As soon as the news broke that Estonian Olympic gold medalist and world champion Andrus Veerpalu had tested positive for human growth hormone (HGH), the ski world knew that a fight lay ahead. For Veerpalu and the Estonians, a doping ban would be disastrous; as FasterSkier reported a 1999 study by a group of European and Australian researchers showed that exercise did spike HGH levels in the bloodstream by more then tenfold, the decline was dramatic...
Before flying to Estonia last January, I didn’t know much about that nation’s cross-country skiers aside from their names—and their medal records. Jaak Mae, Andrus Veerpalu, and Kristina Smigun-Vaehi—between the three of them, seven Olympic and 10 World Championship medals. Not a bad record for a country with a population of 1.3 million, or the same as the state of Maine. But while Scandinavian stars like Petter Northug and Marit Björgen blend a certain appeal,...
After a long spring of indecision, Anna Carin Zidek of Sweden finally announced her retirement from biathlon last week. “I no longer have any desire, my motivation has disappeared, and so I will stop,” the 2006 Olympic gold medalist told an Ostersund newspaper. The announcement came after months of deliberation. “Oh yes, there are many who wonder if I should continue or not next season,” Zidek had written on her blog in late April. “And...
Tim Burke is one of the best biathletes in North America. The Paul Smiths, New York native finished on the World Cup podium three times during the 2009-2010 season, and even donned the yellow overall leader’s bib. But in 2011, he had a disappointing year, with his best finish 18th place in the opening World Cup sprint in Ostersund, Sweden. In April Alter-G, and it allows you to run with whatever percent of your body...
Finnish Olympic gold medalist and three-time world champion Mika Myllyla was found dead in his home in Kokkola, Finland, on Tuesday morning. For about 5 years in the late 1990’s, Myllyla was one of the best skiers in the world. He won the 30 k classic race in the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Japan, as well as two other medals there and a bronze in Lillehammer in 1994. In World Championship racing, Myllyla won three...
LUSANNE, Switzerland – Longtime U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) partner NBCUniversal has retained the U.S. broadcast rights for the Olympic Games through 2020. The decision was announced Tuesday by the International Olympic Committee following presentations by NBCUniversal, ESPN and Fox. “For two decades NBC has raised the global level of awareness and support for the Olympic movement. Today’s decision continues and strengthens that vision,” said USSA President and CEO Bill Marolt. “This secures NBC’s...
At the end of the women’s relay at 2011 World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, star biathlete Olga Zaitseva abruptly announced her retirement, sending the biathlon world and the Russian team into a tailspin. As FasterSkier wrote at the time, Zaitseva was fed up with the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU), the politics, and the pressure associated with representing her country. Since then, there has been much speculation about her possible return. Zaitseva initially stuck to...
Before the 2011 World Cup season was even finished, the ski community knew that the Italian team would be losing one of their biggest stars. Arianna Follis, who had been racing on the circuit since 1995, saved the best part of her career for last. She was the World Champion in the sprint in 2009, and in 2011 placed third in the overall World Cup rankings and second in the sprint standings. But at 33...
(Note: This is the second in a series of interviews with U.S. Biathlon Association coaches and staff. The first was with USBA Head Coach Per Nilsson.) Last summer, the U.S. Biathlon Association made a big change by hiring Jonne Kahkonen as a dedicated head coach for the women’s team. Up until that point, the women hadn’t had their own program. “There were enough of us to really warrant having a women’s coach, and having a...
“Hellner had a couple of beers and we all know how that went,” Northug said to the audience at a presentation in Oslo last week. Northug is already focusing on Sotchi 2014.
“It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to work with this caliber of athletes and coaches,” Trond Nystad said to Norwegian news agency NTB after accepting the offer to be the head coach for the Norwegian national men’s team.
When FasterSkier in an interview last week. “Pichler, because he’s had big success in Sweden and many years… maybe it was time for him to move.” Past Animosity with Russia While the challenge of coaching a supremely talented yet frustratingly inconsistent group of women may be appealing to Pichler, the move to Russia is puzzling given his past relationship with the RBU. For several years, Pichler – who is outspoken on many issues – very...
In the lead-up to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Zach Caldwell led a much-discussed, multi-year effort to pin down the best stonegrinds and waxes for the challenging, variable conditions at Whistler Olympic Park. Caldwell’s months and months of hard work even drew the attention of National Public Radio, which Kris Freeman’s horrific skis in the opening 15 k freestyle in Vancouver. When the best skiers and wax techs in the world can be baffled by conditions,...
When Emmanuel Jonnier, a thirteen-year veteran of the French national team, announced his retirement earlier this month, it was picked up by every major news source in his home country. But even then, it was nothing compared to the coverage his teammate, Vincent Vittoz, got two weeks prior when he announced his own retirement – which had happened at about the same time that Roberto Gal, the team’s Italian head coach, also declared that he...
On March 11th, Olga Zaitseva’s future in biathlon appeared, to all outsiders, to be bright. After competing in four events at World Championships, only the mass start and relay remained, both events in which Zaitseva had won gold in the past. She had also been elected to the International Biathlon Union’s Athlete’s Committee by her peers. With only two men and two women on the committee, it was an honor. As the weekend progressed, things...
After winning the silver medal in the team competition during 2010 Vancouver Games and proceeding to win the US nationals summer Nationals, Brett Camerota thought he was on his way to take yet another step. But it would be a step back.
Traces of skiing legends are all over Otepaa, Estonia, where American athletes were contesting the cross-country World Junior and U-23 Championships in late January. Framed posters of the country’s Olympic medalists were scattered near the entrance to the venue, in the “Park of Estonian Skiing Heroes.” Jaak Mae’s Mercedes Benz was parked across the way. But inside the American service cabin, in the guise of a pudgy, unassuming figure at one of the wax tables,...
His coach announces Petter Northug, 25, the world champion of peaking for a major event. Just over 40 days left until the Oslo world championships.
At a Fast and Female event in early December, a multi-time World Cup medalist stood in awe of what the program was offering to young girls. “It’s amazing what can change the course of a kid’s life, and hopefully this will change it for the better,” she said. Chandra Crawford? Kikkan Randall? Nope. This time, it was top Canadian alpine skier Kelly VanderBeek. Fast and Female, which was founded by Crawford in 2005, is a...
