The Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) may not be a household name yet, but the by-product of the recent World Cups held in Canmore, Alberta, has made moves in that direction. This past winter the program sent two athletes (Gord Jewett and Madeleine Williams) to the Winter Olympic Games, as well as several to Under 23 World Championships and World Junior Championships. Now, as a result of Cross Country Canada (CCC) revising the development system...
NEW GLOUCESTER, Maine (July 6. 2010) US Biathlon is proud to announce that 2010 Paralympic bronze medalist and Afghanistan war veteran, Andy Soule (Pearland, TX), has been nominated for an ESPN ESPY in the category of Best Male Athlete with a Physical Disability. On the opening day of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, Andy came back from fifth place to win a bronze medal in the 2.4 km biathlon pursuit. This was not only the first...
In Las Vegas, the house always wins. And in Tuesday’s head-to-head rollerski race between Marcus Hellner and Petter Northug, Northug was the house. On a course laid out by his Norwegian magazine sponsor—and modified at the last minute to give him a better shot at the win—Northug took the last two heats of a best-of-three series in the parking lot of the Palms Casino, evening the score with Hellner after losing to the Swede in...
11:28 PM: With ten minutes to go in the first day of the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, it appears that both Petter Northug and Marcus Hellner have survived, and will head into a second round of play later this week. The two each have comfortable stacks of chips, and will be in decent position as the tournament continues on. 4:50: For once, it looked like Petter Northug was faced with a comeback...
Marcus Hellner one, Petter Northug zero. In an hour-long production worthy of two A-list celebrities, Hellner outlasted Northug in a one-on-one game of Texas Hold’em at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas on Sunday evening. Orchestrated by the Norwegian men’s magazine Vi Menn and the online gambling company PokerStars, the event showcased the kind of status that the two athletes enjoy in Europe. Clad in a crisp white button-down shirt emblazoned with a Norwegian flag...
If Petter Northug and Marcus Hellner had any doubts as to whether they’d be out of their element during the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, the high temperatures in the triple digits over the weekend should serve to quash them. The two may be Olympic gold medalists, but they’re also unseasoned card-players. If they hope to fare well in the tournament, the Scandinavians will have to better old-school pros, new-school math-whizzes, and hundreds...
On May 15, competitors stood at the start line of the The 34th U.S. Bank Pole, Pedal, and Paddle in Bend, Oregon. After a cold and wet spring, the weather cooperated with 76 degrees and an overcast sky. The race started at Mt. Bachelor, with a moderate Grand Slalom alpine run, followed by a five mile cross country skate race, a 23 mile road ride down into the town of Bend, OR, a 5 mile...
Adaptive Skier of the Year A new and well-deserved addition to the FasterSkier Awards, the Adaptive Skier of the Year poses some challenges. There are many categories within adaptive skiing, and some of the athletes participate in both cross-country and biathlon. One goal of the FS Awards is to keep things clear and simple, and we decided to present one award covering all categories and both adaptive xc and biathlon. This is similar to the...
While most North American ski racers have put their skis away for the winter, there is still plenty of racing action in Europe. A quick roundup of some of the weekend’s events. Marit Bjoergen and Sjur Røthe Win Haukelirennet 2010 The traditional Haukelirennet had to be shortened from it’s original distance of 32km to only 8 km due to strong winds and snowfall. Marit Bjoergen won the ladies race ahead ofAstrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen who was 1:53 back. Tona Dalenclaimed...
Czech skiers dominated the Red Bull Nordix in Davos, Switzerland. Organizers prepared a very demanding track with a plenty of jumps and curves. Modeled on the Olympic sport of ski-cross, the event also featured a short steep climb. The finals were under the control of two Czechs, Martin Koukal and Dan Maka. The duel for the third place was between Martin Jäger and Davos local Gaudenz Flury. In the finish local crowds was extremely happy...
The Finnish team claimed bragging rights in the inaugral Tour de Barents as Riitta Liisa Roponen and Sami Jauhojärvi took the victories in the four event stage race in northern Finland and Norway. Roponen entered the final stage – a handicap start of 8.8 kilometer – with a 15 second lead on Kristin Stoermer Steira (NOR). After being defeated by Steira in the classic sprint Roponen did not leave anything to chance at the end,...
The Tour de Barents, a “mini-tour” modeled on the Tour de Ski is halfway done with a small, but elite field battling for the overall title. The event consists of four races in the Barents region of northern Nroway and Finland. Racing action began on Wednesday with a 5/10km individual start classic race. Finnish World Cup star Sami Jauhojärvi (FIN) skied to an impressive win in the men’s race, besting fellow Finn Mikko Koutaniemi by...
Emil Joensson (SWE) and Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) defended their Russian Sprint Tour titles, holding off the competition in the last race of the four event series. The last two races were both held on Sunday. The classic sprint, the only standard event of the weekend, kicked off the day. Kowalczyk won over Polina Medvedeva (RUS) and Valentina Novikova (RUS). Joensson took the victory over Nikita Kriukov (RUS) and Martin Koukal (CZE). In the afternoon Kowalczyk...
Renato Pasini (ITA) and Valentin Novikova (RUS) lead the four stage international Russian Sprint Tour after two events. Pasini and Novikov won the first race, an “extreme” sprint that reportedly featured an alpine style descent. Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) and Emil Joensson (SWE) won the 3.5/4.5km “knockout” pursuit today. Pasini won the 1100 meter sprint after qualifying in 7th. The course took top qualifier Robin Bryntesson (SWE) just 1:37.65 to complete. Full elimination heats were then...
Wilson Dippo is a sophomore on the
The national championships in ski orienteering wrapped up this Monday with a U.S. Team fundraiser sprint, after two days of intense racing in Northern VT. Saturday was the middle distance, 5.8km for the elite women and 7.2km for the elite men, designed by Ernst Linder at Beaver Brook Farm, a ski area maintained specifically for orienteering and ski orienteering by Mike and Vivian Fritz. Their massive barn served as race headquarters and space for the...
This past weekend Canadian and American Para-Nordic athletes competed in a combination biathlon/cross-country ski World Cup in Bessan, France. 140 athletes from 20 different nations competed in four events, comprising of two biathlon races and two cross-country races. North American skiers performed very well. US Report Andy Soule put more points in his pocket to pad his overall leaders position in this year’s World Cup biathlon series. Soule skied a great race on Saturday, and...
Sunday, March 7, 2010 North America’s Toughest 10k is waiting. Racers compete for a share of a $1400 cash purse and the chance to tackle Mt. Washington! Beginning on the trail system at Great Glen Trails, Ski to the Clouds finishes with a 6 kilometer climb up the Mt. Washington Auto Road—a climb of more than 2200 vertical feet. Ski to the Clouds is a true freestyle event: skiers can use either skating or classic...
Pavel Sotskov is a recent Dartmouth College graduate who had been training and working in New Zealand for the summer at the Snowfarm. After leaving New Zealand he returned to Presque Isle, ME to race for MWSC and is now with the team in Finland training for US Nationals and the Super Tour season. He has sent several updates on his experiences. The second leg of my journey in Finland as part of the Maine Winter Sports Center...
Morrisville, VT – In less than 4 minutes, world records were broken and history was made as two US Biathletes, Jennifer Wygant and Zachary Hall, skied their way to victory in the first annual SkiErg World Sprints. “The race was tough… My main goal was to sustain a consistent pace through the entire race. However, I also had some teammates go before me, so I had some times to try and beat” explains Wygant. Wygant...