From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.
Moa Lundgren of Sweden out lunges Norway’s Tiril Udnes Weng for the win during the U23 World championship 1.4 k classic sprint in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Doug Stephen)
FIS Junior World Ski Championhips U23 1.4 k/1.6 k Classic Sprint
Monday, the second day of racing at the 2019 Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland the U23 women raced a 1.4-kilometer classic sprint.
Norway’s Tiril Udnes Weng set the standard in qualification. Her 3:26.52 minute time placed her in bib 1 for the heats.
Three U.S. skiers qualified for the heats. Julia Kern qualified in 16th (+9.09), Hannah Halvorsen 24th (+11.89), and Hailey Swirbul 25th (+12.31). The fourth U.S. entrant, Evelina Sutro placed 37th overall.
“Though it wasn’t a perfect day for the U23s, it was exciting to establish a baseline from which we can improve,” Swirbul emailed. “We were in the mix during the quarterfinals, and I think our team gave a good effort today but is left wanting more. Personally, I thought I had a good day. I felt good, had good skis, and raced to my strengths the best I could. I’m excited to see how this team and I progress over the next few years to keep moving up and up in the U23 division!”
Halvorsen skied in the second heat where she placed fifth (+2.39) behind heat winner Moa Lundgren. Lundgren posted a 3:24.60 finishing time in the heat and ultimately placed first overall. Halvorsen ranked 23rd in the final standings.
Swirbul and Kern were grouped in the third heat where they finished fifth and sixth respectively. France’s Delphine Claudel won the heat in 3:27.16, Swirbul was 1.31 seconds back, Kern 3.24.
Swirbul placed 24th overall, Kern 27th.
“It was a really cold day out there racing at the legal limit of -4F,” Kern emailed. “It was not the day I dreamed of, but I am looking forward to more races to come this week. I caught the tip of my ski on someone’s pole cornering the first 180 and took a fall. I was able to jump back up on my feet and hammer to catch up, but that energy cost me early on that I did not have cresting the last hill. It was really fun to get to race side by side with Hailey in the heat!”
For Canada, Sadie White finished 35th, Marie Corriveau 38th, Hannah Mehain 49th, and Natalie Hynes 55th.
Lundgren, who was the fourth fastest qualifier, won the women’s final in 3:18.33, only 0.05 seconds ahead of Weng in second. Russia’s Aida Bayazitova took third (+3.78). Anastasia Kirillova of Belarus was fourth (+4.12), Norway’s Amalie Haakonsen fifth (+7.75), and Johanna Hagstroem sixth (+37.54).
After racing on a slightly bigger World Cup stage, Valnes showed no nerves as he clean-sweeped the heats and the final which he won in 3:21.14 minutes. Russia’s Sergey Ardashev placed second (+1.38) and Norway’s Joachim Aurland third (+2.00).
In fourth place was Russia’s Ivan Yakimushkin (+2.59), Norway’s Sivert Wiig in fifth (+7.31), and Sweden’s Marcus Grate sixth (+15.53).
Canada placed three athletes in the heats after Ritchie Graham qualified in 19th (+12.32), Julian Smith 22nd (+13.39), and Antoine Cyr 24th (+13.84). Teammate Gareth Williams finished 52nd overall.
For the U.S., Peter Holmes advanced to the heats after qualifying in 20th (+13.05). Daniel Streinz placed 41st overall, Hunter Wonders 56th, and Braden Becker 63rd.
“It was a good day out in Lahti, sunny skies but brutally cold,” emailed Holmes. “The Junior’s performance the previous day amped me up and made me excited to race. I had a solid qualifier and was feeling very good in the quarter final. I was positioned well throughout the race, but unfortunately got tangled up with another skier in my heat on the last downhill and went down. It’s a bummer, especially at U23s, but that’s racing.”
No North Americans advanced beyond the quarterfinals. Holmes placed sixth in the first quarterfinal to conclude his day ranked 27th in the final standings.
Cyr was fourth in the second heat and placed 20th overall.
Smith and Graham were fourth and sixth respectively in heat four. Smith ranked 19th overall, Graham 26th.
The U.S. men’s silver-medal relay at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland, with (from left to right) Luke Jager, Hunter Wonders, Gus Schumacher, and Ben Ogden. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)
(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Americans Ben Loomis, Luke Jager and Gus Schumacher.)
Junior World Championships (Goms, Switzerland): Men’s and women’s relays
Two individual medals and a relay podium. That’s how the U.S. team fared this week at Junior World Championships in terms of a medal count, but the significance of its breakthroughs go way beyond the hardware.
Hailey Swirbul became the most successful American nordic skier at Junior World Championships with a silver and a bronze in the two women’s distance races. Then, on Saturday, the U.S. men took their turn in the spotlight, racing to second and almost first in the 4 x 5-kilometer relay for the best relay finish by an American team at Junior Worlds. Last year, the U.S. women placed third at 2017 Junior Worlds at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.
Luke Jager started the team off on Saturday as the first classic leg, putting the U.S. men in sixth at the first exchange, 14 seconds behind Sweden in first.
While Sweden dropped to second on the next leg, the U.S. continued to move up, with Ben Ogden racing to fourth, 8.5 seconds out of first, behind Norway, Russia and France, respectively.
On the first freestyle leg, Hunter Wonders held the U.S. in fourth and tagged anchor Gus Schumacher in fourth, 31.3 seconds out of first. Norway continued to lead with France, and Russia skied about 5 seconds back in third with 5 k to go.
Schumacher then skied the fastest anchor leg to race up to second, passing France and finally Russia in the finishing straight, as he crossed the line 2.2 seconds behind Norway’s Jørgen Lippert — who eased up in the finish and secured the Norwegian gold with a total time of 50:04.2 minutes.
The men’s 4 x 5 k relay podium at 2018 Junior World Championships with Norway (c) in first, the U.S. (l) in second (Ben Ogden, Luke Jager, Gus Schumacher, Hunter Wonders), and Russia (r) in third. (Photo: Julia Kern)
The U.S. placed second, 3.3 seconds ahead of Russia in third (+5.5), and France finished fourth (+29.6).
Norway’s winning team included two men who won individual golds this week, Harald Østberg Amundsen (in the 20 k skiathlon) and Jon Rolf Skamo Hope (10 k classic), as well as Håvard Moseby and Lippert (who took bronze in two races).
Russia’s team was made up of Kirill Kilivnyuk, Sergey Ardashev, Yaroslav Rybochkin, and Alexander Terentev. Team France was Camille Laude, Hugo Lapels, Tom Mancini, and Pierre Tichit.
Canada placed 11th (+3:12.8) with Antoine Cyr, Ritchie Graham, Felix Longpre, and Etienne Hebert. Sixteen teams contested the men’s relay on the final day of Junior Worlds in Goms.
American Luke Jager (9) skiing with Norway’s Harald Østberg Amundsen (1), France’s Camille Laude (3), and Sweden’s Jacob Nystedt (8) during the first leg of the men’s 4 x 5 k relay on Saturday at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland. (Photo: Julia Kern)
In an email, Jager, who turned 18 last month, explained that he was grateful for the opportunity to race at his first Junior Worlds.
“I barely qualified for this trip after a tough week in Anchorage so my options for starts were super limited,” Jager wrote. “I got the sprint start last week which was pretty horrendous and then a guaranteed spot on the relay team. So I had the whole week to prepare and rest. Watching the boys all week we realized that a medal could be possible and we started targeting that super closely.”
But over the last week, Jager hadn’t been feeling well.
“I was feeling really really bad in the days following the sprint and could barely get out and ski for 60 minutes each day,” he recalled. “I had actually told [U.S. Ski Team Development Coach Bryan] Fish that if I continued to feel as bad as I had been I was gonna sit out the relay. But I started feeling better and better throughout the week and was feeling really good this morning.”
He had previously asked Fish if he could ski the scramble leg.
“Bryan was stoked about it too so that decision was easy,” Jager explained. “This group of dudes is perfect for each leg of a relay so we barely even needed to discuss order. I am definitely a stronger classic skier so I was stoked to be able to get some redemption for my poor form in the last month.”
Schumacher, 17, explained he found out the relay order on Friday night and “really started to get excited about it,” he wrote in an email. “We had some foreign friends say that they thought we could do well so that really helped confidence.”
From the gun, Jager expected a fast pace and pushed to put himself in the lead group while trying to conserve energy and avoid any tangles He locked onto Norway’s Amundsen and by the last climb on the second lap, found that the group was beginning to string out.
“I was thankfully able to hold on just enough to maintain connection with the leaders and put Ben in a position where he could do his thing,” Jager wrote. “I would have liked to be a little further up in the group when I tagged off to Ben but the Swedes’ first skier had done so much damage in the last minutes that we were all in single file and pretty much in survival mode up the last climb.”
Russia’s Alexander Terentev leading Norway’s Jørgen Lippert, American Gus Schumacher (9), and France’s Pierre Tichit (3) up a climb in the final leg of the men’s 4 x 5 k relay at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland. (Photo: Julia Kern)
Fast-forward to Schumacher getting tagged in fourth in the final exchange, 31.5 seconds behind Norway in first, 30.9 seconds behind France in second, and 26.2 seconds behind Russia in third. Despite the gap, he believed he could close it.
“I definitely thought those three were in reach, and I wanted to catch them, if for no other reason than to keep clear of 5th and 6th,” Schumacher wrote. “I focused on really holding steady for the first 2k, then starting to push more, and I was able to catch that lead pack and then recover with them for the last sprint, which did end up really hurting.”
While he had distanced himself from France and secured third by the final hill, he hadn’t anticipated catching Russia or Norway.
“By the time I got through the downhill corner, however, I was closing fast on the Russian and realized I was right there,” Schumacher wrote. “I popped around the last corner and was almost even with Russia, then after a few seconds of sprinting I pulled ahead and he slowed down and I knew I had it.”
While Jager explained he’s not one to get very nervous about racing, Saturday was completely different.
“… Watching the rest of the race progress was one of the most nerve wracking experiences of my life,” he wrote. “When Hunter tagged off to Gus I knew we were really really gonna be in the fight for a medal. I’ve been racing Gus for most of my life and I know when that kid is gonna throw down and produce a miracle and I could see it…
“This is something this group of guys has been dreaming of and training for for a really long time now,” he added. “To be able to watch that dream come into fruition today was indescribable. Probably the best day of my life since Cole Morgan added me on Snapchat. We came here this year to show the world that US skiing is the real deal and that we’re here to stay and I think we did that. To be able to be a piece of that history was an honor.”
“Experiencing the podium here has been so cool,” Schumacher wrote. “I thought it was possible, but actually getting it feels amazing. This whole trip has been really cool even without this success, it’s such an amazing place and the team is tight. I think individually I anticipated results maybe a little better, but this seems about right, and as a team I think we all surprised ourselves. Together we can make some big waves.”
Germany Wins Women’s Relay; U.S. 8th
In the women’s 4 x 3.3 k relay earlier on Saturday, Germany took the win by 8.6 seconds over Russia with a winning time of 39:17.4. Sweden finished third, 47.5 seconds out of first.
Germany’s Alexandra Danner, Celine Mayer and Lisa Lohmann await their teammate Anna-Maria Dietz at the finish of the women’s 4 x 3.3 k relay on Saturday at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland. Germany placed first and Russia finished second, 8.6 seconds later. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)
Germany (Alexandra Danner, Celine Mayer, Lisa Lohmann, Anna-Maria Dietz) improved from third on the first leg, to second on the second and third legs, and final first on Dietz’s anchor leg.
Russia (Polina Nekrasova, Hristina Matsokina, Nina Dubotolkina, Maya Yakunina) led the race from the first through the third and final exchange, before slipping to second at the finish.
Sweden (Tua Dahlgren, Frida Karlsson, Alicia Persson, Johanna Hagström) rebounded from 13th and more than a minute and a half back at the first exchange to tag in fourth and 28 seconds out of first thanks to Karlsson’s fastest second-leg time. By the final exchange, they were up to third and they held that position to the finish.
