Interviews – Page 2 – FasterSkier.com

Hailey Swirbul and the Way Opened by Jessie Diggins: by Paolo Romaniemi

FasterSkierSeptember 22, 2021

“She Showed Us What We Young Americans Can Achieve.” This article was originally published in the Italian publication www.fondoitalia.it. This translated version, lightly edited for clarity, was shared with FasterSkier by the author. If Hailey Swirbul can be considered the most successful American cross-country skier ever at junior level and last season was able to get her first World Cup podium in Davos’ 10km classic, the “blame” or merit is — at least in part...

General Interviews Lifestyle News Olympics

A Glimpse Inside the Tokyo Olympic Bubble with Peter Graves

Ella HallAugust 20, 2021

Most FasterSkier readers will be familiar with the name Peter Graves, also referred to as the voice of cross country skiing (and incidentally, the author’s uncle). This summer, Graves lent his voice to the cycling venues near Tokyo for the 2020-turned-2021 Olympic Games. For Graves, this marks his twelfth time announcing at the Games, including summer and winter appearances. Needless to say, he has a wealth of experience. FasterSkier connected with Graves on a recent...

Community General Interviews News

Global Athlete Announces New Podcast (Press Release)

FasterSkierJune 15, 2021

Press Release 15 June 2021: Global Athlete is pleased to announce an exciting expansion in our efforts toward athlete-driven change across the world of sport- a new athlete-led podcast seeking to broaden the conversation about power, accountability, and athlete rights in international sport. Hosted by 2x Olympian and Global Athlete startup group member Noah Hoffman and featuring guest hosts and Global Athlete members Bree Schaaf and Caradh O’Donovan, the 14-episode first season of our weekly...

Feature Interviews

Fine Tuning with Katherine Stewart-Jones and Erik Bråten: A Two Way Street

Jason AlbertFebruary 18, 2021

Canada’s Katherine Stewart-Jones landed on the World Cup this season beginning in January – and late January at that. The Canadian National Team remained off the race circuit until then due to a variety of issues related to the pandemic. Domestically, Canada took a hard stance on running races. When Stewart-Jones and her teammates raced in Lahti on January 23, their only “race” experience since the end of last season were head-to-head efforts within...

Feature Interviews World Cup

Life After Sport: Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen

FasterSkierOctober 1, 2020

This Interview with former Norwegian National Team member Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen comes from Paolo Romanò, a reporter for Fondoitalia.it. The interview was also published on the FIS website. This version of the interview has been lightly edited. Since 22nd February 2007 – at the young age of twenty – Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen shocked the cross-country skiing world. From that first gold medal in the classic sprint at the World Ski Championships in Sapporo, many have...

General Interviews News

Discussing the Building Blocks with Canadian National Team Coach Erik Bråten

Jason AlbertJune 29, 2020

At twenty-seven-years-old, Canadian National Team coach Erik Bråten brings youthful energy and a spirit that fosters independence amongst his athletes. Originally from Oslo, Norway, and new to the Canadian system in November 2018, Bråten has the dual task of shepherding a crop of young Canadian talent and assisting veteran athletes like Dahira Beatty and Katherine Stweart-Jones to achieving consistent in-the-points racing on the World Cup. Recently, Bråten has helped Nordiq Canada organize and produce a series...

Interviews News US Ski Team

Middlebury’s Kate Barton Advances to U.S. Ski & Snowboard D-Team Head Coach

Rachel PerkinsJune 24, 2020

If you read FasterSkier, you are likely aware that elite cross country skiing in the U.S. has been steadily on the rise over the last decade. In the last four years alone, we’ve borne witness to medals at all levels, including a Diggins-Randall double podium in the freestyle sprint at the 2017 World Championships, a 10 k classic win for Gus Schumacher at the 2020 World Junior Championships, a bronze medals for Will Koch and...

Feature General Interviews News

Settled in Canmore and Making Gains: Katherine Stewart-Jones

Jason AlbertJune 15, 2020

Win now? Win later? Or somewhere in between? A one year plan with a World Champs looming in 2021 or something befitting a six-year plan for capturing hardware at the 2026 Winter Games in Italy? Those are the strategies in play as national teams set budgets, rosters, and priorities. For countries like Norway and Sweden – at least on the Swedish women’s side – win now and later seems to be the constant background noise....

Feature General Interviews News

A Day in the Life from APUNSC : Hailey Swirbul

FasterSkierJune 8, 2020

This series comes to FasterSkier from the Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Club A Day in the Life: APUNSC is checking in with Elite Team members of the course of the next few months to get a glimpse into what life looks like for elite athletes as training starts up again during a global pandemic. APUNSC is also running a fundraiser in which the Elite Team is working towards skiing 1,000 kilometers as a team...

Biathlon Community Interviews Para Nordic

Rising Together: The Crosscut Elite Team Fosters the Success of US Para Nordic

Rachel PerkinsJune 2, 2020

On April 9th, the Crosscut Mountain Sports Center in Bozeman, MT released information and qualification criteria for their newly founded elite team. As you skim what it takes to earn a spot at each tier of the program, it may catch your attention that the cross country, biathlon, and para nordic are housed within the same program. This single team approach reflects the growth and development at Crosscut in connection with its partnership with the...

