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.
For those interested in streaming the FIS Nordic Junior & U23 Worlds from Vokotti, Finland a pay-per-view streaming video package is offered for $20.99. This fee includes the entire event.
For the men, Zak Ketterson (USST/NMU) was the only American qualifier in 15th (+5.65) in the U23 World Championship men’s skate sprint in Oberwiesenthal, Germany. Logan Diekmann (Univ. of Utah) was the next American finisher in 44th (+12.36) followed by Zane Fields (Ford Sayre) in 45th (+12.82) and Hunter Wonders (APU) in 52nd (+14.03).
On the Canadian side, Graham Ritchie (Big Thunder Nordic) was the top qualifier in 6th (+3.37), followed by Antoine Cyr (Skinouk) in 18th (+5.82). Outside the heats, Pierre Grall-Johnson (Nakkertok) finished 64th (+21.85), followed by Phillippe Boucher (Commission de ski nordique Skibec) in 71st (+1:34.97).
Ketterson raced in the fourth heat of the quarters, hovering near the back of the pack for the first half of the lap, then making a move to advance. He narrowly dodged a crash as Canada’s Ritchie caught an edge in the loose top layer of snow as they rounded a curve, but was not able to put himself in a position to contend for a top-two spot. Ketterson finished 5th in the heat, followed by Ritchie. They ended the day in 22nd and 26th, respectively.
Cyr also finished sixth in the final heat of the quarters, finishing 28th overall.
Norway’s Vebjørn Hegdal won the men’s final with Italy’s Mattia Armellini second, and Norway’s Harald Østberg Amundsen third.
According to the FIS Website, a live stream of the events will be available at www.jwm2020.de.
Date/Time (All Times in Pacific Standard Time)
2-29 5A (PST) Junior Women’s 1.2 k Freestyle Sprint Heats
2-29 5A (PST) Junior Men’s 1.3 k Freestyle Sprint Heats
3-1 5A (PST) U23 Women’s 1.2 k Freestyle Sprint Heats
3-1 5A (PST) U23 Men’s 1.3 k Freestyle Sprint Heats
3-2 1A (PST) Junior Women’s 5 k classic
3-2 3A (PST) Junior Men’s 10 k classic
3-3 3A (PST) U23 Women’s 10 k classic
3-3 5A (PST) U23 Men’s 15 k classic
3-4 3A (PST) Junior Women’s 15 k mst skate
3-4 5A Junior Men’s 30 k mst skate
3-5 1A (PST) U23 Women’s 15 k mst skate
3-5 3A (PST) U23 Men’s 30 k mst skate
3-6 1A (PST) Junior Women’s 4 x 3.3 k c/f relay
3-6 3A (PST) Junior Men’s 4 x 5 k c/f relay
3-7 2A (PST) U23 Mixed 4 x 5 k c/f relay
Link to Schedule Overview Including XC, jumping, and NoCo
Switzerland’s top women distance skier Nathalie von Siebenthal announced her retirement Tuesday from elite level cross-country ski racing. According to the International Ski Federation (FIS), von Siebenthal took a break after the World Cup season and did not regain the motivation to continue.
“The decision to take a break in spring was really important for me,” von Siebenthal told FIS. “In autumn I felt like my body was ready to go fully into training again. After a few days however, I had to admit that neither my body, nor my mind wanted to continue. Now I am sure that resigning from the professional sport is the right thing to do for me.”
At twenty-six-years-old, von Siebenthal leaves the sport at a relatively young age.
She emerged at U23 Worlds in 2014 with an eighth place in the 7.5 k/7.5 k skiathlon. A year later at U23s, she placed third in the 10 k freestyle and won the skiathlon.
On the World Cup, she posted numerous top-ten results. Her best individual World Cup races were a fifth place in 2017 during the Davos 10 k skate, and a fourth during the 2018 10 k mass start skate in Oberstdorf, Germany – part of the Tour de Ski.
At the 2017 Lahti World Championships, she was fourth in the skiathlon. Most recently, von Siebenthal raced to seventh overall at the 2019 World Championship 30 k skate in Seefeld, Austria.
During the 2018 PyeyongChang Olympics, she was sixth in both the skiathlon and 10 k skate.
According to FIS, von Siebenthal raced on the World Cup for five seasons.