The U.S. women’s 4 x 3.3 k relay at 2018 Junior World Championships, with (from left to right) Hailey Swirbul, Kathleen O’Connell, Hannah Halvorsen, and Molly Gellert. They placed eighth on Saturday. (Photo: Julia Kern)
The U.S. placed eighth (+1:08.1) with Kathleen O’Connell, Swirbul, Molly Gellert, and Hannah Halvorsen. After O’Connell put them in eighth and about a minute back on the first leg, Swirbul skied them up to sixth with the second-fastest second leg, 30.1 seconds out of first. Gellert held onto that position on the first skate leg, but Halvorsen slipped two places on the anchor leg to finish eighth.
Canada finished 15th (+4:47.8) out of 16 teams with Hannah Mehain, Natalie Hynes, Annika Richardson, and Alexandra Racine.
Slovenia’s Vid Vrhovnik (3) celebrates his win in the last nordic-combined competition of 2018 Junior World Championships, the individual normal hill/5 k, on Saturday in Kandersteg, Switzerland, while the Czech Republic’s Jan Vytrval, Austria’s Dominik Terzer and American Ben Loomis (r) battle for second. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)
Nordic Combined Junior World Championships (Kandersteg, Switzerland): Normal hill/5 k Gundersen
In the final nordic-combined competition of Junior Worlds, American Ben Loomis nearly notched his second podium of the week, missing it by one-tenth of a second in fourth place.
American Ben Loomis (7) leads Austria’s Johannes Lamparter during Saturday’s 5 k at 2018 Nordic Combined Junior World Championships in Kandersteg, Switzerland. Loomis went on to place fourth and Lamparter finished eighth. (Photo: Romina Eggert)
Slovenia’s 18-year-old Vid Vrhovnik won the individual normal hill/5 k Gundersen by 4.9 seconds over Austria’s Dominik Terzer. After posting the third-best jump on the 106-meter hill, Vrhovnik started the 5 k race 6 seconds behind Germany’s Luis Lehnert in first. Terzer jumped to second and started just 4 seconds behind, while the Czech Republic’s Jan Vytrval jumped to fourth and started 10 seconds back. Loomis jumped to seventh (just as he did on Tuesday before racing to third place) and started 27 seconds out of first.
“I was happy with my jump being closer in time to the front,” Loomis wrote in an email about his his jump, which put him about 10 seconds closer to the leaders than on Tuesday. “I didn’t feel quite as lucky with the wind. I was hoping to jump around the top 5, but 7th, only 27sec back was good, too.”
Over the two-lap 5 k, Vrhovnik battled with Terzer, while Lehnert slipped to seventh at the finish, 23.5 seconds behind. The Slovenian took the win by nearly five seconds over Terzer in 11:28.8, and Vytrval outlunged Loomis for third place (+5.4). Loomis placed fourth (+5.5), well ahead of Norway’s Einar Lurås Oftebro in fifth (+18.4).
Ben Loomis (USA Nordic) on the last day of 2018 Nordic Combined Junior World Championships in Kandersteg, Switzerland. He jumped to seventh and moved up to fourth in the 5 k. (Photo: Romina Eggert)
“I was able to catch places 3-6 on the first lap and ski with them through the beginning of the second lap,” Loomis wrote. “Towards the end of second lap I closed down on second place (Jan Vytral) with Dominik Terzer. On the last corner we packed up in positions 2-4.
“The finish started with a sharp downhill corner followed by a quick stretch less than 100 meters,” he continued. “I came into the finishing lanes in second but unfortunately took the wrong line and was passed by Dominik and never quite caught Jan in front of me.”
While he had been hoping for another podium, Loomis acknowledged that he was pleased to ski the fastest race time and “be battling at the front”.
“Overall I am leaving Switzerland with my goals accomplished and feeling satisfied,” he wrote. “It would have been nice to walk away with a double podium but I am still very happy with how to week went. This week has been a huge confidence booster going into the Olympics next week. I am very excited to represent my country and enjoy my time at the games. I am looking to have fun, take in experience and not overthink the results.”
Also for the U.S., Stephen Schumann placed 18th (+1:18.6), up one place from 19th in the jump, Jared Shumate finished 40th (+3:05.7), up from 48th in the jump, and Tucker Hoefler was 55th (+5:50.5), after jumping to 55th.
The podium at Saturday’s Nordic Combined World Cup in Hakuba, Japan, with Japan’s Akito Watabe (c) in first, Norway’s Jan Schmid (l) in second and Germany’s Manuel Faißt (r) in third. (Photo: FIS/Flawia Krawczyk)
Nordic Combined World Cup (Hakuba, Japan): Large hill/10 k Gundersen
Many of the winter-sports World Cups were off this weekend before the Olympics start in earnest a week from today in PyeongChang, South Korea, but not nordic combined, which had a World Cup stop in Hakuba, Japan.
There, local hero Akito Watabe took the win in 24:14.6 minutes, a whopping 1:12.6 minutes clear of Norway’s Jan Schmid in second. Germany’s Manuel Faißt placed third, 1:22 back, and Estonia’s Kristjan Ilves finished 52 seconds later in fourth (+2:14).
The lone American competing in Saturday’s 10 k Gundersen, Ben Berend achieved his first individual World Cup top 30, placing 23rd (+4:31.7) after jumping to 16th on Hakuba’s 134-meter large hill.
Watabe led from the beginning of the day after jumping to first, ahead ofIlves in second, Faißt in third, and Schmid in fourth. Watabe started the 10 k with a 16-second head start on Ilves, while Faisst started 52 seconds out of first and Schmid started 1:08 behind.
Berend started the 10 k with a 2:36 deficit to first, with five others within 10 seconds of him. His teammate Adam Loomis did not start the 10 k after jumping to 38th.
Another individual large hill/10 k Gundersen will be held on Sunday in Hakuba. The first nordic combined competition in PyeongChang, the individual normal hill/10 k, is set for Wednesday, Feb. 14.
The men’s 15 k freestyle podium at 2018 Eastern Canadian Championships in Gatineau, Quebec, with Jack Hegman (c) in first, David Norris (l) in second and Tad Elliott (r) in third. (Photo: Rob Smith)
NorAm Eastern Canadian Championships (Gatineau, Quebec): 10/15 k freestyle
Americans swept the podium in both the men’s and women’s freestyle individual starts on Saturday at Eastern Canadian Championships in races that count toward both NorAm and SuperTour standings.
According to unofficial results, Jack Hegman, of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF), won the men’s 15 k by 9.1 seconds over David Norris, of Alaska Pacific University (APU), in 35:44.9. Tad Elliott (Ski Club Vail) placed third (+38.7) just ahead of the top Canadian, Jack Carlyle, of the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA), in fourth (+41.7).
The U.S. occupied eight of the top 10 in the men’s race, with Kevin Bolger (SVSEF) in fifth (+45.0), Ben Lustgarten, of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) in sixth (+52.3), Brian Gregg (Team Gregg/LNR/CXC) in seventh (+57.0), Rogan Brown (SVSEF) in eighth (+58.1), Canada’s Scott Hill (Barrie Cross Country) in ninth (+1:14.7), and Eric Packer (APU) in 10th (+1:18.6).
The women’s 10 k freestyle podium at 2018 Eastern Canadian Championships in Gatineau, Quebec, with Rosie Frankowski (c) in first, Becca Rorabaugh (l) in second and Erika Flowers (r) in third. (Photo: Rob Smith)
After placing second in a 10 k freestyle at last weekend’s SuperTour in Craftsbury, Vermont, Rosie Frankowski (APU) won the women’s 10 k freestyle on Saturday in Gatineau by more than 30 seconds in 27:07.3. Her teammate Becca Rorabaugh (who won the Craftsbury 10 k skate as well as Friday’s classic sprint in Gatineau) placed second (+37.1) on Saturday, and Erika Flowers placed third (+1:26.4) for the third-straight race.
Frédérique Vézina, of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre, led the Canadians in fourth (+1:46.2), while America Liz Guiney (CGRP) placed fifth (+1:52.2), and Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (Rocky Mountain Racers) finished sixth (+1:56.4).
Also in the top 10, Kaitlynn Miller (CGRP) placed seventh (+1:57.8), Felicia Geisor (CXC Team) was eighth (+2:18.5), Zoë Williams (Carleton University) ninth (+2:39.6) and Annika Hicks (AWCA) 10th (+2:43.4).
Eastern Canadian Championships conclude Sunday with 10/15 k classic pursuits at the Nakkertok Nordic Ski Centre.
American Hailey Swirbul (University of Alaska Anchorage) leads Norway’s Lone Johansen up a climb during the second half of the women’s 10 k skiathlon on Thursday at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)
(This article has been updated to include comments from Americans Hailey Swirbul and Gus Schumacher.)
Junior World Championships (Goms, Switzerland): 10/20 k skiathlons
Hailey Swirbul is 2-for-2 when it comes to podiums at this year’s Junior World Championships; in her second-straight race this week in Goms, the 19-year-old American earned a medal in a distance race. On Thursday, it was bronze in the women’s 10-kilometer skiathlon.
The women’s 10 k skiathlon podium at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland, with Sweden’s Frida Karlsson (c) in first, Norway’s Lone Johansen (l) in second, and American Hailey Swirbul (r) in third. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)
Swirbul, a sophomore at the University of Alaska Anchorage, closed the gap to the leaders over the final 5 k skate portion of Thursday’s race, doing so in tough, slow conditions with heavy snowfall. She ended up third in a sprint finish with Norway’s Lone Johansen, who took second by 0.7 seconds, as the two finished 35.5 seconds and 36.2 seconds behind the winner, Sweden’s Frida Karlsson, respectively.
Karlsson won it in 32:55.7 minutes. She had been second at the transition from classic to skate halfway through the race, just behind France’s Laura Chamiot-Maitral in first. Four women came through the exchange together within 2.6 seconds of first, while Swirbul was about 15 seconds back in eighth.
“Coming into the exchange I was right where I wanted to be,” Swirbul wrote in an email to FasterSkier. “I knew that some of the girls ahead of me would not be able to sustain their pace the entire skate leg. It was important for me to remember that and not try to close the gap too quickly with the Norwegian I was skiing with.”
While Karlsson broke away over the final 5 k, Swirbul helped lead the chase, moving into second and 31 seconds back on a long, steep climb at 6.7 k.
“I won’t lie, the skate leg was tough! I think everyone was suffering out there in the fresh snow,” Swirbul wrote. “I tried to conserve energy on the gradual downhill before the big climb to use on the hill.”
On the last lap, she worked to distance herself from fourth place.
“I knew that the fourth place skier was closing in on us the last lap,” she wrote. “Going up the final hill, I had to make a move to secure a podium spot and give what I had to ski away form the fourth place girl over the second to last big climb. The last few hundred meters were so intense! I didn’t have anything left to sprint it out for second place. Gotta work on that!”
Two days ago, Swirbul placed second in the 5 k classic for her first individual medal and the best-ever finish for the U.S. at Junior Worlds.
“This means so much,” she told race organizers after taking third in Thursday’s skiathlon. “I’m so happy to represent the United States here and show how we can improve in the future and what we have in our country.”
In her email to FasterSkier, Swirbul explained that she entered Thursday’s race confident yet calm.
“After my silver medal I believed in myself more than before,” she wrote. “However, I managed to stay calm and not put high expectations on myself for the skiathlon which allowed me to race my best. I was hoping to ski smart and relaxed and not be afraid to make it hurt! In a mass start that is really all I can control.”
For much of the first leg, about 4 k, she skied with what she described as “a huge pack of girls, which was kind of stressful for me.”
“It’s harder for me to match the stride of someone almost a foot smaller than I am in a classic track, so once the group broke up I was able to find my rhythm,” Swirbul wrote. “The snow storm made the tracks super slow where they weren’t skied in, so it was a waste of energy to try to pass people outside of the skied in track. I made that mistake a few times and ended up not passing anyone, just wasting energy plowing through powder.”
But her skis felt fast in both the classic and skate legs, she noted. “The wax techs have been killing it!”
