At 22, Brittany Webster is the youngest member of the Canadian team, but brings a wealth of recent international junior racing experience that bodes well for her first Olympics in Vancouver. The Toronoto-native netted three top-30 results at the 2009 U23 World Championships in Praz de Lys, including a 14th place finish in the 15K pursuit, and returned to U23s in 2010 to improve upon her results with a 5th place finish in the 10K...
Dasha Gaiazova, an alternate for the 2006 Games in Torino, looks poised for promising results at her first Olympic Winter Games. She arrives in Vancouver on the heels of two impressive 12th place results in the recent World Cups in Estonia and Canmore. Following her three wins at the Canadian Olympic Trials in December, Gaiazova headed to Europe to test her speed against the best competition and make final preparations for the Olympic Games. “I needed to see...
A five year member of the Senior National Team, Jones has progressively improved on the WC circuit leading up to this season, placing in the top-30 several times last year. Jones qualified for this year’s Olympic Team with a 6th place finish in the team sprint (along with Sara Renner) at the Liberec WChs. Jones has had most of her best finishes in the sprint distance, and although she will keep her main focus on...
A native of Russia, Babikov only recently received his Canadian citizenship, though he has been racing in the U.S. and Canada for a number of years. Excelling in distance races, Babikov won every North American distance race that he entered in the 2007-08 season, with the exception of one 2nd place finish. In the 2009 Tour de Ski he took gold in the 10km pursuit. Babikov will be racing this weekend in Beitostollen, and continuing...
Harvey, age 21, has only 2 years on the Senior National Team, but an already impressive resume of results. A three time Canadian Junior champion, he won a silver and two bronze at World Junior events. Last season he continued to make a name for himself with a 3rd at the 50km WC in Trondheim, and a 22nd, 28th and relay 5th at the WChs in Liberec. “My goal is pretty simple,” says Harvey of...
An Olympic gold medal at the skate sprint in Torino was not enough to satisfy Chandra Crawford into complacency. The season following Crawford captured two WC golds and proved to the world that her Olympic medal was no fluke. But in the following summer Crawford experienced multiple injuries and ended up having to undergo surgery for compartment syndrome which ultimately ended last year’s season. In addition, a condition in the peroneal tendons of her ankles...
In his 10th year with the team, Grey has never skied in an Olympic year with such a strong men’s team. He is excited for the depth of the team and the prospects for team events. His focus being on the relays in the Olympics, he states “I want nothing more than to race a super 10km at the Olympics in the 4×10km relay.” He also adds that, although he may be third man right...
At his first Olympic games in 2006, Kershaw showed the nordic community his potential by winning the opening leg of the men’s relay. Following that he took bronze in a WC sprint and silver in the ‘07 Tour de Ski sprint. Last season Devon did not give up steam; After a 3rd and 5th in the 15km and prologue landed him an overall 21st place in the Tour de Ski, a 5th place at a...
In her first full season back after having a daughter in February of 2007, Renner is looking to come back in full form, with “consistent top 10 results in distance racing” and “a return of my sprinting form”. As Dave Wood points out, Renner has always been an all-around skier, excelling in distance and sprint events alike. But some of her strongest performances have been in the sprint events, such as Canada’s first WCh medal...
The FasterSkier team has arrived in Whistler for three weeks of reporting from the 2010 Olympic Games. We will be bringing you live and in-depth coverage of every event on the program for cross country, biathlon, and nordic combined. We’re staying in Whistler village, roughly half an hour from Whistler Olympic Park (WOP), where all of the nordic events are taking place. We spent yesterday getting our feet under us, while today we are in...
Hometown: Aspen, CO Birthplace: Aspen, CO Birthdate: 05/14/1987 Height: 5-10 Weight: 180 Club: Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation School: Middlebury College Equipment: Fischer, Swix, Rudy Project Top Results: 2 time U.S. Champion; 9 time Junior National Champion; 3 time NCAA All-American A talent at the junior and collegiate level, this year 22 year old Simeon “Simi” Hamilton caught the eye of national team coaches with his impressive sprint speed. This season he won four sprint...
Peaking for a specific event is not limited to World Cup athletes – anyone who races has most likely focused on a specific event, trying to maximize fitness. The Olympics, however, as the most prestigious event for cross-country skiers, biathletes and nordic combined athletes, take the concept of peaking to the ultimate level. And while it may not be surprising, it is interesting how individual preparation for a an event the magnitude of the Olympics...
Canmore, Alberta – Yet another North American World Cup has come and gone, and as has been the case in recent years, it was a mixed bag for the United States. There were some obvious high points – Caitlin Compton’s 14th in the 10km freestyle and Torin Koos qualifying 2nd in the men’s classic sprint – before being eliminated in the semifinal. And one should not overlook Holly Brooks’ 24th in her first World Cup...
VANCOUVER, BC (Feb. 9) – With 13 trips to the Olympics between them, 2010 U.S. Olympic Nordic Combined Team members Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY), Todd Lodwick and Johnny Spillane (both Steamboat Sprints, CO) are far from star struck at these Games in Vancouver. More so than ever, they’re the stars. “It just feels like this Olympic Games, it seems different,” said Olympic Trials winner Johnny Spillane after landing on the world’s biggest stage for the...
Holly Brooks is no ordinary story. She grew up in Seattle, a city not associated with Nordic skiing. 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 drive to find snow on the weekends. Holly skied for Whitman College, but didn’t get much racing experience and never raced at NCAA’s. After college Holly coached...
Sovereign Lake is stirring with Olympic fever as cross country ski teams prepare for their upcoming events. The Swiss Biathlon team has arrived making them the 7th team training at Sovereign Lake. The teams have chosen the area to prepare for the race because of the good snow conditions, the altitude and the close accommodation at Silver Star. This is the second year that the Norwegian and Swiss team have used Sovereign as their training...
As mandated by the World Anti-Doping Code, no notice, out-of-competition target tests are the primary focus of testing within the FIS Anti-Doping program during the current season. Besides EPO urine tests, CERA blood testing has also been carried out. FIS also conducts in-competition testing at selected FIS World Cup events. For the up-to-date numbers of tests conducted this season until the beginning of the Olympic period Thursday 4th February 2010, please review the latest FIS...
PARK CITY, UT (Jan. 28) – A final skier has been added to the 2010 Olympic Cross Country Ski Team. Simi Hamilton (Aspen, CO), a former All American from Middlebury College, was announced Thursday after the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association received an 11th and final quota spot. Two athletes were named Tuesday in addition to the original eight announced last week. Hamilton, who is now training with coaches Travis Jones and Rick Kapala in...
CANMORE, Alta.—Canada will send four more cross-country skiers to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, bringing the team’s total size to 15, thanks to additional spots allocated to the Canadians by FIS, Cross Country Canada announced on Wednesday. Drew Goldsack, of Red Deer, Alta., Calgary’s Brent McMurtry, Gordon Jewett, of Canmore, Alta., and Brittany Webster, of Caledon, Ont., who all met Cross Country Canada’s Olympic criteria for nomination to the Olympic Team in December, had their...
PARK CITY, UT (Jan. 26) – A week after naming the 2010 Olympic Cross Country Ski Team, two additional athletes have been added to the roster with expanded quotas received Tuesday by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA). Named to the Olympic Team were Holly Brooks (Anchorage) and Garrot Kuzzy (Minneapolis). The additional quotas expand the team to 10 athletes, according to USSA Nordic Director John Farra. “Both Holly and Garrot had outstanding early...