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Gold Rush Award

Novie McCabe—Gold Rush Winner and Alaska Bound

  Stifel U.S. cross-country ski team member Novie McCabe recently won the Gold Rush Award. This award is given to the Nordic Olympic woman who “has represented the U.S. in cross -country skiing and has demonstrated outstanding qualities of grit and grace throughout the year.” Past recipients include Rosie Brennan, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen, Sophie Caldwell Hamilton, Jessie Diggins, and Julia Kern. The past recipients choose the next award winner, so it’s quite a prestigious field...

Nordic Nation: Rebounding From Setbacks and Gaining Momentum with Julia Kern

At 24-years-old, Julia Kern is quickly becoming a seasoned veteran in her 7th year on the U.S. Ski Team. However, her career trajectory has been stepwise, not exponential.  After making breakthroughs during the 2019-20 season, including her first World Cup podium in a skate sprint in Planica, Slovenia, she faced injuries and setbacks heading into the following season in 2020-2021, leaving her walking away from that season feeling disappointed in both her World Cup and...

The US Nordic Olympic Women Gold Rush Award: A Closer Look

FasterSkier recently shared a press release on behalf of the US Nordic Olympic Women (US NOW) announcing Julia Kern as the 2022 recipient of the fourth annual Gold Rush Award. The release included comments from 2021 winner Jessie Diggins on the qualities that she, along with the other past winners, recognized made Kern deserving of this year’s award, but it became clear that there was a gap in FasterSkier’s coverage on the history of US...

U.S. Nordic Olympic Women Name Julia Kern as 2022 Gold Rush Award Recipient (Press Release)

As the 53 women Olympians who have  represented our country in cross country skiing, and calling our group United States Nordic Olympic Women (US NOW), we give an annual award, The Gold Rush Award, to a female athlete that demonstrates outstanding quantities of grit and grace throughout the year.  Huge achievements give everyone the joy of celebrating the success.  We know it takes many people to realize these high goals. We congratulate and are inspired by...

Book Review: Trail to Gold, the Journey of 53 Women Skiers

The rapidly approaching year of 2022, and the upcoming Beijing Olympics, will mark 50 years since women cross-country skiers first began competing in the Winter Games. With multiple World Cup podiums already achieved this season and strong chances for medals in February, the origins of the U.S. women’s program might not be at the forefront of one’s mind. We’ve become accustomed to seeing our women at the top of the results lists; with almost an...

Press Release This week a healthy gathering of the US Nordic Olympic Women, (US NOW), came together in a virtual meeting organized by group members Kikkan Randall, Alison Bradley and Sue Wemyss.  The group had planned to meet up at this year’s Minneapolis World Cup, after having met and enjoyed their first reunion last March, at the Quebec City World Cup. Determined not to be deterred by the World Cup cancellation, modern day technology and...