With one race left, the women’s 4 x 3.3-kilometer relay on Sunday, Swirbul wrote that she was eyeing another podium.
“I think it is fair to think that our relay team has a good shot at the podium. That would be the cherry on top :)”
Karlsson told organizers that she was focused solely on the gold on Thursday.
“It was very fun today and my body felt very good, then I was just going for the gold today,” Karlsson said. In her first Junior Worlds, she had previously placed third in the skate sprint earlier in the week.
“It means a lot,” Karlsson, 18, added. “This is a very good sign that I’m doing the right thing. I have one more year left as a junior so I’m looking forward to next year’s Junior World Championships as well.”
Also for the U.S., Kathleen O’Connell (Montana State University) placed 20th (+2:18.2), Molly Gellert was 40th (+3:59.4) and Sofia Shomento was 58th (+6:25.7).
Canada’s Natalie Hynes (University of Alaska Anchorage) placed 24th (+2:40.0), Hannah Mehain was 37th (+3:54.9), Alexandra Racine 51st(+5:16.1), and Catherine Reed-Metayer 62nd (+7:17.7).
Norway’s Harald Østberg Amundsen winning the men’s 20 k skiathlon at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)
In the junior men’s 20 k skiathlon that followed, Harald Østberg Amundsen pulled out a 34.7-second victory over fellow Norwegian Jon Rolf Skamo Hope, who won the 10 k classic two days ago. Norway swept the podium with Jørgen Lippert in third, 1:00.1 minutes back, two days after Lippert placed third in the 10 k individual start.
The win was Amundsen’s first individual gold after he was on Norway’s winning 4 x 5 k relay at last year’s Junior Worlds in Utah, where he placed third in the 10 k skiathlon. On Tuesday, he was fourth in the 10 k classic.
“Unbelievable,” he said during a post-race arena interview. “I tried to keep calm on the classic part, and on the skate part just tried to keep the speed up. … I tried to go fast on the beginning and end of the uphills, and a bit controlled in the middle. I think the final was great, unbelievable.”
American Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars) raced to 15th (+2:43.6) besting his two previous top 20’s this week (19th in the freestyle sprint and 17th in the 10 k classic) at his first Junior Worlds. He skied much of the race with Ben Ogden (Stratton Mountain School), who finished 18th (+2:51.2) for his second-straight top 20 (after placing seventh in the 10 k).
“My classic skis were great today,” Schumacher wrote in an email. “The techs nailed it and I had really solid kick and good glide. I was able to run up the steepest hills and kick the buildup off right at the top and glide right with everyone. During that first 10k I think I did a good job staying relaxed and now letting myself push too hard up the big climbs. The pace in the pack wasn’t bad, definitely a little rushed at the beginning but I was able to settle in well.
“On my second half I was still just focused on not pushing too hard and staying relaxed, while also keeping the pace fast and carrying speed through the corners,” he continued. “Generally I felt pretty good, but my body was just getting tired and I was hanging in there.”
While he dropped Ogden over the last kilometer, Schumacher wasn’t able to shake Italy’s Luca Del Fabbro, who finished half a second ahead of him in 15th.
“I pushed really hard up the last hill into first [ahead of Del Fabbro] but was a little weak over the top and he pulled up alongside me and crossed in front of me on the corner then almost fell,” Schumacher recalled. “Pulled up alongside on the flat, but had to get back on the inside and just couldn’t get past.
“Overall I’m pretty happy, I think I paced well and I generally executed well,” he concluded. “I think it wasn’t my best possible, but it was definitely a well-executed race.”
Also for the U.S., Hunter Wonders (Alaska Pacific University) placed 26th (+3:56.0), and Karl Schulz finished 60th (+8:30.3).
Félix Longpré led Canada in 28th (+4:07.0), Etienne Hebert followed in 30th (+4:33.3), Antoine Cyr was 32nd (+4:45.4), and Reed Godfrey 54th (+7:18.4).
The Austrian team (from left to right: Johannes Lamparter, Florian Dagn, Dominik Terzer, and Mika Vermeulen) celebrates its win in the normal hill/4 x 5 k team event on Thursday at 2018 Nordic Combined Junior World Championships in Kandersteg, Germany. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)
Nordic Combined Junior World Championships (Kandersteg, Switzerland): Normal hill/4 x 5 k Team Event
In the nordic combined team event at Junior World Championships on Thursday, Austria stole the show, jumping to first then finishing the 4 x 5 k relay first by nearly 48 seconds over Germany in second.
On the 106-meter normal hill in Kandersteg, Austria’s Johannes Lamparter, Mika Vermeulen, Florian Dagn, and Dominik Terzer combined for the best jumping score of the day, 11.8 points ahead of Norway (Simen Kvarstad, Andreas Skoglund, Jens Lurås Oftebro, and Einar Lurås Oftebro) in second. Germany jumped to third with Constantin Schnurr, Julian Schmid, Tim Kopp, and Luis Lehnert another 26 points back.
That put Norway 16 seconds back for the start of the 4 x 5 k relay, and Germany 50 seconds out of first in third.
The four Americans in the event, Tucker Hoefler, Jared Shumate, Stephen Schumann, and Ben Loomis, jumped to 11th out of 13 teams, and started the relay 2:46 minutes back.
Germany celebrates its silver medal in the normal hill/4 x 5 k team event on Thursday at 2018 Nordic Combined Junior World Championships in Kandersteg, Germany. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)
Austria went on to hold its lead throughout the race, crossing the finish line first in 56:33.0 for the gold. Norway held onto second first Jens Oftebro’s first leg, then slipped to second behind Germany on the second leg. Ultimately, Germany claimed second, 47.8 seconds back, and Norway was third (+1:53.2).
The field remained largely strung out, as the Czech Republic finished fourth (+2:39.7) after starting fourth, France placed fifth (+3:07.7), up from eighth at the start, and Finland finished sixth (+3:27.6), after starting ninth.
The U.S. men improved to seventh (+3:36.4) thanks to a strong first leg from Loomis, who put them in seventh with the fourth-fastest first-leg time. Schumann then skied the fastest second leg and picked off two more places to tag in fifth at the second exchange. Hoefler slipped to seventh on the third leg, and Shumate held them there with the third-fastest anchor leg.
Nordic combined has one more event at Junior Worlds: the individual normal hill/5 k on Saturday.
Canada’s Natalie Hynes (University of Alaska Anchorage Ski Team) racing in women’s classic sprint qualifier at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. She placed 42nd. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
In an effort to showcase the North Americans competing at this week’s International Ski Federation (FIS) 2018 Nordic Junior/U23 World Championships in Goms, Switzerland, we asked those qualifying athletes several questions about themselves — actually, we had them fill in the blanks. Here we have 20-year-old Natalie Hynes, of the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) Ski Team and the Yukon Ski Team, who’s representing the U.S. at her third Junior Worlds.
On Thursday, Hynes placed 24th in the 10 k skiathlon for her career-best result at Junior Worlds.
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Natalie Hynes (Yukon Ski Team/University of Alaska Anchorage) racing at 2017 Canadian Ski Nationals last March. (Photo: W. James MacLean)
“My full name is Natalie Hynes, but you can call me Hey You.
I was born and raised in the Yukon, and I learned to ski at the Mt. Mac Ski Trails.
I spent the time between Mont Sainte-Anne trials and Junior/U23 Worlds racing in West Yellowstone.
The most scenic workout I did in the last training year to prepare for this was mountain biking in the Wheaton River Valley with my border collie.
This is my first time in Switzerland and my third time racing internationally, and so far it’s been very snowy.
One difference I’ve noticed between Switzerland and Canada is the length of the meals.
Skiing and racing in the Alps is so beautiful. Usually racing at altitude is hard for me because there is not enough air to share with all the other competitors. There are so many incredible mountains around where I live.
One of the things I’m most excited about for Junior/U23 Worlds in Goms is gaining experience racing internationally.
One race I’m especially targeting there is the skiathlon.
I really hope I can chat/make friends with someone from Norway and ask them if they know my Norwegian teammate, Marte.
My favorite thing at the breakfast where we are staying are the kiwis.
Fondue is probably better here than in Canada but I haven’t had the chance to try it. The cheese here is strong. And the chocolate is so delicious.
If I had a totally free day here and didn’t have to worry about race fitness or training, I’d spend it taste testing Swiss chocolate.
The best way to follow me on social media is on Instagram @natalie.heinz.”
The women’s 5 k classic podium at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland, with American Hailey Swirbul (r) in second, Russia’s Polina Nekrasova (c) in first, and Finland’s Anita Korva (l) in third. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)
(This article has been updated to reflect that American Hailey Swirbul was in second for most of Tuesday’s 5 k race, not over one minute back as previously reported based on a live timing error. It has also been updated to include comments from Americans Hailey Swirbul, Ben Loomis, Stephen Schumann, and Gus Schumacher, Canada’s Antoine Cyr, University of Alaska Anchorage nordic head coach Andrew Kastning, and U.S. Ski Team Development Coach Bryan Fish.)
Junior World Championships (Goms, Switzerland): 5/10 k classic
Hailey Swirbul became the second American cross-country skier to earn an individual medal at Junior World Championships and first to take silver (Katharine Ogden claimed bronze in last year’s skiathlon) in the women’s 5-kilometer classic individual start on Tuesday in Goms, Switzerland.
Swirbul, a 19-year-old University of Alaska Anchorage sophomore, also tallied the best American finish at a Junior/U23 World Championships since Jessie Diggins earned silver in 2014 in the freestyle sprint. It was Swirbul’s second medal the last two Junior Worlds after she teamed up with Hannah Halvorsen, Julia Kern, and Ogden to take bronze in last year’s relay.
Going into this week’s championships, Swirbul, a Colorado native, explained she was aiming for a top 10 in one of the distance races. U.S. Ski Team Development Coach Bryan Fish pointed out that she wasn’t sure she’d feel up to racing on Tuesday.
“She had been feeling under the weather so she didn’t come up and ski yesterday,” Fish said on the phone Tuesday. “It was a little bit of a shock to Hailey herself that she skied so fast because there was some contemplation of whether she would race or not.”
“I made it a goal to stay relaxed and ski the race I would ski in a lower pressure race,” Swirbul wrote in an email. “I often find that I, and others, change their good race habits when at a high pressure event, so I was hoping to pace the race evenly and not start out too fast.
“The key for interval starts for me is to only think about skiing smoothly and powerfully for the first few kilometers of the race, and I’ve been discovering that that usually leads to decent splits throughout my race,” she continued.
She ended up racing to second place on Tuesday in the second race of 2018 Junior World Championships. The 61st starter (out of 84), Swirbul skied in second for most of the race, just behind Russia’s Polina Nekrasova, according toFish.
“She was basically tied for second and really had a strong second half of the course, and really skied solid in particular the last kilometer,” Fish said. “Always in the top five for sure, and well within striking distance [of the podium].”
The women’s 5 k classic podium at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland, with American Hailey Swirbul (r) in second, Russia’s Polina Nekrasova (c) in first, and Finland’s Anita Korva (l) in third. (Photo: Bryan Fish)
She initially crossed the finish line in first place, more than a minute faster than the previous race leader. Her time remained faster than all but one of the women who started behind her — as Russia’s Polina Nekrasova (bib 71) took the win in 13:58.7 minutes, 14.4 seconds ahead of Swirbul.
Finland’s Anita Korva started 77th and finished third, 25.4 seconds out of first.
The Czech Republic’s Barbora Havlickova (bib 81) followed in fourth (+26.8), and Norway’s Kristine Stavås Skistad (bib 67) finished fifth (+31.9), and France’s Laura Chamiot-Maitra (bib 83) placed sixth (+34.9).
“… I honestly had no idea I was in the running for the podium during my race, because about 20 girls had yet to finish, so it wasn’t until the last girls came in that I knew I claimed a spot!” Swirbul wrote.
“It was a special moment when I ran down off of the course and I knew her split,” Fish said of Swirbul’s finishing time. “I knew she was sitting in second and they kept announcing and kept announcing, and I told her, ‘You will be second today,’ and it was kind of a combination facial expression of shock and elation. She really couldn’t believe it, but [I said], ‘You’ve got a big enough gap over third place and no one’s catching you.’
