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Hailey Swirbul and the Way Opened by Jessie Diggins: by Paolo Romaniemi

“She Showed Us What We Young Americans Can Achieve.”  This article was originally published in the Italian publication www.fondoitalia.it. This translated version, lightly edited for clarity, was shared with FasterSkier by the author.  If Hailey Swirbul can be considered the most successful American cross-country skier ever at junior level and last season was able to get her first World Cup podium  in Davos’ 10km classic, the “blame” or merit is — at least in part...

Recharging the Batteries: The World Cup Squad Does April

For most serious ski racers, the training calendar begins anew somewhere around the first of May. As such, the weeks between the final World Cup races (or Spring Series in a typical year) and the beginning of May is regarded as “off-season”.  The primary goal is not necessarily to remain sedentary, rather to fill up your cup. To enjoy the activities that a full training and racing load might prohibit, to (safely) spend time with...

APU and UAA Skiers Take Season-Ending FIS Races in Alaska

  ANCHORAGE — The calendar said April, but the thermometer said January, as a small but well-credentialed field of athletes competed in a pair of FIS races at Anchorage’s Kincaid Park over the weekend. The April 10 and 11 events appear to have been among the latest FIS races held in this country in the past 30 years. Saturday morning in Anchorage dawned clear and cold. Anchorage broke its all-time temperature record for April 10 with...

Russia’s Stupak Wins Engadin 10 k Mass Start Classic; Diggins Fifth, Swirbul 12th, Brennan 14th

The story line from today’s near-to-the-end chapter of this World Cup season will not include the words high-tempo. News came from FIS earlier that Therese Johaug, winner of all the individual distance medals at the 2021 World Championships, was sitting out the weekend due to an inflamed wrist. Add to the injury list Sweden’s Frida Karlsson, who is recovering from an injury sustained in the World Championship 30 k classic. For her part, Karlsson placed...

Johaug Runs Away With Gold in the 30-kilometer Classic; Maubet Bjornsen 15th in Final Professional Race

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. A blanket of fresh snow lay on the ground while the frozen rocky peaks of the Bavarian Alps peaked through the clouds. Finally, Oberstdorf, Germany looked like a wintery...

Norway Leaves No Doubt in 4 x 5 k Championship Relay Win; Finland and U.S. Down to the Wire with Finland Taking Bronze.

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Tension built, tension released, as the build-up to the women’s 4 x 5-kilometer relay at the World Championships began under a partly cloudy sky, light breeze, and what we’ve...

Diggins Becomes the First North American to Win the Tour de Ski

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Though Devon Kershaw might fairly say “It’s not really cross country skiing,” as a viewer, the grueling climb up the Alpe Cermis is the crown jewel of the Tour de...

Stupak and Andersson Overtake the Americans to Keep the TdS Tight; Diggins 3rd, Brennan 4th

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. We have entered the back half of the 2021 Tour de Ski. With five of eight races complete, roughly 45 kilometers raced and a little under 25 remaining, fatigue has...

American Women Light Up Toblach With Another Diggins-Brennan 1-2 Performance

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Onward with the 2021 Tour de Ski! From the western edge of Switzerland, we’ve landed in the tiny and spectacular Italian village of Toblach. Nestled at just over 4,000...

Svahn Wins Back-to-Back in Val Müstair; Diggins 3rd, Brennan 6th (Updated)

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Light snow continued to fall in the quaint Swiss village nestled in Val Müstair as the athletes took to the tracks for the first distance stage of the 2021 Tour...

Tour De Ski Opens With Spills and Thrills in Val Müstair; Diggins 2nd, Brennan 4th

  This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Out with 2020, in with 2021. Here in the world of multicolored lycra and skinny skis, we are kicking off the new year with the opening of the Tour...

Brennan Secures Victory Number Two in Davos, Swirbul Finds First World Cup Podium in 3rd

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. New snow and cloudy skies did nothing to hinder the fire of Rosie Brennan as she sped around the 10-kilometer course in a time of 24:49.8, securing her second-ever...

Brennan Nails First World Cup Podium and Win in Davos; Caldwell Hamilton 5th (updated)

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. With a thick, fresh coat of fluffy white snow that fell over the last week, Davos, Switzerland looked regal as ever despite the smaller field and lack of spectators...

Johaug in Command for Ruka Triple Win: Rosie Brennan Spots Up for a Career Best Fifth Overall

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. For those new to the pursuit format, racers begin a set “time back” from the first starter, who in this case is the overall leader after two races. A...

10 K Classic in Ruka Serves Up a Win for Therese Johaug: Rosie Brennan 8th

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Just a few more rotations of the earth and we’ll be in December – trending towards solid wintertime. The World Cup, as it has for 19 years, swung up...

Sweden Locks Up the Ruka Sprint Podium: Brennan Leads the U.S. in 17th

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award.  To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. It’s a win to open the World Cup season in Ruka, Finland for twenty-year-old Linn Svahn of Sweden. Svahn’s victory in the 1.4-kilometer classic sprint on Friday capped a...

Coping with Corona

Madshus athlete Hailey Swirbul (USA) shares her strategies for getting the job done and preparing for the upcoming season amidst the corona pandemic that has hit the United States harder than any other Western country. “I’m trying not to stress out about it. The virus is out of my control. But of course, we are concerned. In our team, we no longer talk about what we will do if someone in the group gets infected...

UAA Skiers, Past and Present, On What the Team Means to Them

ANCHORAGE — It’s déjà vu all over again for alumni and supporters of the University of Alaska Anchorage ski team, following the recent announcement that, for the second time in four years, university administration wishes to cut the team for budgetary reasons. A common theme in their current responses is their concern that this time, the cut may stick. To start with, consider what Adam Verrier wrote on his blog four years ago, in November...

A Day in the Life from APUNSC : Hailey Swirbul

This series comes to FasterSkier from the Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Club A Day in the Life: APUNSC is checking in with Elite Team members of the course of the next few months to get a glimpse into what life looks like for elite athletes as training starts up again during a global pandemic. APUNSC is also running a fundraiser in which the Elite Team is working towards skiing 1,000 kilometers as a team...

Twenty-Three  Athletes Nominated to 2020-21 Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team (Press Release)

U.S. Ski and Snowboard Press Release U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team nominations for the 2020-21 season. Nominations include those active athletes who qualified based on published selection criteria in the prior season.  “The 2021 U.S. Cross Country Team has more depth than any team in modern American cross country ski racing history,” said Davis U.S. Cross Country Team Program Director Chris Grover. “From our seasoned veterans who...