On his way to the line for what he thought would be a second-place finish in Friday’s men’s 10k classic mass start, Andy Newell (USST) came across a surprising sight: Canadian skier Ivan Babikov skiing backwards in a parallel lane. Babikov had missed the sign where the finish split off from the lap lane, and was backtracking. In the process, Newell cruised by to take the victory, with Lars Flora (APU) and Torin Koos (USST)...
After four races and flying across half a dozen different time zones in the last week, Kikkan Randall probably had a tough time telling up from down and left from right on Wednesday. But in the U.S. 30 k National Championship, she could still do the one thing she does best: ski fast, and win. “My body really doesn’t know what to think,” she said. “But it’s in good shape, so we’ll just keep rolling.”...
Ivan Babikov (CAN) has traveled more than 10,000 kilometers since the conclusion of the 2010 Winter Olympics in late February. He only has to go 50 more on Wednesday, but they’ll feel every bit as long and painful as his circuitous journey from Vancouver to Fort Kent, Maine. Babikov is the clear favorite for tomorrow’s U.S. freestyle 30/50 k championships, but racing just 72 hours removed from the World Cup Finals in Sweden, he’ll be...
Andy Newell set a new American mark by finishing 4th in the FIS Sprint Cup standings, just 34 points behind Alexei Petukhov (RUS) in 3rd, and a single point ahead of Ola Vigen Hattestad (NOR), the two-time defending Sprint Cup champions. Newell entered the final sprint of the season with a chance to move up as high as second, but he was unable to advance past the quarterfinals and was defeated by both Petukhov and...
Kikkan Randall kept on rolling, turning in a career-best 14th place distance performance in Falun, Sweden. Randall was in the main pack for the entire 10km pursuit, and in position to finish significantly higher. She has been posting excellent result after excellent result since the beginning of the Olympics, and is now 16 overall in the World Cup Final standings. It seemed like it was pretty warm over there today, how did the snow hold...
The distance of the first race of the World Cup finals may have been unfamiliar, but the pair of names atop the results sheet on Friday were anything but. Though rarely raced on the World Cup, the 3.3/2.5k prologue was just right for Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk and Switzerland’s Dario Cologna, as each skied to a convincing victory in the first of three races held in Falun, Sweden. Men Cologna finished five seconds ahead of Mats...
On Sunday Kikkan Randall finished 2nd in the freestyle sprint at the Holmenkollen Ski Stadium in Oslo, Norway. This was Kikkan’s third career World Cup podium finish along with her World Championship silver medal. Randall was coming off an excellent Olympics where she raced extremely well in every start. She took some time in the midst of a busy post-race evening to answer a few questions about the day. 1). You looked strong, relaxed and...
With his 10th place finish in Holmenkollen on Sunday, Andy Newell moved into 4th in the overall Sprint Cup standings. He is now just two points behind Petter Northug (NOR), who did not race today. While Emil Joensson (SWE) has locked up the overall, Alexei Petukhov (RUS) in 2nd is still within striking distance, 17 points up. There is only one sprint competition remaining – a classic city sprint Wednesday in Stockholm. As it is...
The IOC hasn’t yet decided on a location for the 2018 Winter Olympics. But it’s safe to say that the road to those Games travels through Slovenia, at least for some of America’s cross country skiers. Thanks to a $10,000 grant from the National Cross Country Ski Education Foundation (NCCSEF), and more funding from the U.S. Ski Team, a group of 15 athletes has set up shop in the resort town of Rogla. There, the...
Oslo, Norway – The Canadian men’s team, just off a record-breaking Olympics, was unable to re-capture the magic. The “Big-4” of Devon Kershaw, Ivan Babikov, Alex Harvey, and George Grey all dropped out of the race, leaving Graham Nishikawa as the sole finisher in 48th place, +19:24. Kershaw was complimentary of his teammate, and very disappointed in his own performance. “Nish is a tough MF’er. Ivan, George, Alex and I pulled the pin. I had...
Whistler, British Columbia – The US men’s cross-country ski team concluded a disappointing Olympics with two very different performances in the 50km classic. Kris Freeman, who inexplicably struggled the entire Games, dropped out after 20 kilometers. He spent the first 15km with the lead pack, but was always at the back, hanging on. He lost contact, and with a month of World Cup racing potentially ahead, he opted to save his body. “My coaches said...
Saturday’s race at Whistler Olympic Park was about 20 times as long as Kikkan Randall’s best distance. But no matter: the Alaskan more known for her sprinting put in another outstanding performance Saturday in the 30 k classic, finishing 24th—a career-best in the event. It was Randall’s first time competing in the long-distance race at the Games, and only her third time racing over 15 k on the World Cup. Coming into the Games, she...
There are very few athletes in the U.S. brimming with potential like Simi Hamilton. With a national championship in the skate sprint, a win in the qualifying round of the same event at the U-23 World Championships (punctuated by an
Whistler, British Columbia – The US relay teams did not distinguish themselves in the overall standings, but that was not unexpected. The men’s team featured four athletes who are usually considered sprinters, and the women’s team three Olympic rookies. So there were few expectations for a top overall result, though on the right day, the women could have battled for the top-8. Despite the men finishing 13th of 14 teams, and the women 11th out...
As Billy Demong and Johnny Spillane strode triumphantly to the podium for the flower ceremony after today’s nordic combined competition, a parade of sullen-looking Europeans was walking through the mixed zone, in the other direction. It was easy to miss them—after all, they weren’t the ones who won medals. But they had an interesting story to tell, too: how Thursday’s weather conditions in the jumping round had ruined their chances for Olympic glory. Big names...
Whistler, British Columbia – The US Nordic Combined team will paying overweight on their flight back to Park City. A historic day doubled their Vancouver medal haul, giving them nearly nine pounds of hardware. Billy Demong skied away from teammate Johnny Spillane and Austrian Bernard Gruber on the final climb to claim Olympic gold. With a move of his own, Spillane left Gruber in the dust, too—laying claim to his 3rd silver medal of the...
Whistler, British Columbia – The two skiers swept around the large curve down into the stadium, Billy Demong of the USA in the lead, Austrian Mario Stecher right on his heels, the gold medal waiting, just 200 meters away. Stecher stepped out, tucking past Demong. There would be no sprint for the line. The gap was enough, and Austria champions. The American team, in claiming the silver, made US Nordic Combined history for the second...
After being selected as the fourth member of the U.S. nordic combined team’s relay squad, the pressure was all on Brett Camerota’s shoulders this morning as he took to the top of the jump. He didn’t disappoint, coming through with his best-ever leap on the big hill here in Whistler and setting up the Americans for another podium finish this afternoon, after Johnny Spillane’s silver last week. The team will start the 4×5 k relay...
With four events down and two to go, FasterSkier caught up with U.S. Ski Team Sprint Coach Chris Grover on Monday night for a quick check-in about the American performance at the Games thus far. Grover talked results, expectations, and the pressures on the team over the last couple of weeks. FasterSkier: So, can you start by just giving me kind of a sense of how the team and coaches are feeling about the Games...
