For the second time this weekend, a Norwegian was disqualified during a race in Beitostølen, Norway, and missed out on a victory because of it. Maiken Caspersen Falla was first across the line in the women's classic sprint final, but subsequently relegated, leaving Russia's Natalia Matveeva with the win.
After the Norwegian women's ski team wore black armbands in honor of Astrid Jacobsen's deceased brother, the IOC issued them a reprimand - which seemed, and was, tone-deaf. The organization is now building a specific mourning place in future Olympic Villages to be more friendly to grieving athletes.
Marit Bjørgen proved once again why she is the world's best, saving one last attack to skate past Norwegian teammate Therese Johaug to take victory in the Holmenkollen 30 k and make it a clean sweep of the sprint, distance, and overally World Cup titles. Astrid Jacobsen outsprinted Sweden's Charlotte Kalla for third place.
After a fifth-place in the 2014 Olympic relay, Norway came back with vengeance to take the 4 x 5 k relay at the 2015 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun, Sweden. The Swedish team, featuring Charlotte Kalla and Stina Nilsson, overcame Finland to earn a silver medal in front of a home crowd.
When Norwegian Therese Johaug threw down the hammer on Mördarbacken, a.k.a. "murder-hill", in the last lap of the women's 15 k skiathlon there was no hope for the rest of the competition. Using the hill to her advantage, Johaug skied to a World Championships gold ahead of teammate Astrid Jacobsen and Charlotte Kalla of Sweden.
Liz Stephen marked yet another historic race with a second place in the 10 k freestyle in Rybinsk, Russia. The 27-year-old not only earned her first-ever World Cup podium, she also notched the best finish by an American woman in a World Cup distance race.
Norway's Celine Brun-Lie chatted with FasterSkier while wrapping up her camp with the U.S. Ski Team and APU on Eagle Glacier. She flew home Tuesday, but not before flying around Alaska, visiting cabins, eating salmon, seeing moose, lots of moose -- and training 20-plus hours for each of the last two weeks.
Norwegians Marit Bjørgen and Ingvild Østberg took the top two spots in the classic sprints in Sweden today, with Americans Kikkan Randall and Sophie Caldwell making the final heat. Randall walked away with the heavy crystal Sprint Globe from the overall World Cup sprint win, while Bjørgen is now only three points behind teammate Therese Johaug for the overall World Cup chamionship.
Marit Bjørgen proved her dominance today by winning the 30 k classic at Holmenkollen by nearly two minutes ahead of second-place teammate Therese Johaug.
On Saturday, Marit Bjørgen and the Norwegian women wore black armbands in the Olympic skiathlon to honor teammate Astrid Jacobsen's brother, who died unexpectedly the day before. The IOC didn't like that one bit, likening it to a political statement, which is banned at the Games.
Therese Johaug became the first Norwegian to win the Tour de Ski, overtaking teammate Astrid Jacobsen on the Final Climb up Alpe Cermis for the victory in the eighth edition of the event. Heidi Weng placed third to give Norway a podium sweep.
Therese Johaug, second overall in the Tour de Ski, skied a dominating race that was far and away faster than any of her competitors. Johaug's performance went a long way toward her goal of being the first to the summit of the Alpe Cermis on Sunday.
Astrid Jacobsen of Norway, the Tour leader in the red bib, won Friday's 15 k freestyle pursuit race to maintain her lead over teammate Therese Johaug.
Check out photos from Wednesday’s 10 k and 15 k classic races in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, the fourth stage of the 2013/2014 Tour de Ski.
Ingvild Flugstad Østberg outshone her fellow Norwegians in Tuesdays freestyle sprint race in stage 3 of the Tour de Ski. Setting the fastest qualifying time around the 1.5 k course, she continually proved her speed throughout the day to seize the coveted red leaders bib of the Tour de Ski.
Photos from yesterday's opening to the Tour de Ski in Oberhof, Germany, where racers faced warm, wet, and slushy conditions in the prologue to the Tour, which consisted of a 3 k for the women and a 4.5 k for the men.
In advance of his club’s facility playing host to the third annual North American Women's Training Alliance (NAWTA) camp in July, APU Nordic Director Erik Flora broke down film of last year's World Cup races in Sochi. He was studying every undulation of the race courses, with a goal to replicate the Olympic venue.
The joint women’s training camp between the U.S. Ski Team and Alaska Pacific University began this week in Anchorage, Alaska, bringing many of the nation’s top female skiers together for the first time in a month along with a few special foreign guests. After a "killer" workout earlier this week, USST women’s coach Matt Whitcomb said training has been going well so far.
The U.S. Ski Team's summer training camp in Alaska has become increasingly international over the past few years, and in 2013 the list of invitees will grow by one more. Norwegian National Team member Astrid Jacobsen is scheduled to be in Alaska for three weeks in July to train with the American women.
Upon returning to Park City from her recent training trip to Norway and Sweden, Liz Stephen spoke about the experience of training with Marit Bjørgen and Therese Johaug, overcoming the fear of new things, and how she plans to carry confidence into next season, where she wants to be on the podium at the Sochi Olympics.