Sadie Bjornsen – FasterSkier.com

Rosie Brennan isn’t a sparkle chipmunk. But “every human” can still relate to her hard-fought career.

Nathaniel HerzMarch 6, 2023

PLANICA, SLOVENIA — Anyone who knows Rosie Brennan, and the ups and downs of her professional cross-country ski racing career, can relate to her mother’s experience at the World Championships here. Walking among the crowds in U.S.-themed clothing, Wiggy Brennan heard the same thing, over and over, from European fans: “We love Jessie Diggins!” — a reference to Rosie Brennan’s gold-medal winning teammate. “And I say, ‘Okay. But what about Rosie?’” Wiggy said. That question...

The Devon Kershaw Show World Cup

The Devon Kershaw Show: The long-delayed mailbag, with Sadie Bjornsen Maubet

Nathaniel HerzFebruary 14, 2023

We’ve promised. And promised and promised. Now, it’s finally time for us to deliver: Answers to dozens of questions that came in from our dozens of listeners. Sadie Bjornsen Maubet, the World Championships medalist from Alaska, joins Devon and Nat to lend her insights into international cross-country ski racing. We’ll be back as World Championships get started in Slovenia next week; Nat will be on scene. Reach us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.

Community Feature News

The US Nordic Olympic Women Gold Rush Award: A Closer Look

Rachel PerkinsMay 20, 2022

FasterSkier recently shared a press release on behalf of the US Nordic Olympic Women (US NOW) announcing Julia Kern as the 2022 recipient of the fourth annual Gold Rush Award. The release included comments from 2021 winner Jessie Diggins on the qualities that she, along with the other past winners, recognized made Kern deserving of this year’s award, but it became clear that there was a gap in FasterSkier’s coverage on the history of US...

Community Feature News Racing Regional / Local

Cross Country With a Twist: NordicX Event Lights Up Anchorage

Rachel PerkinsApril 14, 2022

What comes to mind when you think of a cross country ski race? Depending on your location and how you choose to interact with the sport, there are likely a variety of answers to the question, but it’s likely that there are some common themes. “Cross country events are pretty much all the same when you boil them down, you know?” said retired US Ski Team member and 2018 Olympian Reese Hanneman. “It’s a test...

Podcasts The Devon Kershaw Show

The Devon Kershaw Show: More Olympic hardware for Diggins and a banner day for the U.S.

Devon KershawFebruary 20, 2022

What. A. Day. American cross-country skier Jessie Diggins scores another Olympic medal in Beijing, this time a silver, gutting out a strong race even though she was suffering from food poisoning. We break down the full 30 k freestyle race with Therese Johaug’s win and a furious chase for bronze. And we’re thrilled to welcome guest hosts Holly Brooks and Sadie Maubet (Bjornsen), the retired U.S. Olympians who joined us from Alaska. We’ll be back...

Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Sweden’s Sundling Edges Out Switzerland for Team Sprint Gold; USA 5th

Rachel PerkinsFebruary 28, 2021

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their 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. And now for something completely different. The skate team sprint. Three roughly 1-kilometer loops each for 7.2 k total, relatively flat with just two brief upticks per lap, winding...

Racing World Cup

Svahn Takes the Victory in a Tight Sprint Finish in Falun; Diggins 7th (Updated)

Rachel PerkinsJanuary 30, 2021

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their 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 case you missed it, yesterday’s 10-kilometer skate in Falun, Sweden was a standout day for the Americans, highlighted by a gutsy victory by Jessie Diggins. How deep into...

Feature World Cup

Sadie Bjornsen: Finding the Balance

Jason AlbertNovember 13, 2020

The cyclic nature of the U.S. Ski Team can be described as a slow churn. The team, most often, invests considerable time and resources on developing promising skiers. Roster turnover, from year to year, is rare. Among those rarefied athletes we take for granted as nearly always being part of the elite of elite is Sadie Bjornsen. Originally from the Methow Valley and now a resident of Anchorage, Alaska where she trains with APU, the...

Collegiate General News

Longtime USST Teammates Reunite in Support of UAA Skiing

Gavin KentchAugust 27, 2020

ANCHORAGE — The U.S. women’s epochal third-place relay finish at the World Cup stop in Gällivare, Sweden, in November 2012 is justly hailed as an inflection point for American skiing: For the first time in American nordic history, this country had four athletes who were all strong enough on the same day to challenge the traditional Scandinavian powers at their own game. The race begins Peggy Shinn’s historical treatment, World Class: The Making of the...

Collegiate General News

UAA Skiers, Past and Present, On What the Team Means to Them

Gavin KentchAugust 24, 2020

ANCHORAGE — It’s déjà vu all over again for alumni and supporters of the University of Alaska Anchorage ski team, following the recent announcement that, for the second time in four years, university administration wishes to cut the team for budgetary reasons. A common theme in their current responses is their concern that this time, the cut may stick. To start with, consider what Adam Verrier wrote on his blog four years ago, in November...

