(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Vidar Løfshus, head of the Norwegian cross-country ski team, and the team’s former performance manager, Åge Skinstad.) The News in English.no. “We had many fun years together on the national team.” Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset, a former skier who competed until 2011 and became a national team coach, recalled her “infectious humor”. Erik Røste, president of the Norwegian Ski Federation since 2012, said she was “an important ambassador for...
Note: This article has been updated to include more detail about Vibeke Skofterud’s accident as well as comments from her partner, Marit Stenshorne. A former member of Norway’s prestigious national ski team and a gold medalist in the 2010 Olympic 4 x 5-kilometer relay, Vibeke Skofterud, 38, was found dead on Sunday morning after a jet ski accident near an island in southern Norway. According to NRK, Skofterud was reported missing around 1 a.m. Sunday morning,...
Vibeke Skofterud, an Olympic gold medalist and Vasaloppet champ, is opening up about eating disorders which have plagued her career. Thirteen percent of athletes will have disordered eating at some point in their career, but Skofterud asks them to think bigger: "Do not forget why you're doing what you're doing... What is it that really makes you happy?”
For all the international-racing junkies out there, the Swedish and Norwegian Ski Associations recently announced the nominations to their 2014/2015 national teams: a couple new names, a few departures, but both are back again with depth in numbers.
FasterSkier contributor Gerry Furseth recently asked a few top European World Cup skiers about their favourite places to race internationally. Of course, there's some bias (since the interviews were done in Canmore), but several athletes didn't hesitate to reveal their top picks.
Justyna Kowalczyk knows a thing or two about racing in Canmore, and she used her calm approach to win Sunday's 15 k skiathlon, her second title at the Alberta World Cup, by nearly 35 seconds.
Justyna Kowalczyk is back on top of the World Cup podium, skiing away from the field to win the women's 10k classic mass start in Canmore, Alberta. Anne Kylloenen earned her first World Cup podium, while Maiken Caspersen Falla, took third for her first distance top-3.
While it's no surprise that Norway's women won the World Cup relay today, their margin of victory wasn't the largest it has ever been - for two legs, they were stalked by tenacious U.S. women. Jessie Diggins dug deep to retain a podium spot for the Americans.
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The 90-kilometer Vasaloppet is one of the most prestigious non-World Cup ski races in the world—such a big deal in fact that Petter Northug made the race his primary focus in 2012 following the Tour de Ski. Unfortunately for Northug, a stomach bug kept him from even reaching the starting line, and we can only guess at how he would have fared. Of course safe money would have been on Northug if he had been...
As the sunlight sliced through rows of majestic trees in Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic, Sunday around noon, a few of the Norwegians could have afforded to soak up the scenery in the women’s 4×5 k relay. They probably didn’t, though. Marit Bjørgen finally lifted her head to look around as she entered the stadium to seal the Norwegian win. With a nearly 40 second lead, Bjørgen as the Norway I anchor threw up...
The Marit Bjørgen (NOR), Justyna Kowalczyk (POL), and Therese Johaug (NOR) show continued in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, as the three packed the podium once again, this time in the 15km classic mass start. The recipe is simple, and easily repeatable. Take the three women listed above, mix together well in any type of distance race format, add in a hearty shake of snow, and bake for 15 to 45 minutes. The result will be...
Back in December I posted a short note about how Vibeke Skofterud has a tendency to ski considerably better in the early part of the season. Since we’re in the midst of a break between WC periods I thought it might be good to check in and see how things are progressing: Those are her [...] Related posts:
After struggling to match her form from last winter, Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) was finally back on top of the World Cup podium on Saturday in Rogla, Slovenia for the 10 k mass-start classic distance. Throughout the beginning of the five-lap race, Kowalczyk traded the lead on and off with Therese Johaug (NOR), who ended up fading to second at 22.1 seconds back. Her teammate Vibeke Skofterud (NOR) made a late-race challenge for silver, but ended...
Davos, Switzerland – There is no doubt that the Norwegian women’s ski team is currently the best in the world. On Saturday morning, during the 15 k individual start freestyle in Davos, Switerland, they absolutely dominated the leader board, putting six women in the top ten, and taking the first four places. Surprising no one, Marit Bjoergen (NOR) crossed the line with the fastest time, leaving Vibeke Skofterud the silver medal, 41.8 seconds back. Therese...
Podcast Shenanigans So I tune into the FasterSkier podcast tonight during my run, only to hear that I’m apparently the lead topic, by way of Kikkan Randall’s strong classic sprint (and distance) results in Kuusamo. Fair enough. As fun as it would be to turn this into a full on blog war, I actually think [...] Related posts:
Nobody was surprised to see Marit Bjørgen atop the leaderboard after the second stage of the Ruka Triple in Kuusamo, Finland today. The Norwegian star was the last to start, thanks to her win in the classic sprint yesterday, and had all the information she needed to beat her competitors – not that she needed it. Over just five fast kilometers, Bjørgen racked up a sizeable lead and cruised across the finish. It was a...
After packing seven women into the top 10 on Saturday, it was undisputed that Norway was the team to beat in Sunday’s 4×5 k women’s relay. And the Norwegians showed no signs up letting up, starting four teams that all contained talented skiers. However, it was obvious that only one was a clear standout – Norway I. Featuring the same quartet — Vibeke Skofterud, Therese Johaug, Kristin Stoermer Steira, and Marit Bjoergen — as they...
There were plenty of surprises in Saturday’s World Cup opener in Sjusjoen, Norway. Marit Bjoergen (NOR) was most definitely not one of them. The “Queen” of the 2011 World Championships with four golds and a silver served notice that she would once again be the woman to beat on cross-country skiing’s biggest stage. The 31-year-old Bjoergen threw down from the get go, building an early lead en route to a 27.1 second victory over Charlotte...
where she pulled away from Marit Bjoergen and Justyna Kowalczyk to become World Champion in the 30 k skate. Most importantly, Johaug’s prowess broke up the Bjoergen-Kowalczyk club, and introduced a new power into womens skiing. With Bjoergen knocking the stuffing out of every single woman on the circuit this year, and Johaug stepping up to a new level, the Norwegians have an unbeatable 1-2 punch in women’s skiing. Add in the aging but putting...