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Julia Kern

United States Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: 5th Women’s Ranking 2018/2019: 4th Men’s Ranking 2018/2019: 11th Americans to Watch: Seven men and nine women will be lining up in stars and stripes for the World Cup’s opening: Finland’s Ruka Triple. Three race series features a classic sprint followed by a two-day distance pursuit. At the top of the ranks, Jessie Diggins (USST/SMS T2) finished the 2019 season 6th in distance and 7th in sprint....

Day Three in Beitostølen: Women’s 10 k Freestyle

Sunday in Beitostølen, Norway the nation’s opening national races concluded with a women’s 10-kilometer freestyle race. The conditions remained as they have for the past few days — near freezing. The top-three spots were secured by the same skiers who took first through third in Saturday’s 10 k classic: Therese Johaug won in 21:48.0, Heidi Weng placed second (+31.3), and Helene Marie Fossesholm, at 18 years old, placed third (+32.8). U.S. Ski Team member Caitlin Patterson skied...

Norway’s National Sprint Opener in Beitostølen: Caldwell in Third

FasterSkier reporter Aleks Tangen was in Beitostølen to report. As a new feature we are posting interviews from the mixed zone in the report below.  The opening Norwegian national races began in Beitostølen, Norway today with a 1.2-kilometer women’s classic sprint and a 1.7 k classic sprint for the men. Beyond featuring a loaded field of seasoned and up-and-coming Norwegian skiers, the U.S. Ski Team is using these races as a tune up for next week’s Ruka,...

News Brief for the Week: The Mountain Runners & Skiers

Needless to say, cross-country athletes have big motors. Let’s start with The Rut 50-kilometer mountain run in Big Sky, Montana. With 10,000 feet of climbing and descending, it’s a burly affair. On September 1st, Erika Flowers, cross-country skier of note and Bozeman local, won the women’s 50 k overall in a time of 6:51:52.41 hours. This was Flowers’ first 50 k running race. South of rugged Montana, in the thin air of Colorado, Liz Stephen won The...

Hamilton on New Boards and U.S. Team Ramps up for Toppidrettsveka

By the time you read this piece, some skiers from the U.S. Ski Team (USST) will be settling in Trondheim, Norway for a two and a half week training camp. In total, five are making the journey from the U.S. The sixth skier, Kevin Bolger, no stranger to training in the region, has been in Trondheim for nearly a month. Bolger’s experience in Trondheim goes deep. He has trained there in the off season for...

North American Junior Cross-Country Performance of the Year

North American Junior Cross-Country Performance of the Year With the 2018/2019 season officially in the rearview, FasterSkier is running a series of articles highlighting some of the players and performances from the season. This honor goes to the most outstanding North American junior cross-country performance. Lahti, Finland became a winter playground – in a Formula One kind of way- for America’s upstart junior skiers. Solid performances during the World Junior Ski Championships landed numerous skiers...

Sunday Race Rundown (Updated 2x)

FIS World Cup Falun, Sweden 10k/15k Inidividual Freestyle The sun rises. The sun sets. And Norway’s Therese Johaug won the 10-kilometer individual start freestyle in Falun, Sweden. In 25:23.9 minutes, Johaug made her winning statement. Sweden’s Ebba Andersson placed second (+18.75), with the U.S. Ski Team’s (USST) Jessie Diggins in third (+30.3). Fourth place went to Ingvild Flugstad Østberg of Norway who finished 30.8 seconds back. Sadie Bjornsen (USST) raced to 12th (+1:05.7), Julia Kern...

Saturday Race Rundown

FIS World Cup Falun, Sweden 1.4 k Freestyle Sprint On a day when sugary snow course picked off skiers trying to advance during Falun, Sweden’s 1.4-kilometer freestyle sprint, Stina Nilsson, yes of Sweden, took the win. She won the final in 3:07.72 over Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla  in second (+0.67). The day’s top qualifier, Maja Dahlqvist, placed third (+2.14). The Americans entered in the race were some of the key players who tumbled on course. Jessie...

Falla Locks Up Drammen Sprint; Diggins Strides to Fifth

The World Cup entourage gathered Tuesday at the head of the Drammensfjord in Norway. The 1.2-kilometer classic sprint in Drammen, Norway — the post-Holmenkollen sprint stop on the calendar — was held under overcast skies and within a city center jammed with fans. Coming into Tuesday’s classic sprint, Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla had claimed two individual World Cup sprint victories this season and a World Championship sprint win in Seefeld, Austria. Falla remains consistent, having...

An Iconic Women’s Relay as Sweden Holds off Norway; U.S. in Fifth

The beautiful chess match on snow came down to the wire in Thursday’s 4 x 5-kilometer relay at the Seefeld, Austria World Championships. The chaser was Norway’s Therese Johaug, hustling to close an 18.8-second gap to Sweden’s Stina Nilsson. Known as a sprinter who comes to distance events with aerobic chops, Nilsson, who won bronze in the 2018 Olympic 30 k classic mass start, couldn’t be rattled as Johaug lurked ever closer as the 5...

