Heidi Weng climbed away from the crowd in Lysebotn, Norway, today, to take the win in the opening race of the Blink Festival by more than 30 seconds over Finland's Kaisa Makarainen. Susan Dunklee finished 15th, the top North American.
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Heikkinen, Primed for Three More Years, Tops Legkov in Blink Climb (Updated)
Chelsea LittleJuly 30, 2015
Matti Heikkinen wasn't sure last fall if he still had what it took - but then his home country won the bid for 2017 World Championships, and decided to rebuild from the base up. Meanwhile, biathlete Tarjei Bø beat all of Norway's cross-country skiers to finish fourth: “It's obviously very fun... but I was supposed to have been on the podium!"
First Month on the Job, Amie Smith on Being NENSA’s New High-Performance Director
Austin CobbJuly 30, 2015
NENSA recently gave its competitive-programs-director position a makeover in creating the new role of high-performance director and hiring Amie Smith, a Cambridge Sports Union volunteer, for the job.
‘Gender Verification’ Based on Testosterone Shelved by Court of Arbitration for Sport
Chelsea LittleJuly 28, 2015
Athletes will likely no longer face the testing at Olympic Games. The decision has few other implications for skiing, which has not had occasion to do gender testing for several years: “Should it be necessary to arrange a gender verification... then the Olympic Movement rules would be applicable,” FIS Secretary General Sarah Lewis told FasterSkier.
Who got married and when? (Most) everything you need to know about several U.S. and Canadian skiers that tied the knot this month.
The Allure of Eagle Glacier: What Happens 5,700 Feet Up in Alaska (with Video)
FasterSkierJuly 24, 2015
What's so great about Eagle Glacier anyway? U.S. nordic-racing fan and masters skier Fast Big Dog explains after his first trip to Alaska's coveted training site. He interviewed several top U.S. Ski Team members to find out more.
With a week to go until the IOC members vote on whether to award the 2022 Olympic Games to Beijing or Almaty, a leading human rights nonprofit asserts that the IOC has no tools with which to enforce their vague mandate of “human dignity”.
Malcolm Leads Bridger Biathlon Club’s First Summer Program as Club Expands Its Reach
Chelsea LittleJuly 23, 2015
Corrine Malcolm has one word to describe the Bridger Biathlon Club: momentum. “It has gained a lot of momentum,” she said of the fledgling program based in Bozeman, Montana. “It’s a really big ball of energy and momentum. It’s pretty cool to be part of.” Malcolm, a former national team biathlete who just finished her bachelors degree at Montana State, was hired as the club’s first paid coach this summer. That represented another big step...
Therese Johaug fell while running and broke her hand. She'll have surgery to insert a few screws, and will try holding a ski pole again in 10 days. Until then, it's running, strength, and one-pole skiing for the 2015 double World Champion.
Joey Caterinichio, a longtime figure in the American cross-country skiing community, announced last month that she plans to step down as nordic manager at the United States Ski and Snowboard Association.
Wednesday Workout: ‘Last One, Long One,’ APU’s Three-Hour Ski on Eagle Glacier
FasterSkierJuly 15, 2015
The APU Elite Team members capped its recent training camp on Eagle Glacier with an especially long ski: 50 kilometers, or six loops, on the high alpine ridge above Girdwood, Alaska. "If you’ve ever finished a long race and found that you lacked the snappy finishing kick that you were looking for, this is for you," Becca Rorabaugh writes.
After several years on Canada's Senior Development Team, Alysson Marshall, 27, has decided to put down her skis and pursue her next dream: a career in family medicine.
Ekaterina Iourieva will serve a four-year ban on top of the eight-year ban she is already serving; Irina Starykh will see one year added to her existing two-year ban. Both had already tested positive on other occasions. First-time offender Alexander Loginov has been banned for two years, ending in November 2016.
Fereshetian Takes the Reins as Maine Winter Sports Center Cross Country Coach
Chelsea LittleJuly 10, 2015
After working alongside Will Sweetser last season, 25-year-old Justin Fereshetian now has the experience and confidence to take on head coaching duties of Maine Winter Sports Center's junior skiers, who are coming off one of their best seasons ever.
FasterSkier contributor Seth Adams was on-scene with his camera at the 2015 Mount Marathon in Seward, Alaska to capture the racing and the antics.
Norwegian Biathletes Already Talk Boycott of Canmore and Maine World Cups
Chelsea LittleJuly 8, 2015
The Norwegian men aren't psyched about traveling to North America for World Cups next season, saying that World Championships afterwards are more important. Max Cobb, the head of the IBU's Technical Committee, points out that there are two and a half weeks of free training time before World Champs. For the Norwegians, that might not be enough.
Emotional intelligence - how one perceives, understands, and manages emotions - can give athletes better coping strategies, more motivation, and the potential to be a team leader. Even on the recreational side of things, emotional intelligence is associated with the difference between inactivity and a healthy engagement with exercise. The good news is, you can train it.
Birkie Out of the FIS Worldloppet Cup for 2016, But Still Hopes to Draw Euros
Chelsea LittleJuly 2, 2015
The American Birkebeiner will not be part of the FIS Marathon Cup, now re-named the FIS Worldloppet Cup, in 2016. But organizers are trying other plans to draw more international racers, and will be back on the Cup schedule in 2017.
Heinicke Third in Frassinoro Biathlon Festival, A Summer Party in Italy’s Hills
Chelsea LittleJune 30, 2015
Frassinoro, Italy, is a town of just 700 people, but it pulls international biathletes in every June for a unique festival: shooting range on the soccer field, rollerskiing through town. Canada's Megan Heinicke, coming off her best World Cup season ever, raved about the experience.
A study published in December says yes - in fact, the authors write that the correlations of results from one World Cup to the next is more predictable than in any other sport they looked at.