January 29, 2014 (Val di Fiemme, Italy) – Following today’s competitions we caught up with the USA’s Jessie Diggins, who took home the silver in the U23 women’s Sprint FR race today in Val di Fiemme, Italy at the 2014 FIS Nordic Junior/U23 World Ski Championships. In addition we connected with Alaska’s Eric Bjornsen who placed 18th in the U23 Men’s race and finally we chatted briefly with U23 skier Annie Pokorny, who skis for SMS T2 in Stratton Mountain, VT for her take on the day.

Jessie Diggins Interview

Erik Bjornsen (USA) – U23 Men – 18th
Racing in Val Di Fiemme is SOO fun! The venue is one of the most beautiful venues I seen. Today’s result was not what I was hoping for but it was another good learning experience. The course was great. It ended up being around 3 minutes so a little shorter then I would prefer right now.

My qualifier was a little slow and I snuck in the heats at 25th place. I ended up feeling a lot better in the heats and I felt very comfortable skiing with the group. I ended up sitting in 2nd place until the finishing stretch when two guys past me right before the line.

The two guys that won my heat ended up going 2-3 in the final so that’s a good sign. I took some notes on how I think I can improve, for now I will put those in the safe and try to just focus on tomorrow. I know that tomorrow is another great opportunity!

I’m really happy to be here with the WJ/U23 crew. It’s a fun group of athletes with a lot of talent. I was really impressed with Cole Morgan today, that kid looks like an energy bunny out there on the snow. I think there is some really good skiers headed up the U.S. pipeline and I’m excited for the future.

Annie Pokorny (USA) – U23 Women – 28th
This is my second U23 Worlds, but my first international sprint. The course was in great shape, new, hard snow that only got faster and more glazed throughout the day. After a couple of days of snow, it was great to see some sunshine in the valley. We woke up knowing it could be a great day.

The women’s course goes out and straight up a hill, strikingly similar to the Soho course. From the top of that hill down into the stadium is all downhill, so smooth skiing and fast skis made the difference in the end, along with the ability to punch it at the beginning. Jessie advised me to do just that, punch it from the start, and I’m glad I took her advice!

The quarter final was what I expected it to be, fast and aggressive. Out of the start I settled into last, but held onto the group until the top of the hill, where a little tangle and boxing out caused me to lose the group. I skied in as well as I could, I had fast skis and was just psyched to be there, but it wasn’t quite enough to bring me back to the group.

The big triumph of the day was watching Jess take second. She did some gutsy skiing out there, which proved fruitful and inspiring. It’s been so great to have her on the team this year.

Photos courtesy of NNF and Flyingpointroad.com in support of US skiers
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