 35 men are contesting this year’s event – there is plenty of firepower. Petra Majdic (SLO) leads the women as she wraps up her farewell tour. Majdic...
While many of the top North American skiers were wrapping up a hard week of racing at the SuperTour Finals in Sun Valley, and others had already hung up the racing boards for the season, World Champion Alex Harvey (CAN) chose a path somewhere in between. The 22-year-old Canadian star returned to Europe one last time, not to contest one of the big Scandinavian season finales, but to take part in something a little lighter,...
The most successful group of nordic athletes the US has ever seen? Unquestionably. With a grand total of nine individual Olympic and World Championship medals the trio of Billy Demong, Johnny Spillane and Todd Lodwick have more hardware than all other US cross-country, nordic combined and biathlon athletes combined. With the World Cup season coming to a close in Lahti, Finland two weeks ago, the questions have begun – is the band breaking up? The...
Marit Bjoergen (NOR) capped a stellar 2011 World Cup campaign, extending her lead on Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) for a clear victory in the World Cup Final mini-tour. Kowalczyk held her second position, as did Therese Johaug in third – though of the trio, she had to work the hardest. Bjoergen entered the 10km handicap start event with a 1:14 lead over Kowalczyk, making the outcome a foregone conclusion. Bjoergen’s worst result of the season in...
His opponents insist he is not unbeatable, that Petter Northug (NOR) can be taken down. Marcus Hellner (SWE) proved that in the World Championship sprint. But when Northug is in top form and the event is a head-to-head distance competition, it is hard to imagine anyone else on the top of the podium. Northug did it again, sprinting away from an overmatched Giorgio DiCenta (ITA) at the end of the 20km pursuit in Falun, Sweden....
Marit Bjoergen’s slump is over. Starting with her silver medal in the World Championship 30k, Bjoergen went a whole two distance races without a victory, proving that she is in fact mortal. She was back on top today however, dominating the 10km pursuit at the World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden. Bjoergen skied away from Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) for a clear victory, opening an insurmountable gap in the overall. Therese Johaug (NOR) battled back from...
Rail hard tracks, crisp air, and extra blue – none were in evidence as the World Cup Finals continued with a 2.5-kilometer classic prologue in Falun, Sweden. It may not have been pretty, but it was a ski race. With 10-15 centimeters of snow falling into the morning, and temperatures just below freezing, it is perhaps an understatement to term the conditions a sloppy mess. Marit Bjoergen (NOR) served notice that she would not be...
Kikkan Randall (USA) has three more races before her 2011 World Cup campaign comes to an end, and given her career-best distance finish of 11th last weekend, there is no reason that she couldn’t be in contention for a strong result in the World Cup Finals mini-tour. But at this point, such a performance would merely be icing on the cake. With another strong classic sprint in the Stockholm city sprint, Randall sewed up the...
For the last time Petra Majdic (SLO) crossed the line, arms pumping madly, yelling with joy in what has become one of cross-country skiing’s most flamboyant and predictable celebrations. The tall Slovenian, who will retire at the end of the season, locked up her 20th career World Cup caliber victory skiing away from Norwegians Marit Bjoergen and Maiken Caspersen Falla right out of the gate. Kikkan Randall (USA), showing her fifth place qualification last weekend...
Marit Bjoergen may have been down on Saturday, suffering her first distance defeat of the World Cup season, but she bounced right back up to claim the victory in the women’s classic sprint in Lahti. At this point an off day for the Norwegian star means any place below the top spot, and with 10 wins in 14 individual World Cup starts this season, such occurrences have been rare. It was another Norwegian, however, who...
Kikkan Randall (USA) and Therese Johaug (NOR) entered the post-World Championship World Cups in Lahti from very different places, but the two women both enjoyed career days in the 10km pursuit event in front of a crowd of 10,000. Randall, who crashed out of the Championship sprint, and struggled in the distance races, skied to a best-ever World Cup distance result of 11th, missing out on the top-10 in a photo finish with Norwegian Marthe...
Less than a week following the conclusion of the 2011 World Championships,in Oslo, the World Cup picks back up in Lahti, Finland. This is the last event prior to the World Cup Final, where only the top-50 ranked skiers and continental cup series leaders may enter. There are a number of interesting story lines as the season winds down, mainly revolving around standings. Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) has locked up the women’s overall World Cup but...
Canadian Chandra Crawford wrapped up her 2011 World Championship experience in front of 80,000+ passionate Norwegian ski fans in the 30km freestyle on Saturday. Crawford, known as a sprint specialist, skied to 42nd place, 12:06 down on winner Therese Johaug (NOR). “Soooo awesome,” Crawford described her experience. “One of the first days of the Championships with no fog, just a gorgeous day, perfect track.” Crawford won Olympic gold in 2006 in the skate sprint. She...
Billy Demong is not the first Nordic Combined skier to cross over to cross-country, but he is likely the only one do so in a World Championship 50k. When American Kris Freeman opted to sit out the 50-kilometer freestyle race that brought the 2011 World Championships to a close, Demong was given the start. One of the top Nordic Combined skiers on the World Cup circuit, Demong has three World Championship Medals, as well as...
A World Championship 50k, let alone one at Holmenkollen, is not usually a race that one just jumps into, but US Nordic Combined star Billy Demong is doing just that. Not literally, of course—though he certainly has the chops to pull off such a feat. With Kris Freeman opting to sit out the freestyle event scheduled for 1:00PM in Oslo, Norway, a spot on the US squad opened up. The 50 k is second only...
Second chances are few and far between in professional sports, but with the International Ski Federation adding a second Nordic Combined Team event to the 2011 World Championships, Germany had just that. After taking the silver in the first team competition on Monday, Germany extended an impressive streak of five straight World Championships finishing second. The extra opportunity would not change the results however, and the Germans once again came up short, this time by...
