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Chad Salmela

The Coach with the Voice: Conversations with Chad Salmela

Chad Salmela has a gift for pinpointing the critical characteristics of a moment and building something special from it. See “Here Comes Diggins,” the emphatically shouted announcement of an historic performance in American skiing, one that defined the careers of Olympic champions Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall, and of Salmela, himself. When it comes to Nordic skiing, Salmela knows what to say, how to put analysis into a context that audiences will understand, how to...

Nordic Nation: Inside the booth with Chad Salmela and Kikkan Randall, NBC’s Olympic cross country ski analysts

In this episode, we’ve got Chad Salmela and Kikkan Randall on to discuss the experience of calling the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games, live from a booth in Stamford, CT. The duo worked as cross country analysts, alongside long-time NBC play-by-play announcer Steve Schlanger. While Chad is a veteran in the role, this was Kikkan’s first Olympics inside the booth. During the call, Kikkan and Chad field a variety of questions on their experience –...

(Press release) U.S. Women’s Relay Heads into Beijing with Best Finish in 28 Years

In the final women’s relay competition before the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, the 14th ranked U.S. Women’s Biathlon Team raced to a fifth-place finish in Saturday’s 4×6-kilometer event at the BMW IBU World Cup in Antholz. It marked the best relay finish for the women’s team in a World Cup since 1994 when the U.S. took the silver medal in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. However, today’s performance bettered that race 28 years ago in terms of time...

All the Lightness as they Rotate Towards Winter: Chad Salmela and the Family in Finland

FOMO: Fear of missing out. FOMO through the lens of envy is probably not the way to thrive. FOMO through the lens of seizing the day, on the other hand, has a lovely ring to it. Chad Salmela: biathlete, skier, running coach, forever linked with “HERE COMES DIGGINS”, husband, and parent. He is also the lone member of his family of four without a Finnish passport, although he has Finnish ancestry. His wife, Mimmu, hails...

Nordic Nation: Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) and the Climate in High Performance Skiing

In this episode, hosted by FasterSkier contributor Rachel Perkins, we dive into the issue of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). This condition was formerly known as the female athlete triad, which was described as inadequate energy intake, the loss of menstruation (amenorrhea), and decreased bone mineral density. The name was changed to include males, who are also affected, and to expand beyond the three symptoms originally included. Though not quite the same, the condition...

This Op-Ed comes from Chad Salmela, the commentator for World Cup nordic skiing and IBU Biathlon at NBC Sports. Salmela also coaches running at the The College of St, Scholasticia.  *** Saturday’s Men’s Skiathlon and Why I Think it Matters I don’t have a blog and I didn’t get to call the race Saturday,  but I thought it was compelling on a couple levels. (Disclaimer: You may have figured all this out without me, so my...

Nordic Nation: The Calling it as He Sees it Episode with Chad Salmela

Long before the “Here comes Diggins” call by 47-year-old Chad Salmela at this season’s Olympics, he was already known throughout the ski world as an athlete and sports commentator. Let’s just say since the now famous call, Salmela’s announcing talents have become more well known. In what now may be considered his spare time, Salmela is a varsity cross country running coach and assistant track and field coach at The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth,...

2018 Olympics Viewing Guide: When and How to Watch

This article has been edited to include a link to an updated and more detailed guide to NBC’s television coverage. You may have heard that the Olympics are coming up soon. Your favorite athlete’s social media platform is probably showing them sitting on an airplane, going through Olympic processing, or wearing Those Gloves right about now. Plus Noah Hoffman is blogging again, which is the surest sign yet that the Games of the XXIII Winter...

From Biathlon to College and Back Again, Dickinson Eyes Olympic Berth

Two and a half years ago, Kelsey Dickinson automatically landed a spot on the U.S. World Cup squad for December. “Our goal for her this year is to make that Olympic team, for sure, but she’s really four years ahead of schedule with it,” Dickinson’s ski coach at Saint Scholastica, Maria Stuber, said. “Nothing about what’s going on right now is what I expected to happen,” Dickinson, a double-major in philosophy and natural science, said....

Press release) DULUTH, Minn. (Chad Salmela, an ex-board member of Duluth XC ski club. “In supporting the project, the college acknowledges its role as a community player and the role healthy lifestyles for a winter city plays in the lives of their students. It aligns the college with meaningful community initiatives of the city and its civic organizations. It’s a win-win.” St. Scholastica has the only varsity college ski team in the area, and this project...

Wednesday Workout: The ‘Death Blow’ with Chad Salmela

St. Scholastica Head Coach Chad Salmela shares his timeless and Seinfeld-inspired “Death Blow” workout. "What I love about this workout is the raw intensity and guts required while doing it," he writes. "... [It's] primarily for athletes who have raced a bunch but still haven’t seemed to reach into their anaerobic bag of tricks fully."

In Cutting Ski Team, Gustavus Adolphus Discounts High-Achieving Students, Alumni – And Risks Losing Future Enrollees

Current and former members of the Gustavus Adolphus ski team - which has a strong tradition of D-III excellence, having qualified a full team of three women to the 2008 NCAA Championships - were shocked when the team's varsity status was removed last week. They don't believe there is a compelling social or financial reason for the cuts, and say that without a ski team, they wouldn't have picked Gustavus.

The Search for Summer Snow

Getting a little bit tired of your rollerskis?  Feeling bogged down by heat?  Yearning for snow?  The St. Scholastica team has found the answer we’ve all been waiting for.  The only problem is the airfare to Sweden. Lead by coach Chad Salmela, members of the College of St. Scholastica Nordic team, based out of Duluth, Minnesota, headed out to Scandinavia on July 28th, and will spend two weeks training at a ski tunnel in Torsby,...