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Interviews

Interviews with racers, coaches and other relevant individuals within the Nordic ski world.

When it’s -15 F outside, most lower-48 skiers resign themselves to an afternoon in the weight room or even on the couch. But temperatures like those don’t faze Reese Hanneman and David Norris, two members of the Fairbanks Alaska Ski Team who contend with bone-chilling cold for much of the winter. With readings hovering around the -25 mark, FasterSkier met Norris and Hanneman last week for an interview inside the lodge at their home venue,...

Olympian Kris Freeman is ready for the Olympic Games.  He is training back at home in New Hampshire on the trails he grew up on, and soon will be on his way to Canada.  Kris took the time to answer some questions about his goals for the Olympics and where he is in his preparation. You’ve stated that your training this season is focused on staying healthy and not overdoing things.  This seems like it...

From winning the SuperTour on Sunday to being named to the United States Olympic Team, it has been an exciting week for Caitlin Compton.  FasterSkier was able to catch up with her as she traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah to get some training in before heading to the Canmore World Cups. FS:  It sounds like the conditions were pretty sloppy out there at the SuperTour on Sunday. Can you tell us what everyone was...

Torin Koos (USST) skied to a convincing win in the freestyle sprint as the SuperTour stopped in the Methow Valley.  As a member of the US World Cup Team, Koos doesn’t have many opportunities to race domestically, let alone in his home state.  His thoughts on today’s race and the upcoming Olympics. The weather leading up to the race was rather lousy. What were the conditions like throughout the day? How did the course hold...

At 21 years of age, Canada’s Alex Harvey is keeping pace with the world’s fastest nordic skiers. After steadily creeping up the results since the beginning of the season, today he blazed to a 9th place finish in the 10km classic, stage 6 of the Tour de Ski. What went well in today’s race that allowed for such a great result?  Today’s race was my best ever result in a distance individual start so I am super pumped! I...

After Tad Elliot skied his way to a second place finish in yesterday’s 15k freestyle, the cross country cognoscenti didn’t quite express the same degree of confusion as they did over Tyler Kornfield’s fourth place in the sprint. After some solid racing at last year’s West Yellowstone SuperTours and a trip to the U-23 championships, Elliot has a little more name recognition. But it’s safe to say that there probably weren’t many people here in...

Who the heck is Tyler Kornfield? That’s what a sizable portion of the U.S. skiing community was left asking yesterday, as the 18-year-old skied his way to a fourth place finish in the freestyle sprint national championship. Though the name may be unfamiliar to many around the country, Kornfield is known around Alaska as the 2009 state champion in the 7.5k classic race. When he signed to ski at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF),...

How does it feel being in yellow? It is a great feeling.  I have been working for a long time so this is just great for the whole organization and me.  So many people helped me get to this level. Has this been a goal of yours? Wearing the yellow bib is something that every biathlete and cross-country skier dreams about.  My goal for this year is to be in the top 15 overall in...

Checking in with Alex Harvey

In 22nd place, Alex Harvey was today’s top American racer in the 30km classic race at Rogla. Taking 35th place in the sprint race yesterday, Harvey was  just 1.67 seconds out of qualifying rounds. A native of Quebec, Harvey has been racing on the Canadian National Team since 2007.  You have had a really solid weekend of racing – are you feeling like you are coming into your race form?  I am really happy with my shape right now. I am...

  Sara Renner is still trying to find her true racing form since taking time off to have her baby daughter in the winter of 2007.  After a rough week of travel led to blasé results in Kuusamo, Renner was able to stay positive and by placing 25th in the 10km skate she showed a spark of the racing form she is capable of.  With your 25th place finish on Saturday it looks as though you are on the right track as...

Last weekend at the IBU World Cups in Oestersund Tim Burke finished on the podium twice, the best results of his career and a historic weekend for U.S. Biathlon.  This weekend in Hochfilzen, Austria, Burke placed 20th in the sprint and pulled himself up to 10th in the pursuit.  After several errors in the sprint erased his chance for Friday’s podium, Burke nearly matched the winning performances on Saturday as he blazed the pursuit race.  Reflective of his errors, Burke also tries to keep an even...

Morgan Arritola (USA) finished 34th in yesterday’s 10km freestyle, her best result in a European World Cup.  This is Morgan’s first season racing regularly on the World Cup circuit. You had a great result today, did you feel this was one of your top international performances? I have not been satisfied with how I have been racing since arriving in Europe, but today was a step in the right direction. I still don’t have that...

Davos, Switzerland – Kikkan Randall (USA), coming off two of her top World Cup distance races ever, struggled to 65th today.  FasterSkier checked in with her following the race. You did not have a good result today, especially in light of your recent distance performances.  What happened? I think I started a little too slow, loosing too much time in the first 2km. The middle part of the race was decent, Therese Johaug caught me...

Yesterday Tim Burke of the US Biathlon Team posted on of the top US results in the history of the sport, finishing 2nd in the 20km World Cup race in Ostersund, Sweden.  Burke took some time out from preparing for tomorrow’s sprint to talk with FasterSkier about his historic performance. You have been very close to the podium on a number of occasions. What was different this time? I think the difference for me yesterday...

The Road to Whistler: Holly Brooks

Holly Brooks is no ordinary story. She grew up in Seattle (“towards the end of the Seattle grunge scene”)  and attended a small alternative school with classmates who smoked, worshipped Courtney Love, and thought nordic skiing was the name of a Swedish rock band.  Her own high school had few sports, so she played soccer and ran track for a larger school that was nearby. When she first started skiing, it was with her family, who would...