“It’s our best Junior Worlds result ever,” Fish added. “Last year was the first individual medal we had ever won or team medal at Junior Worlds and to follow that up with a silver is incredible.
“She was obviously on our podium relay last year, but she came in from U.S. nationals skiing well, qualified very high and she skied incredibly well today,” he explained. “Very fluid stride and did a great job shifting gears and doing a bit more running during the second half of the course.”
“The result hasn’t hit me yet,” Swirbul wrote. “It was beyond what I expected, so my brain is still catching up to the reality! I’ve been dreaming of racing how I know I could for the past 3 years or so, and this season has finally been my chance to break through. I’m so fortunate that things aligned for me on the day that really counted. I couldn’t have done it without Bryan Fish’s unwavering belief in us athletes, and my mom and dad’s support all these years, of course.”
Fish emphasized that while snow conditions have been “very, very good” and “very stable” in Goms, which received 1 1/2 meters (nearly 5 feet) of snow a week and a half ago, the waxing had been a bit challenging due to a temperature range of around -9 degrees to 5 degrees Celsius each day.
“I’m sure there were some teams on klister, some on klister covered with hard wax,” he said of Tuesday’s classic race. “Our techs did a really good job and they were clever with what they came up with when I heard what they were trying. … They’ve been right in the ballpark the last few days and I think they really dialed it in today, and it was impressive kick and glide. To get a podium you ned to have everything going right and I definitely think we had the skis in our favor.”
Halvorsen was the second-best American in 22nd on Tuesday, 1:10.1 out of first, Kathleen O’Connell finished 38th (+1:33.5) and Hannah Rudd was 59th (+2:24.1).
Canada’s Natalie Hynes placed 36th (+1:30.5), Hannah Mehain was 45th (+1:53.3) and Annika Richardson was 67th (+2:53.7). Catherine Reed-Metayer did not finish.
Hailey Swirbul (University of Alaska Anchorage) navigating a downhill while racing to second place in the women’s 5 k classic at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)
Andrew Kastning, head coach of the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) nordic team, stayed up late the night before Alaska time to watch three UAA skiers (Swirbul, Rudd and Hynes) race on the Junior World Championships livestream.
“Hailey has made classic technique a priority since she stepped on UAA’s campus because that’s where she had the most potential for gain,” Kastning wrote in an email on Tuesday. “She has been working hard on a more powerful and smooth stride on the uphills while getting over elbow pain when double poling. The course looked like it played well to her strengths and that strategy.
“I saw one clip of her entering the big climb and could see that she was relaxed and striding really well,” he continued. “I knew then she was going to have a really good race.”
He noticed that the course had some intimidating downhills and corners, but he knew Swirbul wouldn’t have a problem navigating them.
“Hailey has a solid alpine skiing background and I figured if anyone would be willing to straight line the descents and flatten the corners then a massive amount of time could be saved,” Kastning wrote. “Hailey must have done that because she put 47 seconds on a Russian she was tied with at the high point. I was sort wondering if I was dreaming at moments and had to refrain from yelling and screaming because I’d wake up three daughters and a wife if I did. What a night, what a day. Seawolf Nation and USA are very proud this morning.”
Ogden 7th, Cyr 12th
In the men’s 10 k classic that followed, the excitement continued for Team USA, with 17-year-old Ben Ogden, of the Stratton Mountain School, racing to seventh in his Junior World Championships debut.
The men’s 10 k classic podium at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland, with Norway’s Jon Rolf Skamo Hope (c) in first, Russia’s Sergey Ardashev (l) in second and Norway’s Jørgen Lippert (r) in third. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)
Ogden started 72nd and crossed the finish line in first, 16.6 seconds faster than previous race leader Alexander Terentev of Russia. Six later starters ultimately bumped Ogden to seventh, and Norway’s Jon Rolf Skamo Hope took the win in 24:58.8, 40.5 seconds ahead of Ogden.
Russia’s Sergey Ardashev placed second, 9 seconds back, and Norway’s Jørgen Lippert reached the podium in third (+27.9). Norway put four in the top five and Russia had two in the top six, making Ogden the first non-Norwegian or non-Russian male finisher on the day.
According to race splits, Ogden skied an extremely consistent race, clocking the eighth, ninth or 10th fastest times throughout the 10 k.
Canada’s Antoine Cyr placed 12th (+1:07.7) in the second race of his career at Junior World Championships. Two days ago, he finished 30th in the freestyle sprint. Cyr, 19, started 78th and also skied a consistent race, hanging mostly within the top 12 throughout it.
“I knew that classic 10 km was good race for me,” Cyr wrote in an email. “On a good day I was hoping for top 30 but the course was hard and I knew that if I played it smart and paced myself I would be happy with my race.”
He focused on skiing powerfully on his first lap, with big strides and strong double poling, and tried to attack the A-climb and “punchy climb towards the end of the loop” on the second and last lap.
“A top 12 for us in Canada means a lot and with a 25th place in the [skate sprint qualifier] and a 12th place today I think it makes me realize that I have my place on the world level scene,” Cyr wrote. “… This race was a good redemption after my crash in the sprint. I am really happy with the results !!”
Gus Schumacher notched his second top 20 of the week in 17th (after placing 19th in the skate sprint), finishing 1:19.1 out first first, Hunter Wonders placed 22nd (+1:39.1), and Canyon Tobin was 37th (+2:17.2) for the U.S.
In an email, Schumacher, of Alaska Winter Stars, explained he had been aiming for a top 10.
“For this race I really focused on keeping the first quarter super relaxed and then picking it up after that,” he wrote of his pacing. “During the race I felt like I raced the first lap well but somewhere on the second lap I must’ve pushed just a little too hard and gone over my threshold, because I really faltered in the middle of that one on the big sprint hill. Other than that I felt like I skied the flats and most of the gradual uphills well, especially before 7.5k.”
Overall he added that he was “fairly satisfied … but I know that I can do better and that kind of hurts me. I just didn’t feel like I had the spark that I normally have towards the end of a race like this.” Moving forward, he had similar goals for the skiathlon and was excited for the relay.
Canada’s Etienne Hebert finished 44th (+2:42.3), Ty Godfrey was 57th (+3:29.5), and Felix Longpre 58th (+3:29.7) out of 96 finishers.
“It’s really exciting when you look at our day in general,” Fish noted. “We had two young boys with 2000 birth years; there was only three boys in the top 40 that had a 2000 year of birth and we had two. … That’s just really exciting for U.S. skiing in general, that we have athleetes showing up not just to participate, but to really perform.”
The men’s individual normal hill/10 k Gundersen podium at the first Day of Nordic Combined Junior World Championships in Kandersteg, Switzerland, with American Ben Loomis (r) in third, the Czech Republic’s Ondrej Pazout (c) in first, and Norway’s Einar Lurås Oftebro (l) in second. (Photo: Josh Parker)
Nordic Combined Junior World Championships (Kandersteg, Switzerland): Normal hill/10 k Gundersen
In the first competition of 2018 Nordic Combined Junior World Championships in Kandersteg, Switzerland (about 75 kilometers west of Goms), American Ben Loomis achieved the first podium of his career in his fifth Junior Worlds (counting his first in straight-up ski jumping), racing to third in the individual normal hill/10 k Gundersen on Tuesday.
Ben Loomis (USA Nordic) jumping to seventh on Tuesday at 2018 Nordic Combined Junior World Championships in Kandersteg, Switzerland. He went on to place third in the 10 k for his first Junior Worlds medal. (Photo: Josh Parker)
Loomis, a 19-year-old U.S. Nordic Combined national team member who grew up in Wisconsin, was recently selected to compete at his first Olympics next month in PyeongChang, South Korea. In an email, Loomis explained he found out just over a week ago, which motivated him to compete at a high level, but it didn’t change his plans or goals for his last Junior Worlds.
“My focus of the winter has always been the Junior World championships so my Olympic nomination has not changed my training in the last few weeks,” he wrote. “Going into this week, and for the last 2 years now my goal was always a podium finish.”
He started out Tuesday by jumping to seventh on the 106-meter “normal” hill, then started the 10 k race 38 seconds out of first.
“The hill here in Kandersteg is very new which is nice because it feels similar to other modern jumps,” Loomis explained. “I was satisfied with my competition jump but not 100% happy. There are still a few things I need to fix on the technical side of my jumping.”
The Czech Republic had the two best jumpers on the day, with Ondrej Pazout leading after the jump portion, followed by his teammate Jan Vytrval in second. Pazout started the 10 k with an 11-second head start on Vytrval and ended up holding off his challengers to secure gold, finishing first in 22:58.3. Norway’s Einar Lurås Oftebro raced from 10th after the jump to second at the finish, just 2.3 seconds behind Pazout, with the second-fastest 10 k time.
Loomis passed four skiers to finish third, 8.3 seconds out of first, with the third-fastest time. Norway’s Johannes Lamparter slipped from third to fourth overall (+16.2), and Vytrval finished fifth (+21.6).
“I knew with a good race a podium was still possible from 38 seconds back,” Loomis wrote. “The track here is really tough with technical decent which leaves good opportunity to make up time.”
Working within a group, he caught up to third place on the first of four laps and was up to second on the second lap.
American Ben Loomis (7) racing with Norway’s Einar Lurås Oftebro (l) during the 10 k Gundersen on Tuesday at 2018 Nordic Combined Junior World Championships in Kandersteg, Switzerland. Loomis went on to finish third for his first Junior Worlds medal and Oftebro placed second. (Photo: Josh Parker)
“We had 5 or 6 guys in this group and on the 3rd lap I took the lead,” Loomis explained. “Towards the last hill on the 4th lap, I made a move alongside Einar Oftebro. Einar was strong on the last stretch and able to beat me as well as almost catching the leader Ondra.
“Taking a step on the podium was an excellent feeling today,” he added. “I have been working very hard, especially towards this specific race for a long time now. Accomplishing this is a huge relief and very motivating for the future.”
The U.S. had two in the top 15 with Stephen Schumann in 13th (+1:29.1). Schumann was 29th after the jump and started the 10 k 1:47 out of first, then posted the fifth-fastest course time to pick off 16 places.
“Going into today I was really just hoping to put together a solid jump and a good race and hopefully finish within the top 10 like last year,” Schumann wrote in an email. “Unfortunately I did not have the jump I was hoping for. I was about 1 meter late off the end of the take off, taking away some of the power and height that my legs otherwise would have given me. Luckily the conditions on the hill were pretty consistent today so I knew about where I would be standing after jumping going into the race.”
Given his starting position, he believed a top 15 was within reach. He ended up catching Italy’s Aaron Kostner, who started 27th, and the two worked together to catch one group after another.
“I felt pretty good but he got me on the last lap,” Schumann wrote of Kostner, who finished about 20 seconds ahead of him in 11th place. “But over all it was a pretty good race and I finished with the 5th fastest time. Behind Aaron with the 4th fastest.
“Overall I feel that had I had a little bit better jump on the hill I could have contended for a top 10 maybe top 5 but was happy with my race and my 13th place finish,” he added. “Coming across the line I was pretty sure Ben had finished in the top 5 at least, as I could see him going up the last hill as I was staring down it. But when I actually crossed the line and saw him I could tell he had gotten to the podium and I was psyched for him, went and gave him a hug and congratulated him.”
Looking ahead to the rest of the week, Schumann’s hoping for a medal in the 4 x 5 k team event.
“And personally I hope to finish in the top 10 in the 5km race with a better jump and another solid race,” he wrote.
Also for the U.S., Jared Shumate placed 35th (+4:06.3), up from 49th in the jump, and Tucker Hoefler was 51st (+6:37.4), up from 53rd.
France’s Martin Fourcade after winning the men’s 20 k individual at the IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany, by more than a minute on Wednesday. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)
IBU World Cup (Ruhpolding, Germany): Men’s 20 k individual
For France’s Martin Fourcade, the difference between a miss on the last shooting stage of the men’s 20-kilometer individual International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup on Wednesday versus perfect shooting wouldn’t have ultimately changed his result in Ruhpolding.
