Last winter, Jessie Diggins was just another up-and-coming American cross-country skier. At U.S. Nationals, she raced to a solid-but-unspectacular ninth place in the classic sprint, and at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Germany, her top finish was a 25th place, in the 10 k pursuit. What a difference a year makes. After collecting her first national title earlier this month, and only a couple of days removed from illness, Diggins placed seventh in the...
One of the best things about the World Junior and U-23 Championships is the potential for surprises. Sure, sometimes there are upsets on the World Cup, like last weekend’s victories by Eldar Roenning and Eirik Brandsdal in Otepaa, Estonia. But even if those wins were unexpected, they still came from familiar names—both Roenning and Brandsdal are regulars on the circuit. At World Juniors and U-23’s, which kick off Wednesday, there are likely to be title-winning...
New Gloucester, ME – The New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) today announced recipients of funding for this year’s US Ski Team J1 trip, World Junior Championships, and World U23 Games. This new funding was made possible by the recent generosity of NENSA members through its annual fund drive and online fundraising auction as well as the generosity of NENSA’s major sponsors TD Bank, L.L. Bean, and Trapp Family Lodge. NENSA’s Competitive Programs Director is...
Winners of the NorAm sprints in Thunder Bay also secured tickets to the World Championships. The weekend series serves as World trials for U23, World Juniors and the 2011 World Championships in Oslo.
Despite traveling the farthest distance, few teams outnumber Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Club at the US Nationals in Rumford, Maine. And still, some worthy skiers are left at home.
After a three-day series of trials races at Camp Ethan Allen in Jericho, Vermont, the U.S. Biathlon Association (USBA) has named thirteen athletes to the team for World Junior Championships. The event will be held in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, from January 29th to February 5th. The team is headlined by top qualifiers Ethan Dreissigacker (Morrisville, VT/Dartmouth College/Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club/Ethan Allen Biathlon Club), Sam Dougherty (Anchorage, AK/Alaska Biathlon/Alaska Winter Stars), Corrine Malcom (Hayward, WI/Maine...
Jan. 31, 2010 — Sarah Hendrickson of the Visa U.S. Women’s Ski Jumping Team captured the bronze medal Saturday at the FIS Nordic Junior World Championships in Hinterzarten, Germany. The 15-year-old Hendrickson, who attends junior high in Park City, Utah, is the first American jumper to ever earn a medal at the Nordic Junior Worlds. “I don’t think it’s really settled in yet. I’m really happy. I had two really good jumps,” Hendrickson said. Italy’s...
Like the women’s relay here, the men’s relay at the World Junior Championships today came down to to the wire. And just like in the women’s race, it was Norway that prevailed. As he attacked the last rise, Finn Krogh was able to do something nobody has done yet here: drop Russia’s Petr Sedov in a mass start race. With a Northug-like kick, Krogh propelled the Norwegian men to their first junior relay championship since...
Photos from today’s 10/15km individual start classic at the U23 World Championships in Hinterzarten, Germany. Brittany Webster (CAN) posted the top North American finish placing 5th. Men’s 15km Race Report Don’t forget to check out the FasterSkier
Once again FasterSkier’s Nat Herz is able to bring you the feel of today’s World Junior Championship action.
After a strong day by the U.S. U-23 team yesterday, the American junior women said they were feeling the pressure for a strong performance today in the 5k classic. “We’ve got to step it up and show that we mean business here,” said Annie Hart. While they didn’t exactly match yesterday’s fourth place by Ida Sargent, the juniors did manage a decent show of depth today, putting three of their four women in the top...
They’re not the Northug family yet, but give them some time. After Caitlin Patterson skied to a 17th place showing in this morning’s women’s 5k classic at the World Junior Championships, Scott Patterson wouldn’t be shown up, matching his older sister’s position in the men’s 10k in the afternoon. According to Matt Whitcomb, the head coach of the American juniors here, Scott had told his sister that he would beat her placing in his own...
Photos from the World Junior Freestyle Sprint in Germany. It was a foggy day in Hinterzarten.
Different race, different Northug, same result. With a finishing kick eerily similar to the one his brother has made famous, Norway’s Tomas Northug won the championship in the World Junior Sprint today in dominating fashion. The resemblance between the two brothers is striking, and beyond their facial features, Tomas also has the same blazing speed and Casco headwear made famous by Petter. Their attitudes are similar, too. When asked if he had stepped out of...
One misstep and one mistake, and it was all over for the American women in Hinterzarten. 50 meters into her quarterfinal here, Jessie Diggins found herself on the ground, seeing stars. Sophie Caldwell lasted longer, and was in contention to advance, but she lost crucial ground coming into the final turn that she could not make up in the finishing sprint. Sitting in third on the final downhill, Caldwell swung to the outside of the...
The U.S. Ski Team named its 2010 World Junior, Under 23 and Scandinavian Cup teams yesterday at the 2010 ConocoPhillips U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage. The top two results from each athlete’s three races this week were used to determine the teams. The group “is peppered with some very strong skiers, some of whom will have a chance to take a swipe at a podium or top ten finish,” said Matt Whitcomb, the U.S....
Praz de Lys, France – The Norweigan women and Russian men closed out the 2009 World Junior Championships with victories in the relay. The women raced a 4×3.3km event with two classic legs and two skate legs. The favorite, Norway, won in convincing fashion, led by Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg, who captured her fourth gold of the Championships as the anchor leg. Sweden, the one team with the depth to compete with Norway, finished second, 30...
Praz de Lys, France – The Russian men swept the podium, taking the top 4 spots in the 10km freestyle individual start at the World Junior Championships. Petr Sedov won his second straight gold, skiing to a convincing 32.6 second victory over teammate Andrey Kalsin. Pavel Vikulin was another 3.1 seconds back in third. Raul Shakirzianov was fourth, 10 seconds back of Vikulin. Sedov, started fast, and was clearly the strongest skier throughout. Vikulin started...
Women’s World Junior 5km Freestyle – Complete Results
Canmore, Alberta, Canada – The American 3 x 6 km Relay in the Youth Women class had moments of triumph and of struggle. Addie Byrne (Bovey, MN) led off for the team, shooting clean with no extra round in prone and only needing two extra rounds in standing she tagged off to Grace Boutot (Fort Kent, ME) in fourth place just two seconds off the third place Italian Team. Boutot skied well, posting the second...