Interviews

Swedish Skidsport.com reports that Olympic biathlon champion Ole Einar Bjorndalen, Norway showed that he is in good shape during a time-trial in Ruhpolding, Germany. He hopes to ski faster this winter. Bjorndalen won four biathlon gold’s at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, but left last year’s biathlon Worlds in Oberhof without gold medals.  Last weekend he raced a time-trial in Rupholding together with the Italian biathlon team and won in dominating fashion. He...

Trond Nystad, the US National Team head coach says that the national team is using the same training principles as the Norwegian women’s team.   How has the season preparation been going up until now? – So far good. We have trained well here in Park City (1500-2000 meters) and at sea level. Everyone has trained well, stayed healthy and free of injuries. We have concluded after analyzing the last season’s training and travel that...

Kris Freeman Interview Sept 10th, 2004 By Eli Brown. Nordic Race Director, Fischer USA Did your experience in the Marcialonga last year effect your strategy of which races to do this year? Racing the 70km Marcialonga World Cup last year was both a mistake and a good learning experience for me. I learned that as a diabetic, I could do it. It was a great test of stamina, but was very hard to recover from....

: Not A Mainstream Marathon Skier Rune Torseth (31) is the only skier on the Norwegian long distance national team who is focusing on skating. The rest of the team is (still) entirely looking to do well in the big classic marathon World Cup races. The Norwegian victory in last years Swedish Vasaloppet made Torseth change his priorities.

Norwegian newspaper VG reports that Biathlon skier Lars Berger (25) is hunting for gold in both biathlon and cross country skiing. Biathlon has however first priority. Berger reached the World’s biathlon elite as rocket last winter and the expectations are enormous before the upcoming season. Olympic champion Ole Einar Bjorndalen says that Berger can become as good as he desires. Berger won three biathlon World Cup sprint races in 2003, took individual silver in the...

After many years of hard training and racing, things are finally coming together for Owen Hanley–recent winner of the second annual Summer Cross-Country Ski Championships at Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. Last winter, Hanley had some encouraging top-5 results on the Nor/Am SuperTour circuit. This year, he says, the focus is on consistency, to achieve the best possible overall ranking: “That’s what it comes down to, if you want to go anywhere with it.” Owen Hanley finishes...

Borre Naess has won three out of four rollerski races this summer. Will he become Norway’s next big sprinter?

The first part of the base training is now over, and as the weather cools and the days shorten, the training intensity steps up. – It becomes a bit more serious in the fall, the training will be tougher and tougher, says Anders. But he feels well prepared. – I have felt and trained well this whole summer, and I now look forward to the fall training.

Robert Whitney (24) was as a junior and young senior considered one of the most talented and promising young skiers since Bill Koch. Top-ten results at the Junior Worlds and top five at the US Senior Nationals had made him a skier that the US ski-community discussed as a bright hope in the years leading up to the 2002 Olympics. Things didn’t work out for Rob in the 2002 season. He didn’t make the Olympic...

Finn Marsland retired from the World Cup Circuit in 1999 to take up the role of National Coach/Program Director for the Australian Cross —Country Ski Team with the team at a critical crossroad. Although a fine racer himself (a 54th placing in the Vasaloppet to his credit) I started off by asking how difficult it was being on the sidelines coaching to being an athlete.

Fredrik Aukland (26) played an important role in the Swedish Vasaloppet last season when he skied to support his two older brothers in their attempt to become the first Norwegians in more than three decades to win the World’s most prestigious marathon race. Fredrik’s job was to carry feed bottles and help them if they got behind or in trouble. He wasn’t doing this from the sidelines but by racing in front, next to them...

Canadian national team skier Sarah Renner (28) is gradually getting closer to the World Cup podium. Is this going to be her “break-through” season? FastersSkier.com got a chance to ask her some questions about her training and racing. Photo by Arnd Hemmersbach You are getting closer and closer to the podium – have you decided that there are certain things you have to focus on in your training in order to take that “next step”?...

Havard Skorstad (31), Norway has found new challenges in his skiing career. He is now focusing 100% on the FIS Marathon Cup. Havard has for a long time been a very promising cross country skier. He captured a medal at the Norwegian nationals already in 1998. He has however struggled the last few years reaching the results he hat set. Havard has now said goodbye to competing in regular races. He is no longer trying...

Fifth Place At Junior Worlds Skier: Said No Thanks To The Development Team Betty-Ann Nilsen (17) is one of Norway’s biggest cross country skiing talents. She was offered a chance to be a member of the prestigious ”Impuls” team for the upcoming season. The Impuls team has occasional camps with the national team and is very hard to make. Betty-Ann is doing other sports as well and was afraid of having more on her plate...

Marte Elden is a member of both the Norwegian junior national team in cross country skiing and in track and field. She captured a silver medal at Junior Nationals last winter and almost made the semifinal at the Junior World’s track and field championship in the 800 meter running event last week. Elden was one of only four Norwegians who qualified for the Junior World’s track and field championship in Groseto, Italy   Coming into...

Anthony Evans is Australia’s most successful ever cross-country ski racer. He skied at three Winter Olympics and a number of World Championships. His results included a 34th in the 50km at the Albertville Winter Olympics and a 36th in the 10km classic at the World Championships in Trondheim in 1997. He is now retired from international competition but is still highly competitive on the domestic scene despite fitting in his new role as a father...

Twenty year old Dasha Gaiazova skied herself on to the Canadian team after  a good season where she was a member of the relay team that captured bronze in the sprint relay at the U-23 Worlds. She is now a member of Canada’s Team 2006 following two years on the junior team. Fasterskier.com got a chance to ask her some questions.   One of my favorite photos from last season is the one of you skiing behind...

Former World Nordic Combined Champion Trond Einar Elden of Norway lost his sprint national team spot after last season. He might continue to race, but school has now first priority.

The first official FIS sprint World Cup was held in the 1999/2000 season. Morten Brors (Norway) took home the overall trophy and title. He is now retiring.

Twenty year-old Tord Asle Gjerdalen (Norway) skied well a number of times last year, but the medicine student was not interested in being a part of the Norwegian National team and is not spending a lot of time thinking about the future in skiing. Many wondered who this unknown young man was when he placed 5th in the pursuit on the first day of the Norwegian Championship last winter. He followed up that with a...