Olympics

Kris Freeman 22nd in 15km Classical PRAGELATO, Italy (Feb. 17) – Kris Freeman (Andover, NH) was the top U.S. finisher in Friday's cross country 15km classical race in Pragelato as he took 22nd. Lars Flora (Anchorage, AK), Andrew Johnson (Greensboro, VT) and Justin Freeman (Andover, NH) placed 51-52-53, respectively. Estonian Andrus Veerpalu won the race and the gold medal with a time of 38:01.3. Czech Lukas Bauer won silver in 38:15.8 and German Tobias Angerer...

Olympic cross country skiing continues Saturday with the Women's Relay in Pragelato. Slated to ski for the U.S. is Rebecca Dussault (Gunnison, CO), Sarah Konrad (Laramie, WY), Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, AK) and Wendy Wagner (Park City, UT). Dussault, Randall and Wagner have already skied during these Games, while Konrad is making her first cross country Olympic start after competing in biathlon earlier in the week. Dussault kicked off her first Olympic campaign Sunday as the...

Kristina Smigun continued her golden week with a 20 second win over a trio of Norwegians in Thursday's Olympic 10K classic race. Sara Renner was extremely strong, leading the first half of the individual start race. Even though she faded towards the end, she still finished 8th. Wendy Wagner was the top US skier in 50th place. As expected a couple inches of new snow fell overnight. Heavy wet snow continued to fall during the...

Source: Cross Country Canada Today's 10k classic race saw difficult conditions, with plus 4 temperatures and rain on the lower part of the couse, and some snow falling in the upper sections. Coach Dave Wood characterized it as “an incredibly good race for Sara”, who in the past has been stronger at the shorter distance events, and is now able to maintain her speed over longer distances. It wasn't such a great day for Beckie...

Wagner Leads USA as Smigun Wins Second PRAGELATO, Italy (Feb. 16) — Estonian Kristina Smigun won her second gold of the Games, taking the women's 10-km classical technique race Thursday in Pragelato in a light, steady rain. Wendy Wagner (Park City, UT) led the USA finishing 50th. Smigun now holds the only two Olympic Winter Games ski medals in history for her nation. It was a tough day for the Americans. Wagner finished 50th 3:49.6...

Canadian Press Cesana Pariol, Italy — The kudos keep coming for the Norwegian ski coach who gave cross-country skier Sara Renner a pole when hers snapped during Tuesday's Olympic team sprint. Renner has already sent Bjoernar Haakensmoen a bottle of wine. Cross Country Canada has passed on its appreciation. And Norway's chef de mission can also expect a letter of thanks from the Canadian Olympic Committee. “It was reflex,” Haakensmoen said Thursday. “I didn't have...

Kris Freeman (Andover, NH) will lead four U.S. men into the 15-km on Friday in Pragelato. The classical technique event is Freeman's best shot at a top Olympic finish. Freeman finished fourth in this event in the 2003 World Championships. He was 22nd in at the Salt Lake City games. Kris Freeman skied fast for 10-k in the last men’s classic World Cup race in Davos one week before the Olympics. He was still top...

Can a North American woman medal in Thursday's 10 individual start classic race? Wendy Wagner (Park City, UT) and Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) will lead the four-woman U.S. cross country ski team into Thursday's 10km classical technique race. Wagner and Randall both ran strong in Tuesday's classical team sprint race. They will be joined by Abigail Larson (Bozeman, MT) and Lindsey Weier (Mahtomedi, MN), both of whom be making their second Olympic starts. Sara Renner of...

Sweden won a very tightly contested men's team sprint final as Bjoern Lind out-poled Tor Arne Hetland in the final stretch. The US and Canadian men, who all had high hopes for this race, were unable to advance to the final in a very tough semifinal heat. The men's semifinals were much more crowded than the women's, with 13 and 12 teams competing for 5 spots. In the men's first semifinal, it stayed very close...

Beckie Scott and Sara Renner earned silver medals for a very impressive performance in the women's classic Olympic Team Sprint today. Making the feat even more impressive, the Canadians had to overcome a broken pole in the final to earn their medals! The Swedish team of Anna Dahlberg and Lina Andersson took gold in a furious sprint to the line, while Finland was third. The American team of Wendy Wagner and Kikkan Randall did an...