U23 World Championships in Lahti, Finland got rolling on Jan. 21 with a classic sprint. In our quest to check in with some of the North American athletes in Finland, with emailed a list of quick-hit questions to touch base. Graham Ritchie trains with Thunder Bay NTDC and represented Canada at Junior Worlds at Soldier Hollow in 2017 and Goms, Switzerland, in 2018. Ritchie is from Parry Sound, Ontario, best known as the birthplace of Bobby Orr.
What is the first difference you noticed between Finland and Norway? All I’d say about that is, I thought I was back in TBay when we landed in Helsinki.
What are you reading? I’m not an avid reader so unfortunately I don’t have anything to give you here, haha! I’m currently in enrolled in a general business program at the college in Thunder Bay though so that keeps me busy!
How are you approaching this Worlds differently than those in the past? This is my second Worlds trip, my first was last year as a junior. This year I am a first year U23, so I went into the competition knowing it was going to be a lot of grinding. I approached this worlds with my main focus on the sprint. I knew that if I raced the way that I could, I would be happy with my performance. In the end, I was stoked with my performance, mostly in the qualifier!
What are some “performance goals” going into the races you are focusing on? My performance goal going into the championships was to qualify for the sprint heats. I did achieve this goal and I was super happy to have qualified 19th. After that, my goal was the qualify for semi-finals, but it didn’t work out. I learned about some tactics I need to work on to help my performance for the next two years to come!
What are the races you are focusing on? The race I was focusing on was the sprint. As there are only 4 U23 men on the trip, I participated in all the events and definitely learned some new things by racing against some of the best in the world.
Who best supports you when a race doesn’t go the way you envisioned? When a race doesn’t go the way you planned, it’s no fun. It’s awesome to have such great supportive teammates and coaches. As well as of course my family back home who are always happy with how I am doing!
Who is the first person you call/text/email…etc. when the race goes well? The first people I talk to after a race other than teammates and coaches on the race site, are my parents. They are usually the first ones to text me after a race!
How do you best deal with external pressure to perform? I’m not the type of person who gets really stressed out from external pressure. I just know that I’ll race to my best ability, and I know that when I need to perform well I can do it.
How do you best deal with internal pressure to perform? Similar to the previous question, I am able to keep myself calm and not get too overwhelmed by what is going on. I know what I need to focus on and that is what I do!
What type of “fun” are you looking to have outside of skiing in Lahti? Outside of skiing in Lahti, there’s not a whole lot to do as there isn’t really anything around where we are staying. It will definitely be fun to let go a little bit and celebrate after the races are over!
Not even temperatures topping out at -18 C could slow down athletes in the classic sprints at Lappe Nordic Stadium in Thunder Bay, Ontario, on Saturday, where tickets to major events were on the line.
According to press releases from Cross Country Canada, the nation’s governing body, winners of Saturday’s races were all but guaranteed places on the country’s team headed to the U-23 and World Junior Championships in Estonia later this month.
Patrick Stewart-Jones (Nakkertok Nordic) can start packing after winning the junior men’s sprint, while Foothills’ Heidi Widmer should also be making that trip. She has won two events at Lappe Nordic this week, including Saturday’s junior women’s race.
Dasha Gaiazova (NST) secured her ticket to the 2011 World Championships in Oslo when she won the pursuit on Thursday. But she saw no reason to let off the throttle on Saturday, and cruised in to win the classic sprint as well. Perianne Jones (NST) finished second to Gaiazova in both races, but she’s already sealed her place in the group headed to Norway, thanks to a qualifying sprint she won in December. (While Jones didn’t win that race outright, she was the first Canadian finisher.)
Alysson Marshall (Larch Hills) was third in the sprint final on Saturday, but first among the U-23 women, which means that she will almost certainly travel to U-23’s in Estonia, along with Emily Nishikawa (Whitehorse), who was the top U-23 female in Thursday’s pursuit.
There was no selection for the Oslo World Championships in the men’s sprint race, as Canada used a sprint in December in British Columbia as its qualifyier. George Grey (NST) also clinched a spot in that group with his win in Thursday’s pursuit race at Lappe.
Brent McMurtry (Foothills) won Saturday’s sprint final, while Stefan Kuhn (NST) was second. Jess Cockney (Foothills), who was third, should be a part of the Canadian U-23 team, along with Kevin Sandau (Foothills/NST) who was the top U-23 athlete in Thursday’s pursuit.
Men’s results here
Women’s results here
Junior men’s results here
Junior women’s results here
