January 3, 2003 – Olympians and aspiring Olympians battling for national titles will be first and foremost starting Saturday at the 2004 Chevrolet U.S. Cross Country Championships at Black Mountain, but U.S. coaches also will be filling berths for the  Under-23 Championships, the World Junior Championships and an important juniors  trip overseas.

A near-record field is expected as the championships return to Rumford and the Chisholm Ski Club for the second consecutive season and for the fourth time in 12 seasons, U.S. Nordic Director Luke Bodensteiner said. Two-time Olympian Carl Swenson (Boulder, CO), who won three more titles a year ago, will be  looking to add to the eight he's won in his career.

 “We had a record 420 registered last season in Rumford and we're a little under that figure at this point,” Bodensteiner said, “but it should be close. We've seen growth in the registration every year since 2000 when we held the championships on the Olympic trails at Soldier Hollow [Utah], and the East has such a big cross country skiing population, we should be around that 400 mark again, which is great.”

The title events begin Saturday, January 3, 2004, with classic technique races and continue until Jan. 11 with five days of racing. The schedule is as follows:

Jan. 3 (Saturday) – Classic: men's 30K, women's 15K Jan. 5  (Monday) – Classic: men's 10K, women's 5K Jan. 6 (Tuesday) – Freestyle: men's 10K, women's 5K Jan. 8 (Thursday) – Freestyle: 1K sprints Jan. 9 (Friday) – “Ski with the Best Day” with U.S. Ski Team athletes skiing with the public and holding an informal autograph session Jan. 11 (Sunday) – Classic: men's 50K,  women's 30K