Randall, Wagner 10th in Team Sprint PRAGELATO, Italy (Feb. 14) – The cross country duo of Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, AK) and Wendy Wagner (Park City, UT) finished 10th in the Olympic Team Sprint Monday, marking the first time U.S. women have made finals in a top international contest. Chris Cook (Rhinelander, WI) and Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, VT) did not advance out of the semifinals. Anna Dahlberg and Lina Andersson of Sweden took gold, while the...

More articles on the Olympic Team Sprint: Photos From the Olympic XC races http://www.adn.com/sports/olympics/story/7446802p-7357161c.html Silver-leafed In the shadow of the gold won by Sweden, the Canadian sprint team Beckie Scott and Sara Renner look back over their race and silver medal result. Renner was overjoyed that years racing with her regular team-mate Beckie Scott paid dividends at the Olympics in Tuesday's sprints. “I'm extremely happy, I think that this is a very well deserved result,”...

Norway looks certain to be without top cross-country skier Marit Bjoergen in the team sprint on Tuesday because of a badly upset stomach. Norwegian team doctor Hans Petter Stokke told Reuters that he had advised the World Cup leader not to race but was hopeful she would shrug off the virus in time for her next event, the women's 10-km classical on Thursday. “I have given the coach the advice that due to her medical...

Two U.S. cross country skiers who were placed on a no-start hold due to elevated hemoglobin levels last week were cleared to start by the International Ski Federation. U.S. Olympic Team medical officials received the clearance following re-testing by the two athletes, Leif Zimmerman (Bozeman, MT) and Kikkan Randall (Anchorage) on Monday. “We're happy to have Leif and Kikkan cleared to compete,” said U.S. Ski Team Nordic Director Luke Bodensteiner. Randall is scheduled to compete...

Can a North American team step it up and medal on Tuesday? The next cross country event at the Olympics is the two person classic sprint relay on Tuesday morning. The women will race in a 1.2-kilometer loop while the men will use a 1.4-kilometer loop. The top five teams in two qualification rounds will make it to the 10-team finale. The Canadian women’s team of Sara Renner and Beckie Scott placed second to Germany...

The latest news regarding Tuesday’s two person Olympic sprint relay is that Marit Bjorgen despite her problems will race on the Norwegian team. Hilde G. Pedersen is sick and Ella Gjomle will step in. Bjoegen is now listed on the start list with Gjomle. Jens Arne Svartedal is healthy again and has been selected to race on the Norwegian men’s team along with Tor Arne Hetland. Source: Langrenn.com

Three-time Olympian Carl Swenson (Park City, UT) was the top U.S. finisher in 40th in Sunday's Cross Country 30km Pursuit. Swenson finished the course in 1:21:08.0, 4:07.2 behind Dementiev. Andrew Johnson (Greensboro, VT) was 43rd (1:21:16.8), James Southam (Anchorage, AK) was just behind in 44th (1:22:05.8) and Lars Flora (Anchorage, AK) was 49th (1:22:31.2). “It was tough, I would have liked to have been up with the lead pack but I think I can build...

For several long minutes Beckie Scott stood wrapped in husband Justin Wadsworth's arms, her face buried in his chest. The couple didn't exchange words. They didn't have to. The tear stains on Wadsworth's jacket said everything. Scott started strong and led for part of the 15-kilometre pursuit race Sunday at the Winter Olympic Games, but faded near the end to finish sixth. “I did come into this race as a favourite and had big expectations...

Kristina Smigun (Estonia) won the opening cross country race of the Torino Olympic Games today by outsprinting Katerina Neumannova of the Czech Republic for the Gold in the women's 15K Pursuit race. Russian Evgenia Medvedeva-Abruzova took the bronze medal. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was that Marit Bjoergen (NOR), who was fighting bronchitis up until a week ago, dropped out after about 5K. Beckie Scott was in the lead pack until about halfway...

Editor's Note: We at FasterSkier.com don't have the resources or knowledge to cover biathlon on a regular basis, but we thought this deserved a mention. Congratulations, Jay! A new record in US Biathlon history of results in the Olympics was just made on Saturday—Jay Hakkinen made the top 10 in the men's 20km Individual race. Hakkinen took 10th in a time of 56:10.9, but the best finish ever by a U.S. athlete could have been...