The Stratton Mountain School T2 Team announced on Monday that Simi Hamilton will join its ranks this June. After a season of untimely bouts with illness, Hamilton said a big part of his decision to move to Vermont was the opportunity it gives him to train with Andy Newell on a daily basis and work on his speed at low altitude before an Olympic year.
After a successful demo in the small Alaskan village of Kiana last year, former national team biathlete Zach Hall coordinated an effort to introduce biathlon to six villages this year as part of Lars Flora's NANANordic program. For kids in the villages, the combination of skiing and hunting just makes sense; for the athlete coaches, it was the experience of a lifetime.
In its second year, NANANordic reached three times the amount of villages and more than twice as many students in Northwest Alaska. And if you ask founder Lars Flora, they're not done with spreading cross-country skiing just yet.
After she finishes final exams this spring, Middlebury College sophomore Annie Pokorny will be headed to Stratton, Vt., as one of the newest additions to the SMS T2 team. Though the timing of her move to professional skiing is unusual, it's a step she's enthusiastic about. "I’m excited to go for it and to take a chance. It’s exciting, it’s new — it’s going to be fun," she says.
Norwegian superstars Marit Bjørgen and Petter Northug, Jr., skied away with this year's top honors in the International category.
Looking back on last season, anyone who watched Johan Olsson ski away from the pack and win the 50 k classic mass start at World Championships would be hard-pressed to forget it. Other inspiring performances include Marit Bjørgen's 30 k win, Therese Johaug's Holmenkollen domination, Petter Northug's individual-start victory, and Alexander Legkov making history at the Tour de Ski.
Matt Whitcomb led the women's U.S. Ski Team to new heights this winter on the World Cup and at World Championships, earning him FasterSkier's inaugural Coach of the Year award.
Following the death of Shirley Firth, who rocked the Canadian cross-country scene with her sister, Sharon, a provincial coach remembers the significance of the Firth twins and how the two aboriginal women paved the way for generations of skiers.
Amongst our 2013 Performances of the Year recipients there are seven World Championships medals, one World Cup medal and four races that were historic moments for the U.S. or Canada.
With a bevvy of international podiums by North American men and a group of four U.S. and Canadian women who ended the season ranked in the 40's, it was tough to pick our biathletes of the year. But Americans Tim Burke and Annelies Cook stood out to snag top honors.
Brian McKeever continued to impress this season, and Colette Bourgonje and Mark Arendz further showed the strength of Canada's Para-Nordic squad. New to skiing, Tatyana McFadden stood out as the top American female.
After reaching the World Cup podium and helping his team land a historic bronze at World Championships, Taylor Fletcher is FasterSkier's Nordic Combined Skier of the Year at the age of 22.
Following the U.S. Ski Team's announcement of its 2013-2014 nominations, cross-country head coach Chris Grover discussed reasoning behind the major changes to the roster, which left off three men and for the first time in two years did not include a development tier. “This is a performance organization and at the end of the day the athletes have to be judged on their performances," Grover said.
There's a correlation between the use of nutritional supplements and the willingness to dope; but why, and how? Does one cause the other? Plus, quick reads on whether caffeine improves ski performance (hint: it does!) and if minimalist footwear really helps approximate the mechanics of barefoot running.
For their unmatched performances on the domestic circuit this season, Torin Koos and Rosie Brennan are FasterSkier's 2013 Continental Skiers of the Year.
These nominations include athletes who qualified for nomination based on the published criteria and the CCC High Performance Committee selection process April 12-14, 2013. An announcement of the athletes who accept their nominations will take place later this spring.
The U.S. Ski Team formally announced its 2013-2014 nominations on Monday, and seven women in total were named to the squad. In contrast to the men's team there were no cuts, and the addition of Sophie Caldwell reflects an expected expansion of the U.S. women's World Cup quota by one more spot in both distance in sprinting.
Moving right along with our Skier of the Year awards, we’re delighted to introduce Junior of the Year, which goes to U.S. biathlete Sean Doherty and Canadian Anne-Marie Comeau. Honorable mentions included as well.
At just 22 years of age, both Sophie Caldwell and Scott Gow competed in their first World Championships. A skier for SMS T2, Caldwell made several sprint quarterfinals on the World Cup this year, including placing 20th at World Champs. Gow contributed big to the Canadian biathlon team, finishing 31st in the 20 k individual at senior Championships, where he was also the youngest competitor to qualify for the pursuit.
After a one-year hiatus, our Skier of the Year awards are back. We start with the collegiate category, where for the first time in FasterSkier’s history of giving such prizes Americans took both of the top honors: NCAA freestyle champions Miles Havlick (University of Utah) and Joanne Reid (University of Colorado).