Note: This Olympic roundup has been updated to include Czech skier Eva Vrabcová-Nývltová, who placed 26th in the women's marathon at the Rio Olympics on Sunday.
Oksana Masters of the U.S. Paralympics Nordic team never lost a cross-country World Cup race all season en route to a convincing overall World Cup win for the second-straight year. “Oksana brought impressive consistency to her racing this season,” coach Eileen Carey told FS.
The Norwegians may have won the race, but the Americans stole the show in the women's 4 x 5 k relay on Sunday in Lillehammer, Norway. For the U.S. women, placing third marked their first time back on the World Cup relay podium since December 2013. (Updated)
Alexei Poltoranin bested the Finns (among others) in Friday's classic sprint in Muonio, but otherwise the home country claimed all the wins: Mona-Liisa Nousiainen in the classic sprint, Sami Jauhojärvi in the 15 k classic, and Kerttu Niskanen in the 8.2 k classic.
To help with high-altitude training, the Finnish national team is skiing with 2-liter oxygen canisters on their backs which they breathe through face masks. Although not banned by WADA, Vegard Ulvang and others have expressed doubt and discomfort with the setup.
Heidi Weng climbed away from the crowd in Lysebotn, Norway, today, to take the win in the opening race of the Blink Festival by more than 30 seconds over Finland's Kaisa Makarainen. Susan Dunklee finished 15th, the top North American.
Finland will host the Masters World Cup for the fourth time in February 2016, welcoming roughly 1200 master skiers to Vuokatti.
Nathan Smith had the confidence he needed for Saturday's sprint on the first day of individual racing at 2015 IBU World Championships, even if the soft-spoken Canadian didn't show it. "I knew if I had an average day ... that it could be really good," Smith said. What he didn't expect was silver, Canada's first-ever medal for a male at World Championships.
Two misses wasn't so bad for Tim Burke, who relied on what he considered solid shooting to finish 15th on Saturday for his best sprint result since December. Lowell Bailey was close behind in 17th, and all four U.S. men made the top 60 for Sunday's pursuit.
Norway's Eirik Brandsdal stayed ahead to avoid turmoil and seized the win in Saturday's World Cup freestyle sprint in Lahti, Finland, while American Andy Newell won his quarterfinal and finished fourth in his semifinal for his best result of the season.
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.
In the big leagues this season, Finland's Iivo Niskanen, 22, not only notched his first World Cup podium on Sunday, but he won the men's 15 k classic individual start in front of a packed stadium in Kuusamo. Two Finnish skiers made the top three, and Norway's Martin Sundby took second.
Reese Hanneman spent most of last March on the World Cup circuit in Europe, so being in Finland is a little like coming home for the 24-year-old SuperTour leader -- except that he's 11 time zones away from home in Alaska.
We caught up with Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/Madshus) before she hopped aboard several planes en route to Muonio, Finland, where she'll train with the U.S. Ski Team for the next week before the season-opening World Cup in Kuusamo.
With another World Cup crystal globe in hand, Finnish biathlete Kaisa Mäkäräinen, 31, is gearing up for another season and World Championships at home in Kontiolahti. It hasn't been easy: she was sick for two months from May through June.
The U.S. Biathlon Women's A-team has been spending the last two weeks soaking up Finnish life and studying the 2015 IBU World Championships course in Kontiolahti with reigning World Cup champion (and local hero) Kaisa Mäkäräinen.
We haven’t seen the last of Magnar Dalen. After eight years as head coach of the Finnish National Ski Team, Dalen, 50, is moving on to coaching marathon skiers on a private team, he explained in an email.
Finnish skier Tero Similä has tested positive for the blood-doping drug EPO. While the case will likely put Finland back in the spotlight again after the 2001 disqualifications of six top athletes at World Championships for the same offense, Similä wasn't on the national team and one possibility is that he turned to doping to try to make the Olympic team (he did not).
In incredibly gusty conditions, Kaisa Mäkäräinen won the 10 k biathlon pursuit by a minute over Darya Domracheva of Belarus. Susan Dunklee of the U.S. moved from eighth up to seventh despite a whopping seven penalties, thanks in part to the second-fastest ski time of the day - and other racers' struggles on the shooting range.
Last season, Aino-Kaisa Saarinen was down and out. Little by little she has built back her fitness and self-confidence, with a secret ingredient: fun. After winning silver in the Olympic 4 x 5 k relay with her teammates from Finland, Saarinen thanked the U.S. women for inviting her to train with them in 2012 and said she had learned that you can't be so serious all the time.