Despite the one-minute penalty, which was tagged onto his total time after his lone miss of the day, Fourcade still won by a minute. The Czech Republic’s Ondřej Moravec, who started 2 1/2 minutes ahead of him in bib 18 (while Fourcade wore bib 23), had successfully cleaned every stage, shooting 20-for-20, and initially crossed the finish line first — about a minute and 23 seconds ahead of former race leader Simon Eder of Austria.
But Moravec’s moment in first was fleeting as Fourcade burst into the stadium, not yet letting off the gas, seconds after Moravec finished. Fourcade took the win in 44:27.9, 1:01 ahead of Moravec in second. To indicate how fast Fourcade’s last loop was, it’s worth noting that he was 30 seconds ahead of Moravec with 4 k to go. On that final 4 k loop, he doubled his time ahead of second place.
Fourcade’s win came four days after his last race in Oberhof, Germany, the 12.5 k pursuit, which he also won.
“We are in a biathlon routine now,” he said, according to an IBU press release. “It was hard to find strong motivation with not much recovery or training this week. … Today I wanted to beat my record of podiums in a row. Today was my 14th [individual podium, including last season] in a row and I am really proud of this. I am very happy with my competition as well. Ruhpolding is place that I really love and I am happy that I continued my success here.”
Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø achieved his eighth-straight podium in third, 1:06.3 behind Fourcade with a single miss on the last stage as well (0+0+0+1).
“I heard the speaker, so I knew Martin had missed,” recalled Bø, who started behind Fourcade in bib 29. “I knew if I could shoot clean, there was a small chance I could beat him. I tried and missed. That was my tactic: to go for the win, not save the podium.”
He left the range for the last time 48.3 seconds back from Fourcade in first.
Michal Krcmar (l) and Ondřej Moravec (r) after reaching the flower ceremony in fifth and second, respectively, on Wednesday at the IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)
Germany’s Roman Rees shot clean and placed fourth (+1:19.1) for his first-career World Cup top 10, and the Czech Republic had two in the top five with Michal Krcmar in fifth (+1:36.6) for his best result of this season.
For Moravec, second place marked his season best as well, after finishing outside the top 10 in previous races this season.
“This podium is really important for me,” he told the IBU. “My first trimester was really bad; my shape was not good especially for the shooting. I also missed a lot of the summer training so did not have the best preparation … I am very please at how I was able to focus and have success in this race.”
Austria’s Dominik Landertinger followed in sixth (+2:21.9) with one penalty and Eder ended up seventh (+2:23.8) with one miss as well.
While the one-minute penalty per miss did not faze Fourcade, it led several North Americans to drop out of top-20 contention, particularly Tim Burke (US Biathlon), who had been in 16th after cleaning the third shooting stage. Burke had cleaned his first stage then missed one on the first standing, but was back in the top 20 with a clean third stage. On the final standing, he missed his first two shots, causing him to look up for a moment to refocus. He cleaned the last three, but still ended up with two additional minutes of penalties that put him 36th at the finish, 4:35.0 out of first (0+1+0+2).
Sean Doherty (US Biathlon) racing to 31st to lead his team in the men’s 20 k individual on Wednesday at the IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: US Biathlon/NordicFocus)
Sean Doherty led the U.S. men in 31st after missing two targets between the first prone and first standing stages. Ranked 76th after the second stage, he recovered to 53rd after a clean third stage and then 32nd after hitting all five targets on his last stage (1+1+0+0). With two penalties, Doherty finished the race 4:13.6 back in 31st.
“I am happy with the race today,” Doherty said, according to a US Biathlon press release. “I left some room for improvement on the range. It was a big step in the right direction from last week. We had very fast conditions on the course today and our waxing staff did a great job as usual.”
All three U.S. starters finished in the top 40, with Lowell Bailey in 37th (+4:36.4) with three misses (0+2+0+1).
Biathlon Canada was led by Christian Gow in 34th (+4:30.7), for his career-best in a 20 k individual race. After starting in bib 2, he cleaned his first and third stages to put himself in 32nd with one stage to go, within 28 seconds of the top 20. But a miss on his last standing put Gow in 39th leaving the range for the last time, and he ended up 34th at the finish (0+1+0+1).
“My shooting was just OK today,” Gow wrote in an email. “I would have liked to hit one more for sure and then I would have been completely satisfied with the race. I felt more nervous than normal in the range, and my two misses were a direct result of being a bit hesitant on the shooting mat.
“I am pretty happy with today overall,” he added. “I think this is the best skiing I’ve had in an Individual race and my best placing as well. I do wish I could have one or two shots back, but overall I am happy.”
Also for Canada, his older brother Scott Gow finished 55th (+5:13.2) with three penalties (0+1+1+1), Brendan Green placed 78th (+6:53.7) with four misses (1+0+2+1), and Macx Davies was 91st (+8:02.4) with five penalties (1+1+3+0), out of 107 finishers.
The Gow brothers and Green raced Sunday in the men’s 4 x 7.5 k in Oberhof, where they placed 10th.
“Honestly, I have been feeling pretty tired after the 3 days of racing in a row last weekend,” Christian wrote. “Our travel wasn’t too bad, but it still didn’t feel like much of a rest day.”
The Ruhpolding World Cup continues Thursday with the women’s 15 k individual (starting at 8:30 a.m. EST on the Olympic Channel). Another men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay will follow on Friday, then the women’s 4 x 6 k relay on Saturday, and the men’s and women’s mass starts on Sunday.
The women’s 10 k classic podium on Wednesday at the NorAm trials in Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec, with Cendrine Browne (1) in first, Katherine Stewart-Jones (2) in second, and Anne-Marie Comeau (3) in third. Dahria Beatty (l) placed fourth. (Photo: Cross Country Canada/Instagram)
The NorAm trials at Mont Sainte-Anne (MSA), Québec, concluded Wednesday with the 10- and 15-kilometer classic interval starts. On the line were NorAm points, U23 and World Championships invitations, and for the women, what may well be the last Olympic spot on the Canadian team.
The action started with the men’s 15 k classic, which Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre (CNEPH) won in 39.07.8 minutes to punch his ticket to U23 World Championships later this month in Goms, Switzerland. He won the race ahead of Scott Hill of Barrie Cross Country (BXC) in second, who skied a fast final lap to come within 6.9 seconds of first.
Canadian Para-Nordic teammates Graham Nishikawa and Brian McKeever finished third (+30.0) and fourth (+37.4), respectively, with Nishikawa as McKeever’s guide in Paralympic events having the edge in the interval-start race the two skied on their own (Nishikawa started 64th and McKeever 55th).
According to Nishikawa, the two have been entering NorAm events that fit into their preparation for the PyeongChang Paralympics. Nishikawa wrote a quick email on his way to the airport on Wednesday.
“Happy with my week overall in MSA. Shape is good. Skis were good. Will keep improving into Korea for Paralympics,” he wrote after his second distance podium of the week.
In the women’s 10 k classic, Cendrine Browne (Canadian National U25 Team/CNEPH) continued her strong showing at trials with her second victory and fourth top-four result, taking the win in 29:47.0.
Katherine Stewart-Jones, of the U25 Team and National Team Development Centre (NTDC) Thunder Bay, and Anne-Marie Comeau (Université Laval) were virtually tied for second after the first lap, but Stewart-Jones held the speed to take second, 39.2 seconds behind Browne and 24.3 seconds ahead of Comeau in third.
About 16 seconds later, Maya MacIsaac-Jones, of the U25 Team and Rocky Mountain Racers (RMR), finished fourth (+1:21.0) ahead of Dahria Beatty, of the Canadian World Cup Team and Alberta World Cup Academy, in fifth (+1:26.6).
The selection criteria are complex, but a quick calculation suggests that Comeau, who placed second to Browne in Monday’s skiathlon, gets the provisional women’s distance spot for the PyeongChang Olympics (since Browne already established herself as the sprint leader), and Stewart-Jones, who was fifth in the skiathlon, gets the U23 Worlds berth. Stay tuned for updates and official selections.
The junior men’s 10 k classic podium on Wednesday at the NorAm trials in Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec, with Antoine Cyr (c) in first, Félix Longpré (2) in second and Étienne Hébert (3) in third. (Photo: Cross Country Canada/Instagram)
CNEPH’s Antoine Cyr took his third win of the week in the junior men’s 10 k, finishing in 25:57.3, well ahead of local Félix Longpré (MSA) in second (+48.2) and Étienne Hébert (AWCA) in third (+55.6).
In the junior women’s 5 k, Hannah Mehain (Sovereign Lake Nordic/National Junior Team) took the win in 15:22.7, just 2.7 seconds ahead of skiathlon winner Natalie Hynes (Whitehorse Ski Club/National Junior Team) and 15.0 seconds ahead of Tuesday’s skate sprint winner Annika Richardson (NTDC Thunder Bay/National Junior Team) in third.
Left to right: Tyler Kornfield (APU), Reese Hanneman (APU) and Ben Saxton (SMS) the top three Americans in the men’s 1.6 k classic sprint final on Monday, the last day of 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Anchorage, Alaska.
U.S. Cross Country Championships (Anchorage, Alaska): Classic sprint
Caitlin Patterson did it. With a classic-sprint win on Monday, she successfully capped off an undefeated 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships, as the top American woman in all four races over the past week in Anchorage, Alaska.
Patterson, of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, qualified seventh then won the women’s 1.5-kilometer final by more than 2 seconds in 3:39.58 minutes. Finland’s Jasmi Joensuu, a junior at the University of Denver (DU), won the qualifier and ultimately finished second in the final, 2.36 seconds behind Patterson.
Craftsbury once again had two on the podium with Kaitlynn Miller placing third overall (+3.9) as the second American. Becca Rorabaugh, of Alaska Pacific University (APU), was the top American in the qualifier in second overall, then placed fourth in the final (+9.92) and reached the U.S. podium in third.
Petra Hyncicova, a University of Colorado Boulder (CU) senior from the Czech Republic, placed fifth overall (+10.03), and Lydia Blanchet, a Dartmouth College U23 skier, finished sixth (+11.21) and was the fourth American woman.
Joensuu, 21, of Kuortane, Finland, started the day by winning the qualifier in 3:41.4, while Rorabaugh followed in second, 1.31 seconds back. Hyncicova qualified third (+1.85), CU’s Hedda Bångman (who won Sunday’s 20 k classic) qualified fourth (+2.92), and Miller qualified fifth (+2.93). Anne Hart of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team clocked the sixth-fastest qualifying time (+3.88), and Patterson followed in seventh (+4.77).
From there, Patterson won both her quarterfinal and semifinal, besting Miller and Joensuu in the latter by 0.66 seconds and 2.63 seconds, respectively. Blanchet placed fourth in that same semifinal (+5.15) and advanced to the final as a lucky loser with a fast-enough time, along with Joensuu (Patterson and Miller automatically advanced in first and second).
With her 4-for-4 record at 2018 nationals, Patterson is the most successful woman at U.S. Cross Country Championships since U.S. Ski Team member Jessie Diggins was the top American in all four races at 2012 nationals in Rumford, Maine.
In the men’s classic sprint final, Reese Hanneman (APU) captured his second title in as many sprints this week (after winning the freestyle sprint on Friday). He won the qualifying round by 2.84 seconds in 3:21.93, and later the final by a 0.2 seconds in 3:20.62. Kornfield placed second, and Ben Saxton (SMS Elite Team) rounded out the podium in third (+4.78).
Logan Hanneman, the winner of Friday’s freestyle-sprint qualifier, finished second to his older brother Reese in Monday’s classic-sprint qualifier, then went on to reach the final and place fourth overall (+5.42). Kevin Bolger (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) placed fifth (+5.52), and Zak Ketterson (Northern Michigan University) was sixth (+6.83).
