In this FS podcast, it's time to learn about jumping, the other half of nordic combined many might lack an understanding of. To help guide us through the sport, we spoke with U.S. Nordic Combined Team leader Bryan Fletcher and jumping coach Clint Jones. Get ready to fly.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Ski Team returned to New Zealand's Snow Farm for on-snow training and racing. “The primary goal was extended time on snow working on group and individual technique needs,” head coach Chris Grover explained. “Another goal of the camp was to touch base with racing." Ten U.S. skiers started 2-4 races, and several racked up podiums.
Colin Rodgers has left Sun Valley to take charge at Green Mountain Valley School in his native Vermont, while his good friend Chris Mallory, also from Vermont, parted ways with UVM and is moving West to head up the SVSEF Gold Team.
Sixteen years in close to top-form -- a grind no matter how you look at it. That's how long this former U.S. Ski Team member has raced at the top-tier of nordic sport. Despite his near-constant management of his Type 1 diabetes, Freeman, recently married, maintains that he has two more years of racing left.
In this episode of the FasterSkier podcast, Devon Kershaw speaks his mind from Oslo, Norway -- where he's living and training. From learning Norwegian to how many more years he plans to stay in the game, it's all here.
After competing at the 2012 London Paralympics in rowing and 2014 Sochi Winter Paralympic in skiing, Oksana Masters is tripling up after qualifying for the 2016 Rio Summer Paralympics in handcycling. “It’s going to be a good challenge and I’m really looking forward to being able to represent the U.S. Paralympic team and to be able to represent it in more than one sport," she said.
After spending this past winter as a wax technician for Caldwell Sport and previous years coaching juniors, Austin Caldwell is following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father by becoming a full-time coach with the Bridger Ski Foundation in Bozeman, Mont.
During the U.S. Ski Team's Alaska camp this month, FasterSkier caught the team during a rollerski in Anchorage and chatted with U.S. women's coach Matt Whitcomb. He addressed everything from the upcoming World Championships to Kikkan Randall's return, the assimilation of new team members, and what gives the U.S team its competitive edge.
A jam-packed episode of the FS podcast -- the McLaren report, athlete commission responses and some analysis from FS Editor-At-Large Chelsea Little.
Strengthen the glutes and the skis will follow. Well, maybe it's not that simple. In this Wednesday Workout, physical therapist Dave Cieslowski, of Bend, Ore., explains how we can build stronger glutes in hopes of becoming more efficient skiers.
Two years ago, the U.S. nordic combined community suffered a moment of letdown as its major source of funding, USSA, changed course with regard to its sport. Now, the newly formed USA Nordic Sport is spearheading efforts to rejuvenate interest in jumping and nordic combined. Its leader is Olympic gold medalist and former team veteran Billy Demong.
Prior to June 24, Canada's Ivan Babikov was training in Canmore, prepping for the upcoming World Cup season. Then "boom", he's retired and named Cross Country Canada's national-team coach. We caught up with coach Babikov while he was in Quebec, where he is helping lead the national team's first camp of the summer.
At the helm of the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team since 2010, head coach Chris Grover sits down with FasterSkier to talk what success might look like in the future and the challenges he faces as a coach. The snow may be gone, but Grover and the team are in full preparation mode for the 2016/2017 World Cup season.
After 27 years of leading the Dartmouth men's nordic team and 10 years coaching with the U.S. Ski Team, Sun Valley native Ruff Patterson is venturing into the next chapter of his life and heading back west.
On Wednesday, June 1, U.S. Ski Team veteran Kikkan Randall plans to resume training, six weeks after giving birth to her first child. While she's admittedly antsy, she also knows it's wise to ease back into things with a goal of peaking for 2017 World Championships. “I’m really curious to see how it feels,” she said of racing. “My body is refreshed from a little break, my mind is refreshed and that could open totally new doors.”
When news broke last week that 14 Russian cross-country skiers may have doped at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, stakeholders in the sport reacted around the globe. Some, like Canada's then head coach Justin Wadsworth, essentially predicted that two years ago at the Games. Others, like French skier Robin Duvillard, tried not to get too caught up in it, but he might by default.
After being nominated to the U.S. Ski Team D-team, Northern Michigan University junior Ian Torchia has decided to stay in school while simultaneously accepting the nod to the country's most-coveted training group. “One of the main reasons why I wanted this to happen is to show that you can do it while you’re in college,” Torchia explains.
On Sunday evening, 60 Minutes aired a 13-minute interview with Vitaly and Yuliya Stepanov, the whistleblowers who prompted a German documentary on Russia's systematic doping in track and field and WADA's resulting ban on the entire team. Vitaly suggests the corruption extends to Russian Winter Olympians as well, including at least four who achieved gold in Sochi with the help of federal agents.
Opportunity has come knocking for Sugar Bowl Academy's 18-year-old Hannah Halvorsen. Her recent nomination to the U.S. Ski Team brings Halvorsen closer to her World Cup dreams, but she maintains she'll continue to take it day by day.
Following up on the U.S. Ski Team nominations announced earlier this week, we asked Chris Grover to explain the rationale behind some of the picks and share some insight on the coming season.