August 01, 2019 (Lincoln, MA) – Olympic Gold Medalist Jessie Diggins, along with other Olympians and members of the SMST2 Elite Team will travel to Lincoln, MA for a three hour training session with members of the Eastern Mass Bill Koch (EMBK) league and the Cambridge Sport Union (CSU) junior cross country ski athletes on Monday, August 5. The training will include both roller skiing and dryland activities.

The EMBK and CSU are both Boston area clubs dedicated to introducing area youth to the joys of cross country skiing and racing. 50-70 youth are expected to attend.

“The Stratton Mountain School/T2 skiers are a remarkable bunch, not simply because of their domestic and international success skiing”, said Mark Doughty, event host, EMBK coach & Principal at Thoughtforms. “Their commitment to engage and inspire the next generation is a meaningful example of ‘giving back’ when you consider how much time they spend training and the five months each year they spend in Europe competing on the World Cup.”

Joining Diggins for the training session will be 2X Olympians Sophie Caldwell, and Simi Hamilton along with rising star and U.S. Ski Team member Julia Kern of Waltham, MA, and Kyle Bratrud, Ben Saxton, and Ian Torchia. All are members of the SMST2 Elite Team, an elite cross country ski team based out of Stratton Mountain, Vermont.

For the training session, the junior athletes will be split into two groups with the younger group doing more dryland and agility games and the older group spending more time on roller skis. The tentative schedule is as follows:
· 4p-4:45p: roller ski w/U14 EMBK kids
· 5-6p: 2 groups
– Group 1 dryland/games with EMBK
– Group 2 roller ski with CSU
· 6-7p: Q&A/autographs with EMBK/CSU

Groups will depart from a local residence at 5 Farrar Road, Lincoln, MA. There will be media opportunities for interviews, pictures and video. Quotes and images can be provided upon request.