NorAm Trials (Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec): 15/30 k skiathlons
The women’s 15 k skiathlon podium on Monday at NorAm trials at Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec, with Cendrine Browne (c) of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre (CNEPH) and Canadian U25 Team in first, Anne-Marie Comeau (l) of Laval University in second, and Dahria Beatty (Alberta World Cup Academy/Canadian World Cup Team) in third. (Photo: Cross Country Canada/Instagram)
Cendrine Browne won the women’s 15-kilometre skiathlon in 43:01.9 minutes on Monday at the Mont Sainte-Anne (MSA) ski trails to put an exclamation point on her presumptive selection for the PyeongChang Olympics. Browne, of the Centre National d’Entraînement Pierre Harvey (CNEPH)/Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre, which is based in nearby Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, broke away with Laval University’s Anne-Marie Comeau during the classic leg to take a 20-second lead that she held to the finish.
Comeau faded slightly to take second, 11.9 seconds back, qualifying for U23’s and putting her name in the hat for the upcoming 2018 Olympics. Either Comeau or the winner of Wednesday’s classic interval start should take that potential Olympic berth as Canada’s top female distance skier not already qualified. Browne has theoretically earned a spot as the top women’s sprinter, besides Dahria Beatty, who won the sprint and already met Canada’s Olympic qualifying criteria.
“It now has to go before the selection committee,” Cross Country Canada’s High Performance Director Thomas Holland wrote in an email on Friday.
After trials races were shuffled around due to extreme cold, with temperatures near -20 Celsius on Sunday at MSA, it warmed up to a balmy -8 degrees Celsius (17 Fahrenheit) by mid-afternoon on Monday. Both the women’s and men’s skiathlons were held, which not only served as one of two distance races for Olympic selection, but for Junior and U23 World Championships as well.
In the race for third place,Beatty outsprinted a group of four to take the final podium spot, 19.9 seconds behind Browne and 0.3 seconds ahead of their fellow Canadian National Team member Maya MacIsaac-Jones, of Rocky Mountain Racers (RMR) and U25 Team. Just 0.2 seconds out of fourth, Katherine Stewart-Jones, of the National Training Development Centre (NTDC) Thunder Bay and national U25 Team, placed fifth (+20.4) and CNEPH’s Laura Leclair was another second back in sixth (+21.4).
Almost 55 seconds passed before the seventh-place finisher came across the line, which was Zina Kocher (Foothills Nordic) skiing alone (+1:15.8). Another 49 seconds later, Jaqueline Mourao of Brazil’s national team placed eighth (+2:04.9), ahead of Zoë Williams (Carleton University) in ninth (+2:11.3), and Andrea Dupont (RMR) in 10th (+2:11.5).
In the junior women’s 10 k skiathlon, Whitehorse’s Natalie Hynes won in 30:19.8 to punch her ticket to Junior Worlds in Goms, Switzerland, from Jan. 28-Feb. 3. India McIsaac (RMR) finished 0.7 seconds back in second and Orford’s Alexandra Racine completed the podium in third (+32.8).
The men’s 30 k skiathlon podium at NorAm trials at Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec, on Sunday, with Knute Johnsgaard (c) of Canada’s World Cup Team in first, Graham Nishikawa (r) of the Canadian Para-Nordic Team in second and Gareth Williams (Telemark Nordic/Canadian U25 Team) in third. (Photo: Cross Country Canada/Instagram)
On the men’s side, Canadian World Cup Team member Knute Johnsgaard, who met qualifying criteria for PyeongChang last season, shook off a slow start to the World Cup season with a win in the NorAm trials men’s 30 k skiathlon, finishing in 1:13:30.9.
Graham Nishikawa, who’s already destined for the PyeongChang Paralympics as a guide on the Canadian Para-Nordic Ski Team, finished 1 second back for second place. The 34-year-old Nishikawa edged out first-year senior national-team member Gareth Williams, 20, of Telemark Nordic and the national U25 Team, by 0.5 seconds. Williams was the top U23 athlete to qualify for this year’s U23 World Championships.
The top 6 finished within 41 seconds of the podium, with Jack Carlyle (AWCA) in fourth (+5.8), Philippe Boucher (CNEPH) in fifth (+13.9), and Scott Hill (BXC) in sixth (+40.7). World Cup Team member Len Valjas led the next group across the line in seventh (+1:28.6), followed by Bob Thompson (NTDC Thunder Bay) in eighth (+1:29.4), Alexis Dumas (CNEPH) in ninth (+1:35.5), and Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier (CNEPH) in 10th (+1:35.7)
CNEPH’s Antoine Cyr won the junior mens 15 k skiathlon in 50:13.1 to earn a spot at Junior Worlds. Félix Longpré, of the local M.S.A. ski club, finished second (+15.7) and Thomas Manktelow was third (+49.0), just ahead of his Alberta World Cup Academy teammate Étienne Hébert in fourth (+49.3).
After Sunday’s racing was postponed due to temperatures well below the legal race limit, the remaining trials schedule includes freestyle sprints on Tuesday (for Junior and U23 World Championships qualifying purposes only), and classic interval starts on Wednesday.
Canada’s Natalie Hynes (University of Alaska Anchorage Ski Team) racing to 42nd in the women’s classic sprint qualifier at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. She went on to place 28th in the 10 k skiathlon later in the week. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
In an effort to showcase the North Americans competing at this past week’s International Ski Federation (FIS) 2017 USANA Nordic Junior World Championships and U23 Cross Country World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, we asked those qualifying athletes several questions about themselves — actually, we had them fill in the blanks. Here we have 19-year-old Natalie Hynes, of the University of Alaska Anchorage, who represented Canada at her second Junior Worlds.
“My full name is Natalie Hynes, but you can call me Natalie. I was born in Whitehorse, Yukon, raised in Whitehorse, and one thing you should know about my hometown is it is home to 3 current Senior National Ski Team members.
I started cross-country skiing when I was four, thanks to my parents. I currently train in Anchorage, Alaska with the University of Alaska Anchorage Ski Team.
If I’m not skiing, you might find me baking muffins. If I had to pick a favorite book, it would be ‘One Day‘.
One of the things I’m most excited about for Junior Worlds at Soldier Hollow is racing on trails that were once used for the Olympics. One race I’m especially targeting there is the skiathlon.
The best advice anyone ever gave me about skiing or racing was stay on your feet. One of the best race memories I have is the team relay in Greenland.
If I could meet one World Cup skier, it would be Charlotte Kalla.
If I don’t end up being a professional skier, I’ll probably be a physiotherapist.
I’m missing ten days of school to be here, and my teachers are probably thinking, ‘I wish I could come, too.’
Katharine Ogden (l) became the first American to reach the podium in an individual race at Nordic Junior World Championships on Friday after placing third in the women’s 10 k skiathlon. Norway’s Marte Mæhlum Johansen won the race for her first gold of the championships (c) and Sweden’s Ebba Andersson was second (r). (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
Almost exactly two years. That’s how long 19-year-old Katharine Ogden recalled her longing for a medal at Junior World Championships, but she can trace her inspiration back to much earlier as a kid growing up in southern Vermont.
Her father, a ski coach, put her on skis when she was 3, and Ogden joined a youth cross-country ski program in her hometown of Landgrove, Vt., when she was 5. In eighth grade, she began studying and training at the Stratton Mountain School, where she followed in the footsteps of U.S. Ski Team members Sophie Caldwell and Andy Newell.
American Katharine Ogden (SMS/USST) and her dad John celebrate her bronze medal in the women’s 10 k skiathlon on Friday at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: U.S. Ski Team/Tom Kelly)
“When I was really little, I would look up to Sophie and Andy Newell because they were from my home area,” Ogden explained on the phone Friday.
Now a member of the U.S. Ski Team’s development “D” team, Ogden said the entire U.S. team has been an inspiration to her.
“They’re all pretty amazing people and I look up to each and every one of them,” she said.
On Friday, she woke up to the news that U.S. sprinter Ida Sargent (also from Vermont) had placed third in the World Cup classic sprint in PyeongChang, South Korea.
That got Ogden excited for the day, and she went on to navigate her usual pre-race nerves, which were somewhat amplified considering the task ahead of her.
“There was a lot of mostly self-inflicted pressure because it’s been my goal for two years and this was kind of my last chance to achieve that goal,” Ogden said on the phone Friday, after her last individual race at her third Junior World Championships. “It was a little high-stress morning for me. but then the gun goes off and it goes away, and it’s like, ‘This is what I like doing.’ ”
Two days earlier, Ogden had raced to a career-best fifth in the 5-kilometer freestyle at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. That was great, she said, but even better — it wasn’t even her target race. She was going for the podium in the skiathlon.
It all went back to her sixth place in the skiathlon at 2015 Junior Worlds in Almaty, Kazakhstan. After that, she thought, “I can get a podium,” she said. But it didn’t quite work out that way. At 2016 Junior Worlds, she finished 13th in two individual distance races, the 5 k classic and 10 k skate.
“Every day in training, it’s kind of something that I think about. It’s the little thing that helps me push myself,” she said in an interview with the U.S. Ski Team on Friday. “Even in the middle of June I’ll be like, ‘You know what I want to be? On the podium at World Juniors.’ ”
She delivered on Friday, racing to third in the women’s 10 k skiathlon on U.S. soil in front of a home crowd, including her dad. In doing so, Ogden became the first American to medal in an individual race at Nordic Junior Worlds.
“I worked really hard for this and it’s really awesome to see that everything that I’ve done is really coming together,” Ogden said on the phone. “It’s also pretty sweet that I was able to time my training perfectly that I was able to race my fastest here.”
Norway’s Marte Mæhlum Johansen (2) and Germany’s Antonia Fräbel (3) leading early in the women’s 10 k skiathlon on Friday at 2017 Junior World Championships, along with American Katharine Ogden (4) and Italy’s Anna Comarella (5) on the first of four laps at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
Ogden started the four-lap race, which started with a 5 k classic leg and ended with 5 k of skating, in a prime position: right up front alongside Norway’s Marte Mæhlum Johansen, Sweden’s Ebba Andersson and Italy’s Anna Comarella — four of the women who finished ahead of her in Wednesday’s 5 k (which Andersson won by 13.8 seconds over Johansen),
While Ogden recalled a noticeable improvement in her classic skiing in the last year, she was slightly more confident in her skating, so she made a goal to stick with the leaders early to put herself in contention for the second half of the race.
“I kind of went into the race with the mindset that I’m going to stick with the leaders and if I blow up, I blow up, and hopefully I don’t,” she said. “On a good day I think I can stay with them. Kind of a ‘go big or go home’ mindset.”
For the first lap, she was one of about six women skiing together up front, with Johansen and Andersson leading the charge.
“I had the Norwegian and the Swede in sight so that was cool,” Ogden said. “They were off the front, but not crazy off the front. I still had some contact.”
At the halfway point of the race, Andersson reached the pit stop first to make the switch to skate skis, Johansen came in alongside her in second and Comarella in third. While Ogden exchanged in fourth, she didn’t waste any time catching Comarella on the first skate lap.
“I was pretty happy with where I was, for sure, in the classic part, and I knew that once I got on skate skis, I’d probably be at a little more of an advantage because I’m historically better at that,” Ogden told the U.S. Ski Team.
Norway’s Marte Mæhlum Johansen (r) making a move up the final climb of the second-to-last lap in Friday’s 10 k skiathlon at Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow, while skiing with Sweden’s Ebba Andersson (l) and USAs Katharine Ogden (c). (Photo: U.S. Ski Team/Tom Kelly)
She went on to drop the Italian and worked her way back in contact with Johansen and Andersson. On the second-to-last lap, ascending the final climb before the stadium, Johansen attacked on an inside corner and passed Andersson before the top. The Norwegian led into the downhill, while Ogden followed in third, slightly off the back of the two.
For the last 2.5 k, Johansen and Andersson jockeyed for the win, while Ogden continued to put time into Comarella behind her to lock up third place. Coming off the final downhill and into the final lefthand corner into the finishing straight, she looked back to see if anyone was behind her.
Nope.
