Feb. 22 – Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, VT) battled his
way into finals of the men’s 1.2K classic technique sprint Tuesday at the
World Nordic Ski Championships. He eventually finished 12th with Vassili
Rotchev of Russia taking the gold medal.

In a stunning development, reigning sprint world champion and World Cup
leader Marit Bjoergen of Norway failed to make the final 16 skiers in the
women’s 900-meter sprint. Emelie Oehrstig of Sweden won gold with teammate
Lina Andersson in second place while Sara Renner of Canada won the first
nordic medal for a North American woman, capturing the bronze medal. Wendy
Wagner (Park City, UT) was 24th with Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, AK) 30th
and Rebecca Dussault (Gunnison, CO) 42nd.

Newell qualified 16th in the hilly 1.2K prologue with Torin Koos
(Leavenworth, WA) 32nd and Lars Flora (Anchorage, AK) 52nd. The top 16
skiers moved into the final round and with four-skier heats are held, the
top two skiers advancing. He was third in his quarterfinal, and with
third-place finishers from the four heats then ranked by their time, he
was the 12th-place finisher. The sprints have been part of Worlds three
times; Newell is the first U.S. skier to finish in the top 15.

“I had a decent qualification but it wasn’t 100 percent, which makes me
feel good because I know I can make top 16 and not have a 100 percent
run,” said Newell, a Stratton Mountain School (VT) grad. “It was exciting
to get here. The fans are awesome, the crowds awesome…and my skis were
awesome. Our wax team did an awesome job today, and this is definitely a
course where you need a little kick.”

Newell, whose best international result was 15th in the freestyle sprint
at World Cup Finals last season, added, “To make the final at World
Championships definitely feels better than making it at a World Cup, and
hopefully these guys are realizing Americans are gonna be nipping at their
heels more often now.”

Head Coach Trond Nystad said, “It’s been a tough season, and we’ve still
got some guys sick, but this was fantastic. Andrew wound up in a hard
heat, but it was still a great event for him, a very positive result, for
sure. And Kikkan and Wendy skied well, too, so it was a good day…and
we’ll definitely take it.”

The next cross country race in Oberstdorf, which also held the 1987 World
Championships, is the men’s 4x10K mixed technique relay with the team
sprints Friday and distance races on the weekend – 30K CL for women
Saturday and men’s 50K CL Sunday.

2005 WORLD NORDIC SKI CHAMPIONSHIPS

Oberstdorf, GER – Feb. 22, 2005

Classic Sprints – 8 make semifinals

Men’s 1.2K CL

1. Vassili Rotchev, Russia

2. Tor Arne Hetland, Norway

3. Thobias Fredriksson, Sweden

4. Bjoern Lind, Sweden

5. Odd-Bjoern Hjelmeset, Norway

6. Mats Larsson, Sweden

7. Janusz Krezelok, Poland

8. Nikolay Chebotko, Kazakhstan

–

12. Andy Newell, Shaftsbury, Vt.

32. Torin Koos, Leavenworth, Wash.

52. Lars Flora, Anchorage, Alaska

—

Women’s 900-meter CL

1. Emelie Oehrstig, Sweden

2. Lina Andersson, Sweden

3. Sara Renner, Canada

4. Anna Dahlberg, Sweden

5. Virpi Kuitunen, Finland

6. Viola Bauer, Germany

7. Mona-Liisa Malvalehto, Finland

8. Aino Kaisa Saarinen

–

24. Wendy Wagner, Park City, Utah

30. Kikkan Randall, Anchorage, Alaska

42. Rebecca Dussault, Gunnison, Colo.