Feature General Interviews News

FS Interview: Chris Grover Discusses the FIS Fluoro Ban and the World Cup in 2020-2021

Jason AlbertMay 29, 2020

FasterSkier spoke with Chris Grover this week to discuss the International Ski Federation’s fluoro wax ban, which will be implemented this season, and the potential for a modified World Cup schedule. Grover is the Davis U.S. Cross Country Team Program Director and the former head coach of the U.S. team. He is also a member of the FIS Cross-Country Committee and the chair of the Sub-Committee for World and Continental Cups. For starters, here...

Feature Interviews News

A Day in the Life from APUNSC : Rosie Frankowski

FasterSkierMay 19, 2020

This series comes to FasterSkier from the Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Club A Day in the Life: APUNSC is checking in with Elite Team members of the course of the next few months to get a glimpse into what life looks like for elite athletes as training starts up again during a global pandemic. Today we check in with Rosie Frankowski (28), a 2018 Olympian, 2019 World Championship team member, and SuperTour podium regular....

Interviews Para Nordic

Masters and Gretsch Prepare for Two Paralympic Cycles After Postponement of Tokyo Games

Rachel PerkinsMay 5, 2020

Of the members of the U.S. Para Nordic team, more than half compete at the highest level in both summer and winter sports. Instead of quadrennial, their training is designed for biennial Paralympic cycles, oscillating between sports each year with an overall focus shift toward whichever Games is approaching fastest. And the goal is not simply to compete in both rounds of the Games, it is to bring home medals. Illinois based Oksana Masters is...

General Interviews News

Still Charging: Erik Bjornsen Retires at 28

Jason AlbertApril 30, 2020

Bright lights in PyeongChang. The men’s second semifinal of the Olympic freestyle team sprint was a career highlight moment for Erik Bjornsen. Fourteen teams would crowd the start lanes with Martin Johnsrud Sundby in bib 1. The Norwegian was paired with Johannes Høsflot Klæbo: The duo blessed with Sundby’s stamina and his younger counterpart’s break-from-the-pack speed. With Simi Hamilton racing the second, fourth, and sixth legs for the U.S., and Bjornsen leading off, the semi...

Interviews News

Marine Dusser-Bjornsen Sticks the Landing at University of Alaska Anchorage (With Audio Interview)

Rachel PerkinsApril 21, 2020

On April 1st, the University of Alaska Anchorage athletics department announced that interim head coach Marine Dusser-Bjornsen had been named Nordic Coach of the Year by the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association (RMISA) after her first year in the role. Despite stepping into the position last minute, Dusser-Bjornsen proved her readiness for the role and led the Seawolves to an outstanding season. The men’s team finished the season in second place in the RMISA standings...

Interviews News

UVM’s Patrick Weaver on the Waxing and Waning of Fluoro Use

Jason AlbertMarch 20, 2020

At fifty-years-old, University of Vermont’s head cross-country ski coach Patrick Weaver is in a sweet spot. Since May 2010, the two-time Olympian has been at the helm in Burlington, Vermont guiding student-athletes on the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) ski circuit. With a long tenure and accompanying success, Weaver has become a leading voice in New England when discussing reforms in the sport. As the debate heated up this past September when FasterSkier published an...

Community Interviews

4x National Champion Kyle Bratrud Retires From Professional Skiing (With Audio Interviews)

Rachel PerkinsMarch 16, 2020

On February 18th, four days before the American Birkie, Kyle Bratrud (SMS T2) announced that the race would be his final competition as a professional skier. The news caught many by surprise as Bratrud seemed to be having a strong season, following a solid season in 2018/19. Last season, the 26-year-old Minnesota native won the 15-kilometer classic and took second in the 30 k free at U.S. Nationals in Craftsbury and ended his season as...

Community Interviews

Doing Things Her Own Way, Erika Flowers is Third at the American Birkie

Rachel PerkinsMarch 7, 2020

At the end of the 2018 season after being on the wrong side of the cusp of making the Olympic team, Erika Flowers made a transition in her ski career. She left her Stratton Mountain School T2 training group and returned home to Bozeman, MT where she began a role as the Associate Director at Profitable Ideas Exchange. However, Flowers did not hang up her skis — it was not retirement, just a transition and...

Community Interviews Lifestyle

A Memorable First Postpartum Birkie For Caitlin Gregg (With Audio Interview)

Rachel PerkinsFebruary 28, 2020

Two hours and twenty minutes after leaving the starting gate in Cable, Caitlin Gregg crossed the finish line on Main Street in Hayward, her eighth journey through Wisconsin’s north woods during the American Birkebeiner. Five of these resulted in the win, but this year, Gregg was the fifth woman across the line. Butt was still a first — her first Birkie as a mom, just over one year after giving birth to her daughter, Heidi,...

Community Continental Cup Interviews Racing

A Norwegian in Hayward: Niklas Dyrhaug Wins The American Birkie (With Audio Interview)

Rachel PerkinsFebruary 27, 2020

Several inches of new snow five days out, a cold-snap that sent temperatures in Hayward plummeting to -24 degrees Fahrenheit two nights before the race, and a bluebird day with temperatures in the high teens at the start, climbing to mid-30s in the early afternoon. Firm tracks, perfect groom, and fast snow. You could not have asked for a more perfect day to showcase the trails linking Cable to Hayward, WI at the 2020 American...

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