While Johansen outlasted Andersson by 6.6 seconds for the gold medal, finishing first in 27:17.3, Ogden was 10.4 seconds back in third. Comarella finished 41.2 seconds later in fourth (+51.6), just ahead of Finland’s Eveliina Piippo in fifth (+58.7), while Germany’s Antonia Fräbel led a chase group across the line in sixth (+1:29.1).
For 19-year-old Johansen, it was her second gold in two Junior Worlds after winning the 5 k classic last year in Rasnov, Romania.
“I’m so happy. My shape was good and I felt strong almost all the way,” she told the U.S. Ski Team media after.
Asked about her experience in Utah, Johansen replied, “Amazing. It’s one of the most beautiful places I have skied ever.”
Of 44 finishers, Ogden posted the fastest skate leg in 12:47.3 minutes, 2.3 seconds faster than Johansen. Asked why she targeted the multi-technique race since her first skiathlon in 2015, Ogden said it had something to do with her lack of a preference of classic vs. skate.
Katharine Ogden (SMS/USST) finishing third for bronze in the women’s 10 k skiathlon on Friday at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. She is the first American to reach the podium in a Junior World Championships. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
Still, “generally, I think the skiathlons favor stronger skaters,” she said. That played to her strength.
With the third place, Ogden surpassed Lindsey Williams’s previous best individual result of fourth place (at a 2003 skate sprint in Solleftea, Sweden) to become the most successful American — and first individual medalist — at Junior Worlds. While she wasn’t aware of the context of her medal, Ogden was thrilled to have friends and family at Soldier Hollow, including her dad, to share it with.
“It’s just so much fun. The whole process,” she told the U.S. Ski Team. “Every day I’m out here, it’s just living the life, living the dream, and that’s what it should be about.”
Three of Ogden’s U.S. teammates also raced in Friday’s skiathlon, with Hailey Swirbul (University of Alaska Anchorage) finishing 24th (+2:21.0) for her first top 30 in her second Junior Worlds. Lauren Jortberg (Dartmouth) followed in 37th (+4:04.5) and Taeler McCrerey (University of Denver) 38th (+4:07.5).
In her final year of eligibility for Junior Worlds, Ogden is looking forward to the last race: Sunday’s relay.
“I think we can do some damage this year with the U.S. team so that’ll be really cool,” she said.
Swirbul’s teammate on the UAA Ski Team, Canada’s Natalie Hynes, of Whitehorse led her team in 28th (+3:11.3) for her first top 40 result at her second Junior Worlds, followed by India McIsaac (Rocky Mountain Racers) in 30th (+3:13.8), Lisle Compton (NTDC Thunder Bay) in 33rd (+3:45.5), and Annika Richardson (NTDC Thunder Bay/National Junior Team) in 41st (+4:49.3), all of which notched their best results at Junior Worlds as well.
Katharine Ogden (r) with U.S. teammates Hailey Swirbul (l) and Hannah Halvorsen (c) after Swirbul learned Ogden placed third in the women’s 10 k skiathlon at Junior World Championships. Swirbul was the second American in 24th on Friday at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
Katharine Ogden (SMS/USST) finishing third for bronze in the women’s 10 k skiathlon on Friday at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. She is the first American to reach the podium in a Junior World Championships. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
FIS Nordic Junior World Championships (Midway, Utah): 10/20 k skiathlon
A Junior World Championships medal has been on Katharine Ogden’s mind for some time — two years, to be exact.
“Every day in training, it’s kind of something that I think about. It’s the little thing that helps me push myself,” Ogden, a 19-year-old member of the Stratton Mountain School and U.S. Ski Team D-team, said in a post-race interview with the U.S. Ski Team on Friday. “Even in the middle of June, I’ll be like, ‘You know what I want to be? On the podium at World Juniors.’ ”
She did just that on Friday, racing to third in the women’s 10-kilometer skiathlon at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. In doing so, she became the most successful American at World Juniors, surpassing Lindsey Williams’s previous best of fourth place in 2003.
Ogden finished 10.4 seconds behind the winner, Norway’s Marte Mæhlum Johansen, who finished first in 27:17.3 minutes. Sweden’s Ebba Andersson took second, 6.6 seconds back. Behind Ogden, Italy’s Anna Comarella placed fourth (+51.6) ahead of Finland’s Eveliina Piippo in fifth (+58.7).
Hailey Swirbul (University of Alaska Anchorage) was the second U.S. woman in 24th (+2:21.0), while Natalie Hynes (Whitehorse) led Canada in 28th (+3:11.3).
Also for Canada, India McIsaac (Rocky Mountain Racers) finished 30th (+3:13.8), Lisle Compton (NTDC Thunder Bay) was 33rd (+3:45.5) and Annika Richardson (NTDC Thunder Bay) 41st (+4:49.3).
Also for the U.S., Lauren Jortberg (Dartmouth) finished 37th (+4:04.5) and Taeler McCrerey (University of Denver) 38th (+4:07.5).
[UPDATED] In the men’s 20 k skiathlon that followed, Russia’s Vladislav Vechkanov notched his second gold of the week in 49:40.5, outlasting Norway’s Thomas Helland Larsen by 1.9 seconds. Norway had two on the podium with Harald Østberg Amundsen in third (+2.2).
Canada’s Gareth Williams (Telemark Race Team) was the top North American in 11th (+1:24.0) for his best result at his first Junior Worlds.
American Wyatt Gebhardt (Steamboat Springs WSC) followed in 12th (+1:42.7) for his second-straight top 20 and Hunter Wonders (Alaska Pacific University) also finished in the top 20 for the second-straight race in 18th (+1:57.9).
Canada’s Philippe Boucher (CNEPH) was 22nd (+3:15.7), Ryan Jackson (Team Hardwood) 31st (+3:52.5), and Remi Drolet (Black Jack) 49th (+6:57.3).
Also for the U.S., Kam Husain (SMS) placed 50th (+6:59), and Logan Diekmann (University of Utah) was 53rd (+7:47.3).
NorAm Eastern Canadian Championships (Cantley, Quebec): Classic sprint
The NorAm series resumed at the Nakkertok Nordic Centre on Friday with Eastern Canadian Championships with classic technique sprints.
Alberta World Cup Academy’s Maya MacIsaac-Jones returned from U23s in time to win the 1.3 k A-final in 3:42.06, after qualifying sixth. Top qualifier Sophie Carrier-Laforte was second for CNEPH at her home event, 0.66 seconds behind. SMS Elite’s Anne Hart rounded out the podium at 3.40 seconds back.
On the men’s side, AWCA’s Dominique Moncion-Groulx qualified first before winning every heat on his way to victory in 3:14.84 on a slightly longer 1.4 k course. NTDC Thunder Bay’s Angus Foster was a close second, 0.09 seconds behind. Team R.A.D.’s Russell Kennedy was a comfortable third, 2.75 seconds back, on a day marked by some surprising eliminations.
The elite field is slightly smaller than usual with some athletes away in Soldier Hollow and PyeongChang. As many younger racers were stuck in school for the day, there are only about 500 starters for what is usually the largest FIS event in Canada.
FIS Cross-Country World Cup (PyeongChang, South Korea): Classic sprint
The women’s 1.4 k classic sprint podium on Friday at the pre-Olympic PyeongChang World Cup in South Korea, with Slovenia’s Anamarija Lampič (c) in first, Norway’s Silje Øyre Slind (l) in second, and American Ida Sargent (r) in third. It was the first time on the World Cup podium for all three athletes. (Photo: FIS Cross-Country/Twitter)
In the last month, we’ve seen two U.S. Ski Team members — Jessie Diggins and Sadie Bjornsen — on the World Cup podium. Add Ida Sargent to that list.
On Friday, the Vermont native raced to third in the women’s 1.4-kilometer classic sprint at the first-ever World Cup in PyeongChang, South Korea. It was the first of three days of racing in PyeongChang, which will host the 2018 Winter Olympics next season.
Sargent qualified fifth (4.76 seconds behind her teammate Sophie Caldwell, who won the qualifier in 3:40.89 minutes) and went on to win her quarterfinal in a photo finish, then placed second her semifinal (also in a photo finish), edging Russia’s Alisa Zhambalova in third by less than 0.01 seconds.
Both advanced to the final, where Sargent ultimately finished third, 1.79 seconds behind Slovenia’s Anamarija Lampič, who won in 3:41.97. Norway’s Silje Øyre Slind took second (+1.6), just 0.19 seconds ahead of Sargent. For all three women, it was their first time on a World Cup podium.
Sargent beat out Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk for third by 0.56 seconds. Zhambalova finished fifth and Slovenia’s Katja Visnar was sixth (+17.1).
“I’m really excited about the podium and it hasn’t really set in yet,” Sargent wrote in an email on Friday. “It has been a goal of mine for a long time to be on the podium so it was a very special day! I’ve been inspired by so many fast teammates so happy to follow in their footsteps!”
All five U.S. women racing on Friday finished in the top 30 to qualify for the heats. Caldwell won the qualifier by 1.84 seconds over Kowalczyk, Caitlin Patterson qualified 22nd, Liz Guiney 25th and Liz Stephen 29th (Stephen’s first time making the heats in three years).
Jessica Yeaton, who races for Australia but trains with Alaska Pacific University, took the last qualifying spot in 30th (+26.29).
Canada’s Annika Hicks and Sadie White missed qualifying in 32nd (+32.96) and 34th (+38.96), respectively, out of 36 women.
Caldwell won her quarterfinal but finished fourth in her semifinal (behind Slind, Kowalczyk, and Sweden’s Maria Nordström, respectively) to miss advancing to the final. She placed eighth overall.
Guiney placed 24th overall after finishing fifth in her quarterfinal, Stephen was 25th after taking fifth in the same quarterfinal as Sargent (where Yeaton finished sixth for 30th overall), and Patterson was 27th after finishing sixth in her quarterfinal.
***
Both Canada’s Len Valjas and American Andy Newell reached the final in the men’s 1.5 k classic sprint on Friday, where they raced to fourth and sixth, respectively.
Valjas started the day by qualifying in second, 1.97 seconds behind Russia’s Alexander Panzhinskiy, who topped the qualifier in 3:26.78. The Canadian went on to advance in second from his quarterfinal and fourth as a lucky loser from the first semifinal. In the final, he missed out on the podium in a photo finish with Russia’s Andrey Parfenov, who took third, 0.01 seconds ahead of him.
Meanwhile, Newell qualified seventh (+5.18) and took second in both his quarterfinal and semifinal (finishing the second semifinal 0.34 seconds behind Panzhinskiy in first).
In the final, Russia’s 25-year-old Gleb Retivykh pulled off his first World Cup victory and podium with a 0.3-second win over Norway’s Sondre Turvoll Fossli in 3:30.79. Retivykh qualified sixth (+4.53) then won his quarterfinal and placed third in the same semifinal as Valjas, advancing as the other lucky loser.
“I had wait six years for my first victory and it is great,” Retivykh said, according to an International Ski Federation (FIS) press release.
Russia had two on the podium with Parfenov in third (+0.73), just ahead of Valjas. The third Russian in the final, Panzhinsky ended up fifth (+1.49), ahead of Newell in sixth (+17.19)
Three Canadian men qualified for the heats, with Jess Cockney in 16th (+10.24) and Simon Lapointe in 25th (+14.15). Bob Thompson missed 30th by one-hundredth of a second in 31st (+16.95), and Julien Locke was 36th (+17.9).
Three Americans qualified as well, with Simi Hamilton in 12th (+8.26) and Matt Gelso in 29th (+16.66). Distance skiers Scott Patterson and Noah Hoffman finished 44th (+24.21) and 48th (+25.28) out of 55.
Cockney reached the semifinals after winning his quarterfinal. In the second semifinal with Newell, he placed fifth, 5.44 seconds behind Panzhinskiy, for 10th overall.
In Cockney’s quarterfinal, Hamilton crashed and finished fourth (+41.9) for 17th overall.
Canada’s 23-year-old Lapointe finished sixth in his quarterfinal to place 27th, besting his previous World Cup best by 43 places. Gelso took 29th for his first-ever World Cup points after placing sixth in his quarterfinal.