Thursday Race Rundown from Seefeld: Sweden in a Nail-biter

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Seefeld, Austria Women’s 4 x 5 k Relay The race pack held together until the 3.5-kilometer mark of the scramble leg during the women’s World Championship 4 x 5 k relay in Seefeld, Austria. A bit over three seconds separated the top-six teams through the time check. gel voltaren gel By the time the third leg began, Sweden and Norway had surged and defined the race as a two team...

After a Long Wait, Johaug Wins Second Gold Medal in the World Championship Skiathlon; Brennan 10th

An emotional Therese Johaug of Norway stood atop the podium after the 15-kilometer skiathlon in Seefeld, Austria. While the race seemed to be decided during the second of two classic laps where Johaug began to pull away, the title has taken much longer to achieve. This moment was one she has been hoping for since she last earned the title during the 2015 world championships in Falun, Sweden. Johaug was unable to compete in the...

Saturday Rundown Starting with Seefeld and Ending in Hayward, WI. (Updated)

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Seefeld, Austria 15 k/30 k Skiathlon Men’s Race Report | Women’s Race Report Between 3.75-kilometers and 4.85 k on Saturday, Norway’s Therese Johaug began to pull away in earnest during the women’s World Championship 15 k skiathlon — by then she had built a near 15 second lead. The time back to the Norwegian would only grow. Johaug powered into the classic to skate transition zone in control with a...

Falla Wins in Seefeld with a Turbo to the Finish; Diggins in 8th

Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla torched the start of the women’s 1.2-kilometer freestyle sprint on Thursday at the 2019 World Championships in Seefeld, Austria. She skied snappy and smooth – her compact frame channeling energy downstream and towards the awaiting finish line.   Like a prize fighter knowing she had her peers against the ropes, Falla first appeared to give the knock-out blow a minute into the race. She pushed over the top of the first...

2019 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Seefeld, Austria 1.2 k/ 1.6 k freestyle sprint Welcome to The Rundown, your quick primer of need-to-know information about the day’s racing. We’ll be updating this digest as the day goes on with additional results, photos and quotes. The Rundown is NOT a race report; stay tuned for complete race reports later today with interviews from the day’s top racers. The women’s 1.2-kilometer freestyle sprint at the 2019...

Niskanen Wins Cogne 10 k Classic; Brennan 21st

World Cup racers in the Cogne, Italy 10-kilometer classic individual start enjoyed blues skies and sunshine on Sunday,  the temperate weather seeming to have carried over from Saturday’s sprint. Winning the women’s race was Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen in a time of 27:24.8. The victory is Niskanen’s second individual World Cup win–her first came five years ago in the Lenzerheide, Switzerland 10 k classic. With Sunday’s 10 k the final World Cup regular season race before World...

FIS Cross Country World Cup 10 k/15 k Classic Individual Start Cogne, Italy World Cup athletes returned to the Cogne race venue on Sunday for a men’s and women’s classic interval start race. In the women’s 10 k, Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen, won in a time of 27:24.8. Finishing just 3 seconds behind her for second place was Swiss skier, Nadine Fähndrich. Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva claimed third, 12.6 seconds behind the winner. Racing for the U.S., Rosie...

Diggins Wins Cogne Sprint; U.S. Puts 6 Women in Top 30

Until the very end of Saturday’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint race in Cogne, Italy, American Jessie Diggins had those watching on the edge of their seats. She advanced as the lucky loser in her quarterfinal and then once again in her semi final, before winning the final in a lunge to the line. “Man I am glad they do lucky  losers here!” Diggins told the International Ski Federation after winning Saturday’s sprint. “It’s so fun to...

FIS Cross Country World Cup 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint Cogne, Italy Amidst sunshine and sporting rolled up sleeves on Saturday in Cogne Italy, American Jessie Diggins took the women’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint win in nail-biter fashion. After making it into the semifinals and the final as one of the day’s lucky losers, Diggins outlunged Germany’s Sandra Ringwald by 0.11 seconds, claiming the victory in a time of 3:32.73. The 27 year old Afton, Minnesota native now has...

Sunday Rundown from Lahti and Canada (Canmore Biathlon Sprints Cancelled)

FIS World Cup Lahti, Finland Classic Team Sprint Sunday in Lahti, Finland the women raced a 6 x 1.4-kilometer classic team sprint. U.S. fans saw their hopes for a podium snuffed out in the two semi-finals that determined the 10 teams advancing to the finals. In the first team sprint semi, the U.S. Ski Team’s (USST) Ida Sargent and Sophie Caldwell  placed sixth overall and did not advance. Sargent and Caldwell, constituting team USA I,...