Nobody was shocked that Kikkan Randall and her coach at Alaska Pacific University, Erik Flora, were named the top cross-country skier and top international coach by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association on Tuesday. “Frankly,” said Tom Kelly, vice president of USSA, “it was a no-brainer.” After all, they’re both repeat winners — though Flora was named top domestic coach last time. They both contributed to Randall’s historic silver medal performance at the Nordic World...
The following is the USSA’s preliminary list of nominations for the 2010 U.S. Cross Country Ski Team. The nominations include those active athletes who qualified based on published selection criteria. The USSA will announce the actual team roster later this spring, naming those athletes who accept the responsibilities of being a part of the U.S. Ski Team and are planning to compete in the 2009-10 season. This year, the U.S. Ski Team coaches are reserving...
PARK CITY, UT – World Championship gold medalists Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO) and Lindsey Van (Park City, UT) will be honored for athletic excellence as recipients of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association’s Athlete of the Year Awards at the annual awards presentation May 15 at USSA Congress 2008 in Park City. The trio will be joined by World Championship silver medalist Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, AK) and World Cup snowboardcross...
FasterSkier Rookie of the Year It is hard to define a “rookie” in cross-country skiing. First year on the World Cup? First season as a senior? First year in college? First year skiing? We keep it loose and give the award to skiers who take a major step forward while moving up to a new level of competition. Rookie of the Year (men): Alex Harvey (CAN). Despite three World Cup starts last year, it wasn’t...
The lawsuit brought by women ski jumpers in their attempt to gain inclusion on the 2010 Olympic Games began this week. Some updates follow. The Vancouver Sun report on the first day of the trial: Point out its flaws, but remember the IOC is tone deaf At this point the general consensus seems to be that the ruling will be in favor of the IOC and against the jumpers. The arguments boil down to whether...
The US Nordic community has a doper problem. The problem is that we have a tendency to allow dopers to occupy too much of our field of vision. Doping alone has never made a winner, and if we want to improve our results we need to be prepared to learn winning ways from winners. Simply put, as a nation we haven’t done very well. We’ve got very large participation – we’re one of the “big”...
In response to the recent article on the doping scandal, one reader wanted to know how often US and Canadian athletes are tested. To the best of my knowledge, no US or Canadian cross-country skier has ever failed an international drug test. US Ski Team Coach Pete Vordenberg told me that the US World Cup athletes get tested 4-6 times each summer, and another 4-6 times during the winter. Summer testing can be logistically challenging,...
Here is a short review of the season. You will see that the review of last season blends quickly into plans for this and the next. We are always engaged in analysis. While waxing skis, while skiing, while driving, late night, at meals, via email nonstop we look at this thing and by spring the next summer already has shape, the next season has dates and locations and pencil marks in the margins. In review...
Have questions about the new USSA coaches certification? Want to know what type of strength workouts USST Development Team members are doing? The challenges of internationl coaching? Here is your chance. US Ski Team Development Coach Matt Whitcomb will answer your questions. Submit your questions to info@fasterskier.com or in the comment section below, and we will get them to Matt, and publish his responses next week.
Lindsay Williams (USST) had surgery for popliteal entrapment on both her legs last month. Williams describes the condition on her blog: A very short anatomy lesson… The popliteal artery and vein run down the leg behind the knee, and thats how blood gets to and from the lower legs. Behind the knee is where the calf muscles attach. When muscles get bigger and stronger, the attachments for the muscles also become bigger and stronger. So as...
The chat with Andy was a great success! He spent over an hour answering a wide variety of questions. Click the “Replay” button below to review the entire chat. We hope to do more of these – please let us know who you would like to see participate, and what time of day/day of the week is most convenient.
Recently Liz Stephen was kind enough to sit down and share some of her thoughts on the season. Liz had an excellent year, placing 15th in the Pursuit and 17th in the 30km at the World Championships in Liberec. She also won two National Titles, placed 4th and 7th in two U23 Championship events, teamed with Kikkan Randall in the World Cup Team Sprint in Whistler, finishing 4th, and was 24th in the Pursuit that...
The 2008-2009 World Cup season came to an end a little over a week ago in Falun, Sweden, and while the 2009-2010 World Cup opener is less than 240 days away, there is a little time to take a look back at an eventful season. FIS made the decision to get going a little later this year, abandoning the late October city sprint in Germany, and kicking things off in Gaellivare, Sweden at a much...
I have been recovering from surgery for three weeks. I was suffering from compartment syndrome in both shins. Compartment syndrome occurs when the muscle outgrows the fascia, or protective covering, of the muscle. As blood moves into the muscle during exertion the tight fascia restricts blood flow and causes a lot of pain. To combat this condition I removed most of the fascia from five muscles in both shins. I also had extensive scar tissue...
LIBEREC, Czech Republic – Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY) upgraded his bronze medal performance with a gold Saturday, winning the final nordic combined event of the 2009 FIS Nordic Ski World Championships. Demong’s gold marks the fourth for the USA at this year’s Championships. Demong started the cross country race in seventh, but quickly pulled into third and then second around the 3.5K mark. At 6K, he took over first, but was neck and neck with...
LIBEREC, Czech Republic – In an historic day for the USA, Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO) took his second World Championship gold and teammate Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY) took the bronze during the 2009 FIS Nordic Ski World Championships in Liberec. The USA is leading the medals count with three gold and a silver after eight of 20 events. Lodwick and Demong’s performance marks the first time two U.S. nordic combined athletes have made the...
LIBEREC, Czech Republic – A pair of medals Sunday at the FIS Nordic Ski World Championships in Liberec has boosted the U.S. Ski Team back into the medals count lead with four, including three gold, after eight of 20 Championship events. American Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO) won his second gold in three days in nordic combined Sunday, with teammate Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY) taking silver. The World Championships continue through March 1. There are...
The US Ski Team’s pre-world championship camp is being held in Ramsau, Austria this year. The team has been slowly gathering here over the past week. Newell, Koos, Cook, and Randall traveled here straight from Russia arriving first. Zimmerman, Kuzzy, myself and coach Grover came in a few days later. Stevens, Arritola, Smith and coach Whitcomb drove here from France and the U-23 Champs four days after we arrived. Valaas and Southam are due this...
I was feeling like a caged animal. My training and my focus had come together for a dominating day on the Olympic trails in Whistler. I was skiing in the lead pack and then… we started skating… and I could not move. Every step and every push I made felt wrong. I couldn’t relax and I was almost falling on every downhill corner. My heart rate was low but I just couldn’t make my legs...
The Plan Posted by Zach Caldwell on January 29th, 2009 Kris had his second doctors appointment of the day this afternoon with a vascular specialist who confirmed that he had no arterial blockages and quite normal circulation. This doc made it clear that the compartment pressure that was measured in his shins earlier in the day could not be caused by obstructed arterial blood flow under any circumstances. This appears to rule out the really...