This week, FasterSkier caught up with Caitlin Compton, fresh off her third consecutive trip to World Championships. At Liberec, Compton placed 48th in the 30 kilometer pursuit, and also anchored the U.S. team to a 14th-place finish in the 4×5 kilometer relay. She was national champion in the 5k freestyle in Anchorage, and she also competed in the Whistler World Cup in January, placing 32nd in the 15k pursuit, and 17th with Morgan Smyth in...
The training season is well underway, and North America’s best cross-country skiers are already well into their preparations for next winter. Over the course of the summer, FasterSkier will feature a weekly interview with elite American and Canadian athletes, following their training as they ready for the upcoming Olympic year. We first talked with James Southam, who races with the Alaska Pacific University Elite Team and placed 33rd in the 30k pursuit at the 2009...
Recently Andy Newell participated in a
Editor’s Note: This is the third of a three part series. You can read the second part here. Torin Koos: The 1998 Nagano Olympics were your first big races. The results for North Americans were not the most promising. I remember you talking about “emerging from the disaster that was Nagano.” Sara Renner: Yes. Nagano was awful. Truly awful. I don’t think I could have expected it to be good, really. Sometimes you think that...
Editor’s Note: This is the second of a three part series. Torin Koos is a member of the National A Team for the United States. A World Cup, World Championship and Olympic competitor, Koos brings this experience to the FasterSkier sportscasting arena. Equipment: Rossignol Skis, Boots and Bindings, Toko gloves and wax, Marwe, Exel poles, Rudy Project Eyewear, Rossignol Softgoods Home Ski Club: Leavenworth Winter Sports Club (www.usapears.com) Best Western Icicle Inn (www.biosports.net) Torin Koos...
Editor’s Note: This is the first of a three part series. It’s springtime in Falun. The best cross country skiers in the world are all congregated together as I saddle up next to Sara Renner on St. Patty’s Day. A passerby gives Sara a hard time for not wearing green. “No, that’s not true. I have green on. You just can’t see it.” The world wanted to know. Now we do. Sara loves green socks....
The Canadian Globe and Mail recently profiled rising Canadian Star Alex Harvey. This was destined to be a summer of baby steps for Alex Harvey. At 20, coming off his first season on Canada’s national cross-country ski team, his Olympics were supposed to be more than four years away – Sochi 2014, not Vancouver-Whistler 2010. Devon Kershaw and Ivan Babikov were Canada’s best medal hopes among the men, while Harvey would be at the 2010...
Have questions about the new USSA coaches certification? Want to know what type of strength workouts USST Development Team members are doing? The challenges of internationl coaching? Here is your chance. US Ski Team Development Coach Matt Whitcomb will answer your questions. Submit your questions to info@fasterskier.com or in the comment section below, and we will get them to Matt, and publish his responses next week.
The chat with Andy was a great success! He spent over an hour answering a wide variety of questions. Click the “Replay” button below to review the entire chat. We hope to do more of these – please let us know who you would like to see participate, and what time of day/day of the week is most convenient.
Recently Liz Stephen was kind enough to sit down and share some of her thoughts on the season. Liz had an excellent year, placing 15th in the Pursuit and 17th in the 30km at the World Championships in Liberec. She also won two National Titles, placed 4th and 7th in two U23 Championship events, teamed with Kikkan Randall in the World Cup Team Sprint in Whistler, finishing 4th, and was 24th in the Pursuit that...
Phil Bowen: The first I remember of you was at a twisty, turny 800m sprint race in Silverstar, BC. You ended up in the final vs. Carl Swenson, who was winning every time he strapped on skate skis those days. Was that your first big result? When did you begin to really dedicate yourself to ski racing? Because it seems like you have a lot of other interests… Andy Newell: Yeah… that sprint was awesome!...
Rick Halling is the Nordic Director for Atomic USA Captain William McDonald of the Texas Rangers was greeted by the Mayor of Dallas as he stepped off the train in 1896. A major prize fight had been illegally organized that was about to take place in town and it appeared that a serious riot was about to pursue. The mayor had wired for help which led to the arrival of Capt. McDonald. Legend has it...
Debbie Randall, Kikkan's mother, was up at 3am watching the live timing updates on the FIS web site. "It's excruciating, it's awful! I get twice as nervous as she does."
Harry Johnson was Kikkan Randall’s high school coach and watched her transition from talented runner to professional nordic skier during those early years. He was nice enough to answer some questions about Kikkan as a budding athlete in light of her recent astounding success today at the World Championships in Liberec. A local coaching legend, he turned a near-dead high school program into one of the most successful in the state of Alaska in only...
CANMORE, Alta.—Olympic gold medalist, Chandra Crawford will undergo surgery to her injured leg, which will prevent her from competing for the remainder of the season. The following is a brief Q&A with Chandra after receiving news she will not be able to compete this season. What is the nature of your injury and its status? I have Compartment Syndrome in my shins, which means the muscles are too cramped in their sheaths and all this...
Juergen Uhl has been one of the top collegiate skiers in the country over the past few years. Last year he finished third in 20km classic at the NCAA Championships. Uhl hails from the Black Forest region of Germany. We often glorify skiing in Europe, but Uhl talks about the many advantages of ski racing in the US, including the impressive participation and the team goals.
Matt Johnson is a former captain of the Middlebury Ski Team, a World Junior Competitor and the current assistant coach at Burke Mountain Academy. He talks about his transition into coaching, why he likes ski racing and steps to take between high school & college. Andrew Gardner:You went from athlete to coach pretty quickly. What prompted that transition and how has it been? Matt JohnsonAs my time at Middlebury started to wind down, I was...
USSA is launching the first level of a Coaches Certification Program later this month. The official announcement detailing the program can be found Follow this link to go directly to the ASEP Coaching Principles Course for USSA. • Purchase Level 100 manual and pass free online test. These will be available for download soon at our online shop at www.USSkiTeam.com • Maintain active USSA coaching license The next USST Technique Clinic opportunities are: Oct 18,...
USSA's Lindsey Sine caught up with Olympian Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, VT) recently. Newell is on a mission to be known as the fastest cross country sprint skier in the world. In his pursuit, his life reflects that of an athlete completely dedicated to all things cross country. But, as he'll say often, a life spent devoted to cross country skiing isn't what some people think it is – it's fun. USSA: You have a really...
GMVS Head Coach Justin Beckwith knows how to get kids fired up about skiing. The Middlebury College grad has some personal experience racing at a high level (he skied in a 2001 World Cup, World Junior Champs, and multiple national level races) as well as getting out an enjoying adventure the mountains have to offer: Beckwith is an avid kayaker and teleskier. Middlebury College Head Coach Andrew Gardner catches up with Justin as the school...