Flashback to 1964. That’s six years after the mega-fad of hula hooping, and five years before the psychedelic haze of Woodstock. A time when the country teetered towards war protest and Tricky Dick … (as in, “I am not a crook.” — Richard Nixon). What could possibly supplant hula hoops and pending cultural disruption? You guessed it, cross-country skiing. In 1964, John Caldwell wrote the first edition, of eight editions in total, what’s now...
Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen. At 30 years old, Jacobsen is a longtime member of the venerable Norwegian national ski team — and she’s truly busy. Her career on the World Cup has spanned a decade, bookended by her first World Championship medal in 2007 in Sapporo, Japan (a sprint), and three 2017 World Champ medals in Lahti, Finland. There, Jacobsen placed third in the 10-kilometer classic and 30 k skate and was part of the winning...
physical and emotional pain. (For all the details, you’ll have to listen to the podcast episode below.) As a middle schooler, Knori was diagnosed with severe rheumatoid arthritis. Knori skied at CU and notched 15th in the classic sprint at this year’s U23 Nordic World Championships in Utah. Clearly, Knori didn’t let her autoimmune condition dictate her goal setting. Bottom line, Knori is as tough as they come. And she’s a sixth-generation Jackson Hole native and new...
Joanne Reid was at the proverbial fork in the road: pursue academics after graduating with an Applied Mathematics degree from the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU) or compete as an elite-level nordic skier? Reid was coming off a collegiate season where she won the 15-kilometer freestyle and helped the CU Buffs win outright at NCAA Skiing Championships. It turns out, Reid, who turns 25 on Wednesday, is near completion for a master’s in engineering. And as it turns out, she...
originally posted his audio interview: “Few athletes remain at the top end of endurance for five years, let alone a single decade. New Hampshire native Kris Freeman, at 36, has been chasing fast times and fast skiers around cross-country ski loops for 16 years as a professional. For much of that time, Freeman was a staple on the men’s US Ski Team (USST). He posted the best results for a US skier in over two...
She bested the field to win the 10-kilometer skate at 2015 World Championships at home in Falun, Sweden and came from behind as the anchor leg at the 2014 Sochi Games train separate from the Swedish national team, and recovering from an nordicnation@fasterskier.com.
And this past winter on one day in mid-February, Bailey was perfect. On Feb. 16, he won the 20-kilometer individual race at the 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Championships Hochfilzen, Austria. Ten days ago, FasterSkier sat down with Bailey in Bend. The US Biathlon team was in town for an on-snow camp up at Mt. Bachelor. Bailey, of Lake Placid, N.Y., is a biathlon lifer, a husband and a dad. He plans on racing one more season through...
80/20 Rule — the easy to hard intensity ratio when it comes to training sessions, has been well publicized. Seiler believes easy days should be truly easy, meaning walking the hills may be mandatory. If the easy days are easy, then the hard days are hard. He espouses a fidelity to training models with little, if any, in-between efforts; that means no middle-of-the-road intensity. And his observations come straight from Norway. “… They know what gets you...
FIS Medical Guide (To subscribe to the Nordic Nation podcast channel, download the iTunes app. If you have iTunes, subscribe to Nordic Nation here.) Have a podcast idea? Please email
Evel Knievel devotee — note Schafer’s race suit. (To subscribe to the Nordic Nation podcast channel, download the iTunes app. If you have iTunes, subscribe to Nordic Nation here.) Have a podcast idea? Please email Is this for real?)
Through the four legs of the women's Junior World's 4 x 3.3 k relay the U.S. team was in it. Nordic Nation has the coach, Bryan Fish, and the four skiers (Hailey Swirbul, Julia Kern, Hannah Halvorsen, and Katherine Ogden) in this relay focused episode.
Two words that ring like a couplet when Musgrave graces the tracks: British nordie. Nordic Nation got British National Team member Andrew Musgrave on the line to discuss where he's been and what he's been up to.
Diggins placed fourth in that race. The FIS Competition Analysis is a tool coaches and skiers can use to see exactly where they skied effectively, and where they may have lost time. In Davos, pretty much Diggins skied fast. FIS Competition Analysis from the Tour de Ski’s stage 4 women’s 10 k freestyle pursuit in Oberstdorf, Germany; Diggins placed fifth and her U.S. teammates had an impressive day as well. Other references:
In this episode of Nordic Nation we talk with Norwegian journalist John Rasmussen to discuss Norway's skiing culture in light of the Johaug and Sundby doping cases. What better way to start your holiday than with Nordic Nation and Rasmussen.
"Imagine sprinting up twenty flights of stairs and then trying to thread a needle.” That's how Biathlon Canada veteran Rosanna Crawford describes the art of skiing, then shooting, repeatedly. Here, we learn about biathlon: how athletes prep on race day, and how Crawford approached her shooting on a personal-best day at 2016 World Championships.
Go, go, go. That's the type of energy Liz Stephen brings to skiing. From a high-tempo skate technique to steeper is better, Stephen has been a force on the Distance World Cup since her push into the top 30 in 2012. Last year was a setback for the Park City resident and she feels like this offseason she's done the work to make a rebound.
World Cup and Domestic Racing Reporter, Audio Specialist, 'Nordic Nation' Host, ski-mo junkie, jason@fasterskier.com