Jennie Bender was the fastest of the day in every sense possible at U.S. nationals on Monday, winning the skate-sprint qualifier followed by her quarterfinal, semifinal and ultimately, the final by 0.61 seconds over Anne Hart. Runner-up Hart achieved a career-best result, and Caitlin Patterson secured her second-straight podium in Houghton.
On a bluebird day in Sun Valley, APU's Becca Rorabaugh skied to her strengths to win the women's SuperTour classic sprint final, while Craftsbury skiers Kaitlynn Miller and Caitlin Patterson fed off their teammates' success to round out the podium in second and third.
The first SuperTour races of the season have come and gone in West Yellowstone, but this photo gallery captures the essence of much of the racing -- including some shots that didn't make it into the race recaps.
BSF skier Jennie Bender dominated from qualifier all the way through to the final on Friday in the first SuperTour race of the season. “You go into the season and you never really know what picture you’re going to paint,” Bender said. “So I’m stoked on how things were drawn today.”
The results are in! Check out the winners and honorable mentions for our first annual costume contest.
“You will struggle, you will fall … You will feel all of the work is for nothing, but it will always turn out in the end,” Jacobsen recently told a group of 135 juniors at the International Junior Camp in Sjusjøen, Norway. One of the athletes at camp, Hailey Swirbul recounts the Norwegian National Team member's message, with an emphasis on happiness and hard work.
For this week's workout, one of nine American skiers invited to the International Junior Camp in Norway shares the training session they did Monday: a competitive skate-sprint simulation on a 1.5 k loop.
What's it like hosting a crew of Californians in Oslo, Norway? A junior coach with Heming IL and the Norwegian College of Elite Sports explains. He also brought a select group to the West Coast for U.S. Junior Nationals in Truckee, Calif.
Sugar Bowl Academy's Ambrose Tuscano recounts the recent success U18 skier Hannah Halvorsen found at the U18 Nations' Cup in Sweden where she landed on the podium in the 5 k freestyle. She followed up the performance with a win in the U17 classic sprint at Norwegian Junior Nationals.
Rosie Brennan didn't let a hefty amount of fresh snow hold her back, qualifying in second in a blizzard then dominating each of her heats, including the classic-sprint final, at U.S. nationals on Tuesday. With the exception of Becca Rorabaugh and Anne Hart, the rest of the women's A-final achieved career bests by making it to the final.
Annika Miller had no intention of letting three Norwegians beat her in Thursday's J1 girls freestyle sprint at 2013 Junior Nationals. "I really wanted to (win). I was like ‘You know, the U.S. needs to be on top today,’ ” she said. Alaska's Lydia Blanchet and Felicia Gesior of Great Lakes took the J2 and OJ titles, respectively.