Simi Hamilton ©Lance/Danny Parish
Simi, congrats on your National Title – how doe it feel?
Simi Hamilton: Well, it feels pretty darn good. I knew going into the day that I had a really good shot at not only winning the qualification, but taking the whole thing. I’ve been psyched with how I’ve been skiing so far this year, especially in sprint qualifying. Some illness has kept me from performing at the top of my game all day at sprint events, but I felt the healthiest I’ve been all season going into Saturday’s race, which gave me the confidence and motivation to ski hard in the qualification and continue to hammer through the rounds. And it sure is nice to start out this week with a bang.
What did it take to beat the “unbeaten” Garrott Kuzzy, a fellow Middlebury College alumni at that – and Mike Hinckley, last year’s second place finisher?
SH: I think it’s pretty widely understood that xc skiing is a sport where no one person can dominate. There are so many factors that ultimately determine the outcome of every race. I have a lot of respect for Kuzzy as a skier and a friend. He’s super talented and is a very hard worker, but on any given day, many other skiers including myself can beat him (I don’t think he was “unbeaten” before this week).
That’s what makes this sport awesome! Someone can go out and win a race by minutes, and then get trounced the very next day. It’s not like we have a Federer or Nadal winning everything all the time. It’s anyone’s race to win on any given day. A lot of things went right for me on Saturday and it was my day to do my thing.
As for Mike, I think he is a really great guy and a hell of a skier. I have a ton of respect for him as well and am really glad to see him still racing and helping to take this sport to a new level in the U.S. I know that I’ll be battling with Mike and Kuzzy, as well as a lot of other skierss, for the top podium spot in many races to come in the future. That’s something sweet to look forward to.
What was your preparation leading into this week’s US XC Championships?
SH: Leading into this week I definitely made sure I was well rested. While I was home for Christmas I tried to recover as much as possible from some cold-weather respiratory issues I’ve been having. I think I made progress on that. Some good backcountry skiing over the holidays let me clear my head a little bit, and spending time with my family and girlfriend was a plus, too. I think that during the couple weeks leading into Nationals it’s just as important to not think about racing. Ya know, you gotta balance your life a little bit, or else you just get unhappy – I’d rather be happy than unhappy.
Were you focusing on this Sprint race in particular?
SH: I knew that I most likely I’d be most successful in the sprint races at Nationals, especially the skate sprint. I knew that I was a contender for winning the whole thing, and I’m really pumped to have thrown down some fast classic sprinting on Friday. But I don’t think I ever want anyone to refer to myself as a “sprint specialist”, so I’m gonna go crawl into the pain cave for Monday’s 15km skate race. Pretty psyched for that one.
Where were you training this summer? What did you do differently?
SH: This summer, I was based out of Ketchum, ID training with the SVSEF ODT (Rick Kapala, Travis Jones, Chris Mallory). The whole crew there is awesome and being able to train with Mikey Sinnott, Colin Rodgers, Reid Pletcher, Eric Fagerstrom, and Max Durtschi is really, really good. As far as a place to train and adventure in the mountains, it doesn’t get much better than Ketchum. I don’t think I see myself leaving there anytime soon.
What are your plans after Nationals?
SH: As far as plans for after Nationals, we’ll have to see. I think that it would be really cool to go be a contender in the skate sprint at the U23 Nordic World Champs in Germany this year, but it would also be pretty much the most unbelievable thing in the world to ski in front of a semi-home crowd in Vancouver in February. There’s still a lot of racing left this week and before the Olympics, so I don’t want to jinx myself, but we will see. Either way, I’m pretty pumped for the season in general. At this point, every opportunity is wonderful and I’m really proud to be part of such a great skiing community.
Congratulations again and best of luck for rest of the season.
SH: Thanks