American Julia Kern (second from r) chasing Russia’s Polina Nekrasova (r) in the first semifinal of the women’s classic sprint on Monday at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. While the Russian won the semifinal (and ultimately the final), Kern finished fifth after a crash for ninth overall. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
Germany, Germany, Germany. That was the way the women’s 1.3-kilometer classic sprint started on Monday at the first day of Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, with Antonia Fräbel putting down the fastest qualifying time in 3:40.83, a full 6.15 and 8.03 seconds faster than her German teammates Coletta Rydzek and Julia Richter, who qualified in second and third, respectively.
The 10th woman to qualify (out of 30), Russia’s Polina Nekrasova, was nearly 13 seconds slower than Fräbel around Soldier Hollow’s new sprint course at the 2002 Olympic venue.
But the qualifier is the qualifier; the heats are what ultimately matter.
There, in the quarterfinals, the 18-year-old Nekrasova won the first quarterfinal in 3:38.13, a time that bested Fräbel’s qualifier by more than two seconds, while American Julia Kern crossed the line 0.19 seconds later in second. Fräbel was in that quarterfinal, too, and finished third (+0.91).
Kern, in her third Junior World Championships, explained that her strategy for that heat had been to stick to Fräbel like glue.
“I knew I didn’t want to lead on the downhills since the draft set up really well today and I knew I would be strong coming into the finish,” the 19-year-old Kern, a member of U.S. Ski Team development team (D-team) and Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team, wrote in an email.
Fortunately for her, the plan worked. Kern followed Fräbel up the first two climbs before Fräbel and Nekrasova gapped her slightly on the final uphill.
“I pushed really hard off the top and my skis were rockets (thanks to our awesome techs!) so I skied right up to them by the turn,” Kern wrote. “I held my ground and took the inside on the 180 turn, pushing the German to the outside and then all three of us double poled hard into the finish head to head.”
The fourth-place finisher in that heat, Italy’s Veronika Broll, finished nearly 14 seconds later. The top three advanced to the semifinals, which Nekrasova and Fräbel both went on to win. A crash caused Kern to finish fifth in the first semifinal, 28.05 seconds behind Nekrasova in first.
American Julia Kern (Stratton Mountain School Elite Team/U.S. Ski Team D-team) during her semifinal of the women’s classic sprint on Monday at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
“I didn’t have a great start in the semi final but that didn’t worry me,” Kern reflected. “I knew my skis were fast and that the second part of the course played to my strength.”
She followed the pack up the first hill, pushing hard over the top and put herself in a position to start passing people on the final climb.
“There was definitely some pushing and shoving by other girls as we crested the top,” Kern wrote.
The California native (who grew up outside Boston) began the final descent toward the stadium in fourth, “right where I wanted to be to hang in the draft,” she wrote.
Coming out of it, the three women ahead of Kern lined up in the second lane while Norway’s Marte Maehlum Johanson moved to the third lane.
“My skis were feeling awesome and I was gliding into the other girls quickly so I made a move to the fourth track to set up wide for the 180 turn,” Kern wrote. “Unfortunately, as [Johanson] switched to the 3rd lane, she placed both skis in one track and started to fall. I hopped into the fourth lane but as she fell, I think her pole flung out into my track and my ski went over it, stopping the ski and sending my momentum forward and onto one ski. I almost saved it with a funky one-leg balance drill but my momentum was flying so fast forward that I went for the straight penguin dive for 10 feet across the snow.
“I quickly hopped back on my feet in hopes that I could make a miracle come back but I soon realized I was at a complete stop at the highest speed part of the downhill and the pack was already rounding the corner,” Kern continued. “I still wanted to get top 10 (my goal for the day), so I quickly started to ski until I rounded the corner and realized the Norwegian was still lying on the ground. I decided then to ski it in easy and soak up the amazing atmosphere of my family and friends cheering me on, on home soil with the sun shining and beautiful hard track classic skiing.”
While Kern didn’t advance to the final, she ended up ninth on the day for her first individual top 10 at Junior Worlds.
“It is pretty bittersweet,” Kern wrote of her result. “It is easy to get caught up on the ‘what if’s’, especially since I was exactly positioned how I wanted to in the last downhill and I was in the mix to fight for the A-final spot I have always dreamed of. However, today I skied exactly how I wanted to and I didn’t leave anything out there and that is all that matters; an unlucky crash out of my control is just part of sprint racing and I don’t think that should put a damper on what is still my best ever sprint result at World Juniors!”
Russia’s Polina Nekrasova looks back after decisively gapping two Germans for the win in the women’s classic sprint on Monday at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Germany’s Antonia Fräbel placed second (+3.56) and Coletta Rydzek was third (+4.58). (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
Meanwhile, Nekrasova and Fräbel met in the final, along with Rydzek, Finland’s Anita Korva, Norway’s Mathilde Myhrvold, and Sweden’s Emma Ribom. There, Nekrasova outlasted the two Germans for the win in 3:34.6, crossing the line 3.56 seconds clear of Fräbel in second and 4.58 seconds ahead of Rydzek, the younger sister of German nordic-combined standout Johannes Rydzek, in third.
“I trained and prepared for this only this; all year I prepared for this start,” said Nekrasova, a two-time Junior Worlds competitor, in a post-race interview with the U.S. Ski Team media. “So that is why I’m here.”
The Russian had been on the podium before, taking bronze in the junior women’s relay at 2016 Junior Worlds in Rasnov, Romania. But this was her first individual podium (after placing 18th in last year’s freestyle sprint) and first gold medal.
Fräbel in second was ecstatic about silver.
The women’s classic sprint podium on Day 1 of Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow, with Russia’s Polina Nekrasova (c) in first, Germany’s Antonia Fräbel (l) in second and Germany’s Coletta Rydzek (r) in third. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
“I haven’t got any words, I’m unbelievably happy and so happy that my friend Coletta is with me on the podium,” she told the U.S. Ski Team media. “I can’t say any more, my feeling is so strong.”
Asked specifically about the course, Fräbel said it was “so hard.”
“The height is 1800 meters, so hard for us Germans,” she said of Soldier Hollow’s elevation, nearly 5,900 meters above sea level.
For someone like Hannah Halvorsen, who hails from Truckee, Calif, and trains with the Sugar Bowl Academy 7,000 feet above sea level on Donner Summit, the air in SoHo was thicker than at home. Halvorsen, also a U.S. Ski Team D-team member, raced to 13th in Monday’s qualifier, 13.32 seconds behind Fräbel, and went on to win her quarterfinal.
“Being that we got to ski this course at senior nationals a couple weeks ago I felt confident I could ski it well and was hoping for a top five in the prelim,” wrote the 18-year-old Halvorsen, who finished 11th in the senior freestyle sprint at U.S. nationals earlier this month.
While she competed at 2016 Youth Olympic Games, this marked her first Junior Worlds.
“My strategy [for the quarterfinal] was to ski smart and come into the final downhill in second. Our skis were running really fast so this pulled me into first for the final straightaway,” she explained.
In the fifth quarterfinal, Halvorsen led two Russians across the finish, with Olga Kucheruk in second (+0.75) and Mariya Istomina in third (+1.25). The third-fastest qualifier, Germany’s Richter finished 2.21 seconds back in fourth and did not advance to the semifinals.
American Hannah Halvorsen (Sugar Bowl Academy/U.S. Ski Team D-team) racing to 13th in the women’s classic sprint qualifier on Monday at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. She finished sixth in her semifinal for 11th overall. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
With the win, Halvorsen guaranteed herself a spot in that next round and she raced in the second semifinal with Fräbel, Rydzek, Ribom, and Myhrvold, and Kucheruk, the first four of which would continue on to the final (Kucheruk in fifth did not). Halvorsen finished sixth in that heat, 8.14 seconds behind Fräbel, for 11th overall.
“I felt confident that I skied tactically well in the quarter and that if I did the same and still felt strong I could move on from the semi. Unfortunately the pace was just too fast for me,” Halvorsen wrote. “I am really happy with my first world junior race. I have been looking forward to this race for a long time and I dreamed of a podium. However I skied my best and I wasn’t fast enough today.”
Three U.S. women reached the heats, with Lauren Jortberg (Dartmouth College) qualifying in 27th (+20.12) then finishing fourth in the second quarterfinal, 4.4 seconds behind Norway’s Kristine Stavås Skistad in first. That put Jortberg 20th on the day at her first Junior Worlds. The fourth U.S. woman racing on Monday, Taeler McCrerey (University of Denver) finished 40th, also in her Junior Worlds debut.
Canada entered four women as well, with Claire Grall-Johnson (Nakkertok) leading them in 39th, followed by Natalie Hynes (Whitehorse) in 42nd, Annika Richardson (NTDC Thunder Bay) in 44th, and Lisle Compton (NTDC Thunder Bay) in 45th.
Photos from Monday, Day 1 of the 2017 USANA Nordic Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, which kicked off with the junior women’s and men’s classic sprints. All photos: FlyingPointRoad.com. Click images to enlarge.
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![Katharine Ogden (l) became the first American to reach the podium at Nordic Junior World Championships on Friday after placing third in the women's 10 k skiathlon. Norway’s Marte Mæhlum Johansen won the race for her first gold of the championships (c) and Sweden’s Ebba Andersson was second (r). (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF9041.jpg")
![American Katharine Ogden (SMS/USST) and her dad John celebrate her bronze medal in the women's 10 k skiathlon on Friday at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: U.S. Ski Team/Tom Kelly)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/DSC0301-XL.jpg")
![Norway’s Marte Mæhlum Johansen (2) and Germany’s Antonia Fräbel (3) leading early in the women's 10 k skiathlon on Friday at 2017 Junior World Championships, along with American Katharine Ogden (4) and Italy’s Anna Comarella (5) on the first of four laps at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF6156.jpg")
![Norway's Marte Mæhlum Johansen (r) making a move up the final climb of the second-to-last lap in Friday's 10 k skiathlon at Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow, while skiing with Sweden's Ebba Andersson (l) and USAs Katharine Ogden (c). (Photo: U.S. Ski Team/Tom Kelly)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/DSC3716-XL.jpg")
![Katharine Ogden (SMS/USST) finishing third for bronze in the women's 10 k skiathlon on Friday at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. She is the first American to reach the podium in a Junior World Championships. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF7229.jpg")
![Katharine Ogden (r) with U.S. teammates Hailey Swirbul (l) and Hannah Halvorsen (c) after Swirbul learned Ogden placed third in the women's 10 k skiathlon at Junior World Championships. Swirbul was the second American in 24th on Friday at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF8884.jpg")
![The women's 1.4 k classic sprint podium on Friday at the pre-Olympic PyeongChang World Cup in South Korea, with Slovenia's Anamarija Lampič (c) in first, Norway’s Silje Øyre Slind (l) in second, and American Ida Sargent (r) in third. It was the first time on the World Cup podium for all three athletes. (Photo: FIS Cross-Country/Twitter)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/C3vOANtUYAENIZE.jpg")
![American Julia Kern (second from r) chasing Russia's Polina Nekrasova (r) in the first semifinal of the women's classic sprint on Monday at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. While the Russian won the semifinal, Kern finished fifth after a crash. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/SMF6348.jpg")
![American Julia Kern (Stratton Mountain School/U.S. Ski Team D-team) during her semifinal of the women's classic sprint on Monday at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. She fell and placed fifth in that heat. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/SMF3910.jpg")
![Russia's Polina Nekrasova looks back after outlasting two Germans for the win in the women's classic sprint on Monday at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Germany's Antonia Fräbel placed second (+3.56) and Coletta Rydzek was third (+4.58). (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/SMF5491.jpg")
![The women's classic sprint podium on Day 1 of Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow, with Russia's Polina Nekrasova (c) in first, Germany's Antonia Fräbel (l) in second and Germany's Coletta Rydzek (r) in third. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/SMF6504.jpg")
![American Hannah Halvorsen (Sugar Bowl Academy/U.S. Ski Team D-team) racing to 13th in the women's classic sprint qualifier on Monday at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/SMF2467.jpg")