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Scott Patterson

The Devon Kershaw Show: Finals in Falun, eff yeah

It was full sun and full gas in Falun, Sweden, for one last hurrah of World Cup racing. The three-day weekend brought us new formats, American podium performances (plural!) and any number of other highlights. Thanks for listening over the course of the World Cup tour — we’ll be back periodically during the off-season with interviews and updates. You can email us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. We’ll catch up with a mailbag episode in the next few weeks.

David Norris: Missing out on 2022 Olympic Team selection, “making the best of it”, and what’s to come.

It’s hard not to root for David Norris.  Often affectionately described by Devon Kershaw as a “grinder”, the humble 31-year-old Fairbanks, AK native has been an eternal underdog, despite consistently performing among the best American distance racers of his generation on the World Cup. Highlighting his career, Norris has finished in the top-20 three times during his appearances in the 2019 and 2021 World Championships. His best result arrived in last year’s Championships in Oberstdorf,...

With Diggins as Anchor, USA I Comes Out On Top in Falun’s Mixed Relay

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 pleasecontact info@fasterskier.com. While it was perhaps not the final event originally planned for the season, today’s 4 x 5-kilometer freestyle mixed relay in Falun, Sweden shaped up to be quite a way to...

The Devon Kershaw Show: The Super Bowl of Skiing with Guest Jess Cockney

It doesn’t get much better than a weekend of full sun, epic skiing and meetings with the king of Norway. But that’s what we’ve got for you after another fun weekend of racing, at Oslo’s classic Holmenkollen venue. With help from Canadian retired Olympian Jess Cockney, we break down the 30 k and 50 k from Saturday and Sunday, touch on the COVID outbreak that’s hitting World Cup teams including the U.S. and take the...

Norway Sweeps Podium as Revelry Returns at Holmenkollen 50 k; Martin Leads US in 26th

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 Oslo on Sunday, came another sign of the times. The Holmenkollen Ski Festival, the beating heart and center of the modern sport of skiing since Torjus Hemmestveit won...

The Devon Kershaw Show: They only raced half a 50k. We’ve still got a full podcast.

This isn’t a spoiler, even if it spoiled some of the glory Saturday: Organizers shortened the Olympic men’s 50 k to a 28 k skate. People were mad; the athletes still raced and delivered a good show. We’ve got our own show here, featuring guest star Kris Freeman, the retired American Olympian. Alaska’s Scott Patterson threw down the best Olympic result for a U.S. man in nearly a half-century, too. We break that down, plus...

Bolshunov collects third gold medal while Krüger rebounds to bronze post-COVID; Patterson historic 8th place for USA

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. There were a number of stories to unpack during the men’s 50-kilometer mass start free, which was changed last minute to 28 k due to extreme weather conditions in Zhangjiakou....

Organizers cut Saturday’s Olympic ski marathon in half. Now they’re facing a backlash.

ZHANGJIAKOU, CHINA — The 28 kilometers that Alexander Bolshunov raced Saturday was only enough to take him just past the halfway point of the race he’d entered at the Winter Olympics. But Bolshunov, who competes for Russia, is still going home with the gold medal. That development is the result of a decision by race organizers to shorten the Olympics’ iconic 50-kilometer marathon event in the face of brutal wind and cold. But they’re now...

Niskanen with the golden stride in 15 k classic, while North American men hold strong on tough tracks

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 sport of cross country skiing, the Olympic 15-kilometer individual start classic might be considered the “granddaddy of them all.” The technique was classic, as was the...

(Results Brief) Niskanen strides away with gold medal; Bolshunov 2nd, and Klæbo 3rd; Patterson top US skier in 38th

In what might be the rematch of the games, Finland’s Iivo Niskanen faced Alexander Bolshunov of the Russian Olympic Committee in the 15-kilometer individual start classic event. In the opening event of the Games, the 30 k mass start skiathlon, Niskanen and Bolshunov raced together to set the pace well off the front of the men’s pack for the first 15 k, raced classic, but Niskanen could not hold the effort in the freestyle half....