General Interviews News

Still Charging: Erik Bjornsen Retires at 28

Jason AlbertApril 30, 2020

Bright lights in PyeongChang. The men’s second semifinal of the Olympic freestyle team sprint was a career highlight moment for Erik Bjornsen. Fourteen teams would crowd the start lanes with Martin Johnsrud Sundby in bib 1. The Norwegian was paired with Johannes Høsflot Klæbo: The duo blessed with Sundby’s stamina and his younger counterpart’s break-from-the-pack speed. With Simi Hamilton racing the second, fourth, and sixth legs for the U.S., and Bjornsen leading off, the semi...

News Racing World Cup

Relocated to Konnerud: Drammen will wait 365 Days while Klæbo and Sundling Celebrate Now

FasterSkierMarch 4, 2020

Men’s Sprint Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Norwegian men showed up on form for today’s freestyle sprints in Konnerud, just outside the city of Drammen. As the venue was used for the Norwegian National championship at the end of January, most of the team has already had a dress rehearsal racing on the windy course. It seems that Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who sat out the national championships, did not need a dress rehearsal. He won the qualifier...

Racing World Cup

Johaug Takes the Stage 2 Win: Brennan in 10th, Diggins 11th

Jason AlbertFebruary 16, 2020

The early evening show, under the lights of Östersund, Sweden’s ski stadium, Stage 2 of the Ski Tour 2020 – a 10-kilometer classic pursuit – got underway as the plentiful moisture falling from the sky transitioned from steady rain to big snowflakes. This was a 10 k race with three discrete tales. First, the story with the least tension. That would be Norway’s Therese Johuag’s 10 k effort. Which, despite the pursuit format, was a...

General Multimedia News Photo Gallery

Red, White, and… Black? A Visual History of the USST Uniform, 2008–2019

Gavin KentchDecember 11, 2019

A national team uniform for cross-country skiing has to do a lot of things. At the most utilitarian level, it has to wick sweat and aid performance while an athlete pursues one of the world’s most demanding sports at temperatures between –4 F and 40, in steady snow or driving rain or anything in between. At the functional level, it has to let spectators and coaches identify where their athlete is out on the course,...

Racing US Ski Team World Cup

A Big Day for Maubet Bjornsen as she Places Third in the Ruka Classic Sprint

Jason AlbertNovember 29, 2019

A big day for Sadie Maubet Bjornsen of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) in Ruka, Finland. She placed third overall in the women’s 1.4-kilometer classic sprint. Italy’s Lucia Scardoni established the time to beat in the qualifier, 3:03.01. Maubet Bjornsen played her fitness cards early as she qualified in second, 1:15 seconds back. “It has been an interesting fall battling through some frustrating tendinitis in my feet that didn’t allow me to run or ski...

Racing US Ski Team World Cup

World Cup Preview: North America

Rachel PerkinsNovember 28, 2019

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....

Dryland General News Racing

Toppidrettsveka Rollerski Races in Norway: Day 2’s Sprint and Day 3’s Classic Pursuit

FasterSkierAugust 24, 2019

On Friday in Norway athletes gathered for a double-header day of rollerski races at the Toppidrettsveka festival. First up was a 25-kilometer skate race for both the men and women that concluded with a 1.5 k classic sprint in Aure. Below are the sprint race results. The U.S. Ski Team’s (USST) Sadie Bjornsen placed seventh overall, while Sophie Caldwell (USST) was 13th. Katie Feldman of the SVSEF Gold Team placed 27th overall. Women’s sprint...

News Other Racing

Toppidrettsveka Rollerski Races in Norway: Day 2, Sadie Bjornsen Wins

FasterSkierAugust 23, 2019

Day two of the Toppidrettsveka rollerski races began in Aure, Norway with a 25-kilometer skate race. U.S. Ski Team (USST) athlete Sadie Bjornsen won the women’s race in 1:10:12.4 hours. Katie Feldman of the SVSEF Gold Team finshed in 25th (+8:08.8). Thirty-one women finished the race. According to a translated article from Norway’s NRK, several athletes used faulty rollerskis. As a result, race favorite Fridda Karlsson crashed and did not finish. Full men’s results

General News

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

Jason AlbertAugust 15, 2019

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...

Resources Strength Training Workouts

Wednesday Workout: Inside or Out, Improve Your Double Poling

FasterSkierJuly 17, 2019

We are trying to stay slightly ahead of the overuse injury and poor air quality curves. You may be midway through your summer training schedule and dealing with a bum ankle. Or you live in a place like much of the Western U.S. that has been or will be affected by poor air quality due to wildfires. Whatever the causation, skiers can find themselves in make-do mode. If the air quality index (AQI) is high...

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