The finances of the University of New Mexico (UNM) athletic department are back in the news once more, this time with allegations of spending nearly $65,000 in public funds to pay for a 2015 golfing trip to Scotland and then actively hiding the trip and its participants, on top of a recent history of money-losing sports programs and expensive coaching buyouts. As FasterSkier pointed to a mitigation clause written into the quondam coach’s contract that...
Harald Bjerke got on a plane to the U.S. in 1963, and after competing for Denver University and earning a degree in business marketing went on to become the product manager for Swix for 42 years.
This article has been updated with additional comments from UNM student-athlete Brenna Egan. * * * Skiing at the University of New Mexico (UNM) is officially alive again, at least for one more year, while the university and the ski team pursue viable long-term funding sources, school officials announced earlier on Thursday. Speaking at a regularly scheduled meeting of the UNM Board of Regents Thursday afternoon, Acting President Chaouki T. Abdallah told the board that “several...
The following firsthand account was written by FasterSkier intern Ian Tovell, who attended this year’s American Birkebeiner in February, which was estimated 10,000 people coming out for a casual ski on a 5-kilometer loop, on-snow demos, live music, food and a beer garden. Photos from Ian, FasterSkier contributor Vince Rosetta, and the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation. *** The 2017 American Birkebeiner will be a race that no one will ever forget. It will be remembered for a tremendous...
Plenty of athletes, such as Therese Johaug, have been suspended from sport based on the concept of "strict liability": they are responsible for any prohibited substance which enters their body. The IOC has forgone that principle in dealing with Jamaican sprinters at the 2008 Olympics.
This week’s workout comes from University of New Mexico (UNM) sophomore Julia Devaux, who recently wrapped up her second season with the UNM nordic team. Devaux, 23, is originally from Grenoble, France, and grew up training in Villard de Lans. She was previously a member of the French national team but sought out new motivation to continue skiing. “[UNM Head Coach] Fredrik [Landstedt] gave me the opportunity to come at UNM 2 years ago,” Devaux wrote in an email. “I chose UNM because...
Happy May! With the start of a new training year, FasterSkier scanned social media for a sense of how nordic skiers kicked off Day 1 (and the days before) of the 2017/2018 season. Kikkan Randall of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) and Alaska Pacific University (APU) “sneaking in some secret Mom training” while pushing her son Breck on April 30: View this post on Instagram Excited to kick off a new training season tomorrow! (Sneaking in some secret Mom training...
When #everyonesalobo is more than just a hashtag: Mikaela Shiffrin and Jessie Diggins lend their support to the UNM Ski Team. Meanwhile, current athletes encourage others to take advantage of opportunities, "Because you never know if that opportunity is going to be taken away from you."
Coming off the 2016/2017 season and less than a year out from the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, several international cross-country skiers and biathletes have announced their retirements. Among them are Sweden’s Johan Olsson, Finland’s Sami Jauhojärvi and the Czech Republic’s Lukáš Bauer, all of which earned medals at Olympics and/or World Championships. Sami Jauhojärvi Earlier this month, Jauhojärvi, 35, told InsideTheGames. “By training I could be pushing my limits for a few more...
For the past 13 years, Eric de Nys has been ingrained in the sport of cross-country skiing and its offshoots, including biathlon. He spent 10 years as a coach on Cross Country Canada’s national team, leading the women’s World Cup team in his final two years there. Based in the same town and out of the same training facilities in Canmore, Alberta, de Nys parted ways with the national team after the 2014 Olympics and October 2015, de Nys...
Football at the University of New Mexico (UNM) cost nearly as much in allocated expenses last fiscal year as 19 other sports combined, according to a new analysis of data provided to the federal government by the UNM athletic department. The financial context comes amid continuing suggestions by ski-team advocates that as elsewhere, football is king. The school reported total expenses for football, in the 2015 fiscal year (July 2015 – June 2016), of, in...
Winter closed with a bang at Casper Mountain Biathlon Club (CMBC) in Casper, Wyo., as the nordic center hosted World Para Nordic Skiing NorAm & U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing Biathlon Nationals with four races in three days earlier this month. “Although the event was small, the competition was quality,” CMBC Managing Director Cathy Rosser wrote in an email. On March 31, the day before the first event, athletes trained as a foot of snow fell on...
UNM suggests that athletes who can compete for the podium will readily find another home. Where does that leave solid skiers who are realistically not yet podium contenders? “We have been informed about this so late that it is too late to apply to many scholarships,” UNM skier Brenna Egan says. “Of course I am going to do everything I can, but every indication is pointing to the end of my ski career.”
This is it — the final award in our 2016/2017 awards series. Votes stemmed from the FS staff, scattered across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and while not scientific, they’re intended to reflect a broader sense of the season in review. This honor goes to outstanding North American performances of the year across various nordic sports. Previous categories: Collegiate | U.S. Continental | Biathletes | U.S. Breakthroughs | International | won the 20-kilometer individual at 2017 IBU World Championships, it was by about a slim margin as he...
The men’s and women’s nordic and alpine ski teams at the University of New Mexico (UNM) will be defunded and cease to exist by the end of June, university administrators announced Thursday afternoon. While the death of the ski team is being presented as a fait accompli by the UNM athletic department, ski team advocates are nonetheless rallying support and preparing to make their case for continued funding to the Board of Regents. The threatened...
With the 2016/2017 season officially in the rearview, FasterSkier is excited to unveil its annual award winners for this past winter. Votes stem from the FS staff, scattered across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and while not scientific, they are intended to reflect a broader sense of the season in review. This honor goes to two outstanding North American skiers of the year. Previous categories: Collegiate | U.S. Continental | Biathletes | U.S. Breakthroughs | International *** Alex Harvey and Jessie Diggins are FasterSkier’s North...
With the 2016/2017 season officially in the rearview, FasterSkier is excited to unveil its annual award winners for this past winter. Votes stem from the FS staff, scattered across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and while not scientific, they are intended to reflect a broader sense of the season in review. This honor goes to outstanding international skiers of the year. Previous categories: Collegiate | U.S. Continental | Biathletes | U.S. Breakthroughs | he won his first Tour...
With the 2016/2017 season officially in the rearview, FasterSkier is excited to unveil its annual award winners for this past winter. Votes stem from the FS staff, scattered across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and while not scientific, they are intended to reflect a broader sense of the season in review. This set of honors goes to a coach or team director who has particularly contributed to their team’s success. Previous categories: Collegiate Skiers of the...
With the 2016/2017 season officially in the rearview, FasterSkier is excited to unveil its annual award winners for this past winter. Votes stem from the FS staff, scattered across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and while not scientific, they are intended to reflect a broader sense of the season in review. This set of honors goes to breakthrough U.S. skiers. Previous categories: Collegiate Skiers of the Year | U.S. Continental Skiers of the Year |...
With the 2016/2017 season officially in the rearview, FasterSkier is excited to unveil its annual award winners for this past winter. Votes stem from the FS staff, scattered across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and while not scientific, they are intended to reflect a broader sense of the season in review. This set of honors goes to outstanding athletes across the nordic disciplines who had a major breakthrough at any level of racing. Previous categories:...