Citing poor air quality which irritated airways, a Norwegian team doctor says he provided competitors with asthma medication at Junior and U23 World Championships in Romania last season. But American and Canadian competitors and coaches do not remember having such problems, and expressed surprise that such medications were being given to young athletes with no medical history of asthma.
The final set of competitions, the team events, on Friday wrapped up the weeklong U23/Junior World Championships in Rasnov, Romania, with the U.S junior women skiing to eighth. The day before, three Americans landed in the top 15 at Junior Worlds: Jasper Good (nordic combined), Katharine Ogden and Ian Torchia.
Not many skiers are accustomed to skiing in slush, but those able to find their stride on Tuesday with temperatures in the mid-50s in Rasnov, Romania, tended to fare better on the second day of U23/Junior World Championships. Stratton juniors Katharine Ogden and Julia Kern notched top 20's and Jasper Good (U.S. Nordic Combined) achieved 11th in the first nordic-combined competition.
It was 50 degrees and sunny on Monday in Rasnov, Romania, which sounds pleasant, but what's it like racing in? "Pretty darn hot," Julia Kern explained, after racing to a career-best 16th in the freestyle sprint on Day 1 of Junior/U23 World Championships. Another American, Logan Hanneman placed 15th, and Julien Locke led Canada in 16th in the U23 men's race.