For Patterson, 11th-place Olympic finish caps “insane” recovery from late summer wrist fracture

ZHANGJIAKOU, CHINA — Even Scott Patterson wasn’t totally certain he was the right guy for the American Olympic team in Beijing. The veteran Alaska cross-country skier broke his wrist in August, derailing his training and throwing his participation in the Games into limbo. When he finally made it to Europe to race on the top-level World Cup circuit, he placed fourth-to-last in his first event back. “I was a little bit questioning,” said Patterson. “The last...

Bolshunov Dominates Men’s 30 k Skiathlon to Win First Olympic Gold; Patterson Matches Olympic Career Best in 11th

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.   On the heels of the women’s opening Olympic race, a colorful lycra field in their Sunday best lined up to race the men’s 30-kilometer skiathlon. While the women raced a...

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...

Norris and Brennan Lead a Strong Showing for APU with Wins at the SuperTour 15k Mass Start Classic

By Rachel Bachman Perkins and Ella Hall The 2022 Sun Valley Nordic Invitational continued Sunday with 10/15-kilometer mass start classic races, featuring SuperTour, RMISA collegiate, and Intermountain junior national qualifier divisions. With overnight temperatures in the low teens which rose to roughly 20 degrees Fahrenheit by start time, tracks looked ideal for kicking and gliding on the meticulously groomed trails at the Lake Creek Ski Center in Ketchum, ID.  Today’s races featured four laps each,...

Sun Valley SuperTour Rundown: Brennan and Norris Lead the 10/15k Mass Start Classic

Quick Recap: We’ll have a full race report up tomorrow, including athlete comments and photos, but here is a quick recap of the action in the men’s 15k and women’s 10k mass start classic, which took place this morning in Ketchum, Idaho.   The 2022 Sun Valley Nordic Invitational continued this morning with 10/15-kilometer classic races at the Lake Creek Ski Center in Ketchum, Idaho. While temperatures were warmer than at the start of yesterday’s...

In-Depth Race Coverage: Patterson and Martin Lead 10/15k Interval Start Classic in SoHo

By Rachel Bachman Perkins, Ella Hall, and Gavin Kentch Thursday marked the final day of racing at the 2022 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Soldier Hollow, UT. (Friday’s classic sprint is a SuperTour only, not part of the National Championship series.) After prime conditions in Sunday’s freestyle sprint and Tuesday’s 20/30-kilometer freestyle distance races, warm and wet weather made its way into the forecast just in time for the 10/15k interval-start classic races. Temperatures that...

Craftsbury Duo Patterson and Martin Bring Home National Titles in the 10/15k Interval Start Classic

Quick Recap: We’ll have a full race report up tomorrow, including athlete comments and photos, but here is a quick recap of the action in Soldier Hollow this morning.  Warming temperatures and liquid precipitation set the tone for the final stage of the 2022 U.S. Cross Country Championship in Soldier Hollow. The livestream showed athletes of all levels struggling to find kick on the challenging Olympic caliber course. In the women’s 10-kilometer interval start classic,...

Rosie Brennan and Scott Patterson Take Distance Skate Races in Noteworthy Day for APU

By Gavin Kentch, Ella Hall, and Rachel Bachman Perkins Tuesday brought distance races to Soldier Hollow, in the second full day of racing at 2022 U.S. Cross Country Championships. The story at the front of the field was strong performances by athletes who had begun the year racing on the World Cup, as Rosie Brennan dominated the women’s field to win by over a minute, and Scott Patterson took the men’s race by roughly twelve...

Scott Patterson and Rosie Brennan Earn 20/30k National Titles in Soldier Hollow

Quick Recap: We’ll have a full race report up tomorrow, including athlete comments and plenty of photos, but here is a quick recap of the action in the men’s 30k and women’s 20k, which took place this morning at the 2022 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Soldier Hollow, Utah.  Perhaps becoming a theme of the 2022 U.S. Cross Country Championships, the 20/30-kilometer mass start freestyle distance races were both won by athletes who have spent...