If you’ve never heard of Momentum Northwest, you’re not alone. The nordic program is a new push from the Seattle community to bring back nordic skiing to the Pacific-Northwest’s largest city. Led by Sam Naney, the program hopes to develop into one of the countries best junior nordic programs.
Former Canadian biathlete Jim Carrabre, now a doctor practicing in the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area, is launching a bid for the presidency of the International Biathlon Union. He will run against Anders Besseberg, who has held the position since 1993. A longtime antidoping advocate, Carrabre is also running on a platform of good governance and global development of the sport.
Out There Biathlon and Nordic Team member Sarah Murphy jokes that when the team's founders, Bjorn and Kristen Hanson, decided to open a ski shop they had two rules. Rule number one: change the world. Rule number two: sell some ski stuff. The joke is not far from the truth as the couple is revolutionizing nordic ski team sponsorship by creating a family atmosphere for fringe members of the sport.
Regardless of whether breathing xenon gas was a prohibited method before WADA bothered to expressly ban it this spring, it would be hard to ban anyone for using it without direct evidence or a positive test. One group of German scientists has been working on developing just such a test, and says that their initial trials indicate that it may be a good match for anti-doping efforts.
In his first week as president/chair of Cross Country Canada, Jamie Coatsworth -- a longtime financial supporter of Canadian nordic skiing -- talks about the position and how he ended up filling the vacancy left by Richard Lemoine. "Sort of looking up around the room, I spoke to some of the other board members," Coatsworth said. "And I said somebody’s gotta do it."
Chandra Crawford stuck with skiing long after winning gold as a U23 at the 2006 Olympics because she remembered when Beckie Scott and Sara Renner explained "it would take ten years to get good." She committed, and after three Olympics, Crawford, 30, retired from the sport to pursue higher education -- cutting right to the chase with an MBA to better serve Fast and Female.
Own the Podium increased biathlon's budget from last season's $200,000 to a still-low $250,000 - less than its post-Vancouver award despite better performances. "I see great potential in the Nordic sports where a single athlete who is at that level can win multiple medals," Biathlon Canada's Chris Lindsay said. "We’re potentially going to be missing out on a bunch of those podiums."
This week's workout comes from Far West coach Mark Nadell on the very day that his athletes, as well as the Auburn Ski Club and Sugar Bowl Academy skiers, will be doing the “Drifter Time Trial” at Tahoe Donner XC in Truckee, Calif. Course records have some weight; they were set by Noah Hoffman in 2007 and Caitlin Gregg just last year in 2013.
It turns out Daria Gaiazova took her final international cross-country ski race where her career all began – in her native Russia at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. The dual citizen, who along with teammate Ivan Babikov had the rare opportunity to race back-to-back home Games in Canada and Russia, has decided to call it a career.
Dr. Blair Evans, whose work on group dynamics and competitive suffering (i.e. failure) we've highlighted twice in "This Month in Journals", chats about the process of doing sports psychology research. Evans' experience skiing in college informs almost all of his research, and he told us what he thinks makes skiing special from a psychological standpoint.
FasterSkier is excited to introduce you to our new associate editor, Lander Karath, and if the name sounds familiar — you’re probably a regular to the site.
Two weeks ago, Richard Lemoine learned that he would not be reelected for a second term as president of CCC's Board of Directors, should he run again. He resigned and an acting chair and former president is filling the void until CCC's Annual General Meeting, an open board meeting, this weekend.
While a plan to host a 2016 World Cup in New York City was quickly dismissed when USSA withdrew its bid for the event last week, there is still a possibility that the international racing circuit could come to the Big Apple in the future.
After winning bronze in the pursuit at the 2010 Olympics, Marie Laure Brunet was tapped as the next big thing in French biathlon. At age 25 and after two World Championships medals followed by a few tough seasons, she's hanging up her rifle for good.
With two Olympic Championships, countless World Cup victories, and limitless admiration from Poland and beyond, Justyna Kowalczyck has led a remarkable life, but even the most remarkable people can suffer from mental illness regardless of the number of championships under their belt.
Brian Gregg, Caitlin Gregg, Patrick Johnson, Todd Eastman, and Russell Kennedy — those names sound familiar? The five U.S.-born cross-country racers started each of their eight-person teams off two weekends ago in the 93-mile Ski to Sea Race from Mount Baker to Bellingham, Wash. The Greggs and their teams swept -- again -- and Caitlin skied to fifth in the nordic race.
A return to one’s roots can often lead to new opportunities. Such is the case with Kristina Trygstad-Saari, a Bozeman, Mont. native and Bridger Ski Foundation alumnus who has now taken the position as the ski club’s new elite and post-graduate coach for the 2014/2015 season.
Did you know that “competitive suffering” is a thing, a real phenomenon with a definition and scientists studying it? That’s right, when you’re failing and get discouraged in the middle of a race (perhaps, like Alex Harvey at the Olympics, because your skis don't work), someone wants to ask you how you feel about it. This is what they've found out.
Sophie Caldwell broke her funny bone just over a week ago during a team mountain-bike session in Bend, Ore., and while it's no laughing matter, she's found humor in the situation. "I actually accidentally found myself in a spin class for senior citizens and it was one of the top ten sweatiest workouts of my life," she explains. "We did stage 14 of the Tour of Italy."
We haven’t seen the last of Magnar Dalen. After eight years as head coach of the Finnish National Ski Team, Dalen, 50, is moving on to coaching marathon skiers on a private team, he explained in an email.