Last year was a breakout season for Sophia Laukli. She reached the top of the podium in a World Cup race and had a solid skiing season. In her non-skiing job, she also won the Golden Trail Series championship, being crowned the best international trail runner, all while making it look fairly easy. She dominated the race circuit and gave the best professional trail runners fits as she casually strolled to the race starts fresh...
It’s hard to believe, but the first World Cup cross-country race is just around the corner. November 29th marks the cross-country racing season kickoff, in Ruka, Finland. For fans who want to watch the races, there are a couple of easy options. Once again, Ski and Snowboard Live will be the United States’ streaming service for viewing cross-country events held outside of the country, and this season, that means every race. Their coverage will include...
As a sixth grader growing up in Bend, Ore., Neve Gerard was paying attention when Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins won U.S. cross-country skiing’s first Olympic gold medal. She wasn’t a full-on skier back then—she was more into running and mountain biking—but she remembers thinking how cool it was. Nearly six years later, she found herself warming up on the same Olympic course where the duo won the team sprint in PyeongChang, South Korea. Gerard,...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. In Part I of FasterSkier’s interview with Rosie Brennan, she discussed her illness during the second half of the season, her pride in being an all around skier, and the challenges and emotions...
Park City, Utah – U.S. Ski & Snowboard formally announced the 27 athletes who have accepted their nominations and have officially been named to the 2024-25 Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team. Coming oD the most successful season in program history, the 2024-25 roster is filled with veteran talent and promising newcomers. The A Team welcomes back Olympic champion and 2023-24 overall Crystal Globe winner Jessie Diggins, two-time Olympian Rosie Brennan, World Championships bronze medalist...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. Rosie Brennan has been a mainstay of the U.S. ski team for years and is routinely one of its top performers. The APU (Alaska Pacific University) skier has earned the status and acclaim...
As the pageantry and athletic performances of Paris 2024 captivated audiences across the United States, a team of organizers had their eyes fixed on a target far beyond the shores of the Seine. Ten years beyond, in fact. The International Olympic Committee announced on July 24th that Salt Lake City, Utah will host the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the Cross-Country and Biathlon events returning to the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center, site of the...
The National Nordic Foundation (NNF) is excited to announce that the application period for Trail to Gold Coaching Grants is now open. The Trail to Gold Coaching Grant program provides American women coaches and technicians the opportunity to gain international-level experience through an immersive internship with the US Ski Team. The third class of T2G Coaches will further build on the success of the past two years by continuing to add a dynamic, impactful presence to...
Speaking with FasterSkier from Torsby, Sweden, Graham Ritchie is together with three teammates from the Canadian National Development Team completing a three-week long training camp in the Torsby Ski Tunnels – an experience he describes as “unique.” Working with his coach, this camp will provide Ritchie with some valuable hours on snow after an injury that caused him to sit out last season entirely. A 25-year-old Canadian nordic skier, Ritchie made a late debut into...
It’s been 14 years since I became an Olympian, competing as a cross country skier in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. Since then, it hasn’t been easy to get to the Olympics as a spectator. The Winter Games have been in Sochi, Pyeongchang and Beijing, while the summer games have been in Rio and Tokyo, with an interruption by the Covid pandemic. The Paris Games were finally an opportunity for me to attend my...
Finnegan Bailey—a resident of Landgrove, Vermont, and team member of SMST2 and the University of Vermont—was selected this spring to become one of the newest members of the Stifel U.S. Ski Team at the staggering age of 18. So how’d he do it? In the last twelve months, Finnegan (Fin) Bailey has received quite the accolades in the competitive nordic skiing scene. To name a few: he was named to the SMST2 club team, he...
The Colorado Ski team was one of several NCAA Championship teams at the White House Monday that were celebrated at the College Champions Day. About 20 members of the 2024 NCAA Championship Ski team were in attendance for the Buffaloes along with six coaches and staff members. The day began with a tour of the White House and culminated with speeches from NCAA Senior Vice President of Championships Lynda Taeler and Vice President Kamala Harris....
“If you’re not pedaling, you’re going to fall over.” Last month, the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation sprang into registrants’ inboxes with a summer announcement: Ben Popp, Wisconsin native and ABSF Executive Director since 2013, had been elected President of the Worldloppet International Ski Federation. Replacing Finland’s Juho Viljamaa, Popp will serve a four year term, effective immediately. He already has the regalia to prove it. The Federation’s gavel, a relic of the Tony Wise...
The SMST2 Team is proud to announce this year’s Gap Grant program to support elite World Cup skiers in their pursuit of excellence on the international stage. This initiative provides financial assistance to unfunded (D Team and non-USST) athletes that qualify to race on the FIS World Cup for any period of time. Gap Grants were made possible by the generous contribution of an anonymous donor and will be available to SMST2 skiers for the...
Dear Cross Country Community, We are pleased to announce the XC Team for Period 1 of the 2024-25 World Cup season: Ruka, FIN Sprint C Men Michael Earnhart Objective 23-24 Overall SuperTour Leader JC Schoonmaker Objective 10th 23-24 Sprint World Cup Ben Ogden Objective 15th 23-24 Sprint World Cup Gus Schumacher Objective 27th 23-24 Sprint World Cup Kevin Bolger Objective 30th 23-24 Sprint World Cup Zak Ketterson Objective 35th 23-24 Sprint World Cup...
Anhelina Hryhorenko is a typical 14-year-old girl in many ways—she loves art and isn’t a fan of math. And she’s excited to have her freshman year of school over. But she’s got a lot of unique qualities, too. For one, she’s a junior national champion with more medals than she can hold in two hands. She’s also the daughter of a former national cross-country ski team member team and the niece of a three-time...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. All of us need to take a break from our jobs every now and then and do something a little bit—out there— which challenges us. For many, that’s going for a long ski,...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. In part I of our interview with Julia Kern we talked about her summer training changes, and what was a very challenging winter of racing. Please continue reading for Part II of our...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. Julia Kern is firmly established as a veteran member of the U.S. Ski team. She is uniquely sandwiched between the venerable veterans Jessie Diggins and Rosie Brennan, and the up and coming squad of...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. In Part I of FasterSkier’s article about the Lake Placid organizing committee’s work to be chosen as a venue for a World Cup, we spoke with Kris Seymour, Nordic Program Coordinator for the...