Johan Olsson surprised most everyone and held his own for nearly 30 k on Sunday, skiing alone with a relentless drive for gold in the World Championships 50 k classic mass start on a hot-and-slushy afternoon.
Johan Olsson surprised most everyone and held his own for nearly 30 k on Sunday, skiing alone with a relentless drive for gold in the World Championships 50 k classic mass start on a hot-and-slushy afternoon.
When you’ve already got 11 World Championship golds, it takes something really special to bring you to tears for the 12th one. Marit Bjørgen was overcome with emotion after winning Saturday's 30 k classic mass start, a race she had been focusing on for the last few years.
Petter Northug played a main role in what turned out to be a nail-biting final leg of Friday's 4x10 k relay, which didn't get interesting until the last kilometer. The Norwegian attacked and proved too strong for his contenders, beating Sweden, Russia and Italy in a sprint finish.
Ivan Babikov had one of the best races of his life on Wednesday with a career-best fourth in the World Championships 15 k freestyle. After a slow start, the man affectionately known as the Canadian "Bulldog" raced to one of the best finishing times, about 30 seconds off the podium.
Coming off a disappointing team sprint, Petter Northug decided to start Wednesday's 15 k freestyle at World Championships to see what could happen. The Norwegian ended up winning the individual start, not usually his best event, to capture his eighth world title.
Marit Bjørgen's not unbeatable, but she's a pretty tough nut to crack. Therese Johaug proved its possible in a 10 k freestyle, winning the individual start on Tuesday for her second individual gold at World Championships. Yulia Tchekaleva broke through for Russia in third, German biathlete Miriam Gössner just missed a medal in fourth and American Liz Stephen captured fifth.
In the mix for most of Sunday's freestyle team sprint at World Championships, Canada's Perianne Jones and Dasha Gaiazova couldn't stick close enough to the leaders and missed advancing to the finals by two places to end up 13th overall.
Canada's Lenny Valjas gave it his all and drained the tank for sixth, a season-best, non-stage result, and Devon Kershaw continued to his ascent into fighting form in eighth at Saturday's World Cup classic sprint in Davos, Switzerland.
A year after placing fifth in the 15 k individual at World Championships, American Susan Dunklee finished a solid 15th on her birthday despite falling and busting her rifle stock on the last lap. Canadian Rosanna Crawford raced through the range for a career-best 17th at her first World Championships.
Sophie Caldwell hung tough for second place in Sunday's skate sprint in Estonia, just 0.14 seconds out of first, for her best Scando Cup result. Jennie Bender had another solid day in 11th and three other American women made the top 30. On Saturday, Ben Saxton led the U.S. men in 33rd in the classic sprint.
Two Alberta World Cup Academy athletes topped the podium on the second day of Eastern Canadian Championships, with Michael Somppi winning another 15 k freestyle and Kate Brennan tallying her second-career NorAm win in the 10 k at Nakkertok Ski Club.
Alysson Marshall overcame the gut-wrenching and familiar feeling of being sick for her first NorAm win of the season, and Phil Widmer continued his classic-sprint winning ways on Day 1 of the Eastern Canadian Championships in Cantley, Quebec.
Brittany Webster tallied an important win at her home course and race favourite Graham Nishikawa skied away from the field at the Highlands Nordic NorAm on Sunday, which concluded the Canadian World Championships trials.
Norway's Sjur Røthe proved Sunday he, too, can beat Sweden's Marcus Hellner -- even if his last-second move was controversial -- as the Norwegians topped the Swedes in the 4 x 7.5 k relay in La Clusaz, France.
Note: This article has been updated. There’s something about La Clusaz. Liz Stephen can’t put her finger on it, but it works for her. A week after her 26th birthday, she notched another career best in the French alpine village -- this time in a classic race.
Marit Bjørgen rose above an irregular heartbeat and a month out of World Cup racing to top Norwegian teammate Therese Johaug and Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk in the 10 k classic mass start Saturday in La Clusaz, France.
The four Canadians in Saturday's classic sprint made the rounds, where Dasha Gaiazova in fourth led the team in all-around solid day. Gaiazova narrowly missed the podium in a photo finish, Perianne Jones tallied a career best in ninth and Lenny Valjas also made the top 10.
A U.S. nationals rookie with about a week of nordic experience, Tatyana McFadden won the sit-ski sprint at U.S. Adaptive Championships on Monday, and Lt. Dan Cnossen claimed his third victory in as many days.
A two-time runner-up at this year's nationals, Sadie Bjornsen proved to herself that she can achieve gold, winning her second national title in three years in her first-ever 20 k. Bjornsen skied away from the pack late, beating teammate Kate Fitzgerald by nearly 13 seconds.
Justyna Kowalczyk knows a thing or two about racing in Canmore, and she used her calm approach to win Sunday's 15 k skiathlon, her second title at the Alberta World Cup, by nearly 35 seconds.