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Kevin Bolger

The Devon Kershaw Show: fast and furious in Canmore, Day 2

We’re back, in less than 24 hours since hour last pod. Devon is burning the midnight oil in Norway to bring you this new episode recapping the excellent sprint races in Canmore today. Stay tuned for another episode after tomorrow’s race and a bonus episode where Nat will interview Sweden’s William Poromaa. Email us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com with questions, comments and race predictions. We’ll be back.

Norwegian Sweep—Minus Klaebo—in Oberhof Classic Sprint

  This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and 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 was a rare day on the World Cup, but patterns, established and emerging, were apparent too. The rare part: Friday in Oberhof marked the first time in six years that Johannes...

Klaebo Ignites Hometown Trondheim With Sprint Victory

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and 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. The World Cup’s all-time winningest sprint racer probably didn’t need a home-field advantage, but Trondheim native, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, got one as the World Cup pulled into the warm, wet, sea-side city on...

The Devon Kershaw Show: cross-country skiing’s most famous international couple

A couple of years ago, Swedish Olympic medalist cross-country skier Maja Dahlqvist matched with U.S. sprinter Kevin Bolger on Tinder. They’ve since become one of their sport’s highest-profile couples. The two of them, during an altitude camp in Utah last month, joined Nat for a joint interview. We’ll be back as the World Cup season kicks off in a few weeks. Send your questions, comments and hate mail to devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.

Scott Patterson 14th in Toblach 10 k Freestyle, Norwegians Sweep the Podium

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and 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. Racing in Toblach, Italy continued today with the Men’s 10-kilometer freestyle. Coming into the race Johannes Hosflot Klaebo (NOR) had won 13 men’s events and was only one victory away from tying...

The Devon Kershaw Show: Getting high in Livigno

It’s been a couple weeks since you last heard from us. The World Cup and the Devon Kershaw Show are back from a hiatus with a recap of the high altitude sprint weekend in Livigno. Devon and Nat break down the individual and team sprints from the Italian Alps, including some strong American performances. We’re still planning a mailbag episode in the not-too-distant future, so keep those questions coming: devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. We’ll be back...

Ogden and Schoonmaker Miss Skate Sprint Final by Narrowest of Margins as Klaebo Wins Again

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and 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. Lillehammer, Norway—that most timeless of ski venues—provided viewers with a familiar scene on Saturday: Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo exiting the final turn in the lead, gliding away from the field en...

Men at Work: U.S. Ski Team Takes on Torsby Ski Tunnel

If it’s August, it must be time to ski. Head Coach Matt Whitcomb and roughly half the men on the U.S. Ski Team, accompanied by a couple of well-known distaff guests, have spent the last week on snow in the Torsby Ski Tunnel in southwest Sweden. They raced in the nearby Inge Bråten Memorial rollerski race earlier today, and will compete in the Toppidrettsveka rollerski series in Norway starting on Thursday. It’s a multi-stage Scandinavian...

The Devon Kershaw Show: Distract yourself with Drammen

There’s a war going on in Ukraine, and we touch on its impacts on the World Cup. But ski racing is also continuing, so we’re forging on, with respect for and acknowledgment of the tragedy that’s unfolding in Europe. For a few hours at least, on Thursday, the classic Drammen city sprint provided one heck of a distraction, and Devon and Nat are back to break down some performances for the ages by Norway’s Maiken...

After a week of upheavals, the World Cup sprint show goes on in Drammen; France’s Jouve wins, while China gets its first podium

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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.   Cross country skiing’s most ancient, classic, weekend of racing in Norway (the Holmenkollen ski festival) began with a sprint through the center of Drammen, about 45-kilometers (30 mi)...

“So close, yet so far”: This international Olympic Covid romance is a story for our times

U.S. cross-country skier Kevin Bolger and Swedish racer Maja Dahlqvist met during the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus kept them six feet apart during the Olympics — except one celebratory hug. ZHANGJIAKOU, CHINA — American Olympic cross-country skier Kevin Bolger grew up in Wisconsin. His girlfriend, Olympian Maja Dahlqvist, is from Sweden. During the Olympics, in China, they got to spend a couple of weeks in the same place. Among their options for dates: • Go cross-country...

In Front of a Long-Awaited Crowd, Klæbo and Chanavat Take It to the Line in Lahti Freestyle Sprint

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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.   By Rachel Bachman Perkins and Ian Tovell During a brief reprieve from racing, the top tier of international racing made its way from the high desert of Zhangjiakou, China...

Klæbo Defends Olympic Gold as Americans Soar to New Heights in the Freestyle Sprint

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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.   During the American broadcast of the 30-kilometer Skiathlon on Sunday, NBC Analyst Chad Salmela made the comment that race represented the “old-school” of long-burn, grind-it-out ski racing. That...

The Devon Kershaw Show: Diggins Bronze Medal Highlights Historic Day for Americans in Freestyle Sprint

Get your cheese doodles ready. Here’s Nat and Devon breaking down (and celebrating) an historic day for the U.S. A bronze medal for Jessie Diggins stands as the highlight – she’s the first American woman to win an individual medal – but there were several other steps taken forward by the men and women wearing stars and stripes. In particular, Rosie Brennan popped the second fast time in qualification. Overcoming a bad pole plant-induced fall...

Avoiding omicron is an Olympic-level challenge for Alaska skiers with Beijing Games, and virus tests, looming

This article originally appeared on Wednesday January 19th, 2022 in the Anchorage Daily News. Reposted with permission. The organizers of next month’s Winter Olympics in Beijing have imposed a rigorous regime of testing, quarantines and isolation for incoming athletes and staff. Among the casualties is Steve Patterson’s pickleball game. Patterson has two adult children, Scott and Caitlin, who grew up in Alaska and are both Olympic hopefuls in cross-country skiing. They’re planning to prepare for...

(Press Release) U.S. Ski & Snowboard Nominates Cross Country Team Roster For Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022

PARK CITY, UTAH (January 20, 2022) — U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced today its nominations for the U.S. Olympic Cross Country Team to represent Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 from February 4-19, 2022. Nominations are to be confirmed by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee when it formally announces the U.S. Olympic Team. Fourteen athletes were nominated to Team USA, including the 2018 Olympic gold medalist and defending World Cup overall and...

Klæbo Runs Away with Third Stage Win in the Classic Sprint; Ogden 22nd, Jager 27th

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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.   As we begin Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski, the first classic sprint since the opening race of the season in Ruka, Finland on November 26th, we...

Keeping It In the Family, Iivo Niskanen Adds Another 15k Classic Victory to His Resume

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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. Lenzerheide, Switzerland was tucked into a snow globe today, as snow fell steadily in fat flakes throughout the races. The wax technicians had their work cut out for them as...

Klæbo Takes the Win in Tour de Ski Stage 1 Freestyle Sprint; Ogden and Bolger Qualify Top 10; Three Americans in Heats

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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.   To set the scene for the Tour de Ski, briefly turn to an episode from the event that inspired it. Cue “the Badger,” Bernard Hinault, who at the...

Norway Takes the Top Two Podium Spots in the Team Sprint; Bolger and Schoonmaker Ski to 9th

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the 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. In the wake of the American women taking second to the Swedish powerhouse duo, and yesterday’s top two spots on the podium, Maja Dahlqvist and Jonna Sundling, the men’s team...