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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.

Tag: US Ski and Snowboad

  • U.S. Ski Team Announces Tour de Ski and World Cup Period 2 Team

    U.S. Ski Team Announces Tour de Ski and World Cup Period 2 Team

    Dear Cross Country Community,

    We are pleased to announce the USA Cross Country Team for World Cup Period 2 of the 2020-21 season:

    Tour de Ski 2021

    Men

    Gus Schumacher                                 Objective                  Overall 19-20 SuperTour Leader

    Simi Hamilton                                     Objective                  8th WC Sprint

    Kevin Bolger                                        Objective                  9th WC Sprint

    Logan Hanneman                              Objective                  11th WC Sprint

    JC Schoonmaker                                Objective                  21st WC Sprint

    Scott Patterson                                  Objective                  28th WC Distance

    David Norris                                       Discretion                  Historic World Cup Results

     

    Women

    Kaitlynn Miller                                  Objective                           Overall 19-20 SuperTour Leader

    Rosie Brennan                                  Objective                  1st WC Distance, 5th WC Sprint

    Sophie Caldwell Hamilton             Objective                  3rd WC Sprint

    Jessie Diggins                                    Objective                  8th WC Distance, 8th WC Sprint

    Hailey Swirbul                                   Objective                  11th WC Distance

    Julia Kern                                            Objective                  14th WC Sprint

    Sadie Maubet Bjornsen                    Discretion                  Historic Tour de Ski Podium Ability

    Katharine Ogden                               Discretion                  9 WC Distance Points 2020-21

    Caitlin Patterson                               Discretion                  5 WC Distance Points 2020-21

    Please note that we purposefully did not nominate alternates to the Tour de Ski team this year, as the U.S. Cross Country staff is concerned that a larger team might be harder to keep healthy given the unique nature of the Tour (i.e. two countries, 3 venues, and 8 competitions in 10 days), and our priority remains keeping all athletes and staff healthy during the pandemic.

    The above discretionary selections were nominated by a 15-person working group that includes:

    Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess                 U.S. Ski & Snowboard Athlete Rep

    Tad Elliott                                                U.S. Ski & Snowboard Athlete Rep

    Cami Thompson-Graves                       U.S. Ski & Snowboard XC Sport Committee Chair / Dartmouth College

    Austin Caldwell                                      CU

    Dragan Danevski                                    MEA

    Erik Flora                                                 APU

    Joe Haggenmiller                                    CXC

    Chris Mallory                                           SVSEF

    Pepa Miloucheva                                    CGRP

    Pat O’Brien                                              SMS

    Dan Weiland                                            SSCV

    Bernie Nelson                                          U.S. Ski Team

    Jason Cork                                                U.S. Ski Team

    Matt Whitcomb                                       U.S. Ski Team

    Chris Grover                                             U.S. Ski Team

     

    The nominations were then approved by a discretionary selection review group comprised of:

    Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess                  U.S. Ski & Snowboard Athlete Rep

    Tiger Shaw                                                U.S. Ski & Snowboard CEO

    Bryan Fish                                                 U.S. Ski & Snowboard Sport Development Manager

    The above discretionary selection process will be repeated for each period of World Cup this coming season. As always, if you have questions or concerns about this process, feel free to contact me directly.

     

    Sincerely,

    Chris Grover

    Cross Country Program Director, U.S. Ski Team

    chris.grover@usskiandsnowboard.org

  • U.S. 2019 World Championship Team Announced

    U.S. 2019 World Championship Team Announced

     

    Sadie Bjornsen and Jessie Diggins are both medalists from the 2017 World Championships. (Getty Images – Richard Heathcote)

    In a press release Monday afternoon, U.S. Ski and Snowboard announced the members of the 2019 Cross-Country World Championships in Seefeld, Austria. 

    (Press Release)

    U.S. Ski & Snowboard has named 18 athletes to the U.S. Cross Country Team that will compete in the 2019 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships next month in Seefeld, Austria. The biennial World Championships brings together the best athletes in the sport for the Feb. 20 – March 3 event which will be live streamed in its entirely on NBCsports.com.

    “This team has the experience and the tenacity to bring medals home from Seefeld,” said U.S. Cross Country Team Head Coach Chris Grover. “Both Sophie and Jessie know how to win on these courses, and they’ll be supported by a veteran group. Our staff has been making some great skis this season and brings many years of Championship know-how to Seefeld. We are excited to see what everyone can do.”

    The team includes two medalists from past championships including Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) and Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.). At the 2017 World Championships in Lahti, Finland, Diggins won the silver in the freestyle sprint and teamed up with Bjornsen in the classic team sprint to take the bronze. Only five Americans have won a cross country medal at World Championships.

    “It’s always an honor to be named to a Championship team, and I’m excited to join such a strong team as we head into Seefeld 2019,” said Diggins. “Although there’s always pressure coming into big events like this, I’m going to be focused on executing my race plan and peaking for the events I’ve targeted at the World Championships in the next few weeks. I’ve enjoyed racing and training on the trails in Seefeld and they have a great atmosphere there, so it should be a really fun and exciting set of races.”

    Competition opens on Thursday, February 21, with the freestyle sprint, followed by the skiathlon before heading into the distance races.  The Championships conclude on March 2-3 with a 30k women’s and 50k men’s freestyle mass start.

      2019 U.S. Cross Country World Championship Team
     (name, hometown, ski club, birthdate)

    Men
    Simi Hamilton, Aspen, Co., (SMST2) 5/14/1987
    Erik Bjornsen, Winthrop, Wash., (Alaska Pacific University) 7/15/1991
    Andy Newell, Shaftsbury, Vt., (SMST2) 11/30/1983
    Kevin Bolger, Sun Valley, Idaho, (SVSEF) 04/11/1993
    Logan Hanneman, Fairbanks, Alaska, (Alaska Pacific University) 6/2/1993
    Kyle Bratrud, Eden Prairie, Minn., (SMST2) 2/9/1993
    David Norris, Fairbanks, Alaska, (Alaska Pacific University) 12/12/1990
    Ben Lustgarten, Burlington, Vt., (Craftsbury Green Racing) 4/17/1992
    Adam Martin, Wausau, Wis., (Craftsbury Green Racing) 10/26/1994
    Scott Patterson, Anchorage, Alaska, (Alaska Pacific University) 01/28/1998

    Women
    Sadie Bjornsen, Winthrop, Wash., (Alaska Pacific University) 11/21/1989
    Sophie Caldwell, Stratton Mountain, Vt., (SMST2) 3/22/1990
    Jessie Diggins, Afton, Minn., (SMST2) 8/26/1991
    Rosie Brennan, Park City, Utah, (Alaska Pacific University) 12/2/1988
    Ida Sargent, Craftsbury, Vt., (Craftsbury Green Racing) 1/25/1988
    Julia Kern, Waltham, Mass., ( SMST2) 09/12/1997
    Caitlin Patterson, Craftsbury, Vt., (Craftsbury Green Racing) 1/30/1990
    Rosie Frankowski, Minneapolis, Minn., (Alaska Pacific University) 7/30/1991