With the 2014/2015 season officially in the rearview, FasterSkier is excited to unveil its annual award winners for this past winter. We're kicking off the series by honoring the youngest skiers of the bunch with Junior of the Year, awarded to one outstanding male and one female in the U.S. and/or Canada.
At the end of Junior World Championships, several U.S. athletes submitted their favorite photos from their experiences in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Russia asserted its dominance once again by winning the men's relay, while Norway earned a narrow victory in the women's relay on the last day of Junior World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The U.S. women were eighth and the men placed 11th, while the Canadian men's and women's teams both finished 10th.
Katharine Ogden, racing in her first-ever Junior World Championships, earned the best distance result for any American at junior worlds since 2002. She placed sixth in Friday's 10 k skiathlon, while Katherine Stewart-Jones led the Canadian women in 14th.
American Ian Torchia led the North American men on Friday, placing 11th in the 20 k skiathlon at Junior World Championships, while Alexis Dumas of Canada finished 18th. Meanwhile, the Russians swept the podium for the second-consecutive race.
17-year-old American Katharine Ogden finished an impressive 11th in her first-ever race in the Junior World Championships, while Katherine Stewart-Jones led the Canadian women and took 25th. In the men's race, Canada's Alexis Dumas placed 30th and was the top North American in a race dominated by the Russian team.
Last year in his Junior World Championships debut, Thomas O’Harra placed 54th in the freestyle sprint. The 18-year-old APU skier placed 14th on Tuesday in the opening race of 2015 Junior Worlds in Almaty, Kazakhstan -- the 1.3-kilometer classic sprint -- and three Canadian women made the quarterfinals as well.
The U.S. Ski Team and National Nordic Foundation are looking for applicants to staff the 2015 Junior World Ski Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, as well as the U18 trip in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. Please see the two press releases below.