March 13, 2018 (Pyeongchang, Korea) — Earlier this week, Mark Arendz wanted to come out of his first biathlon race of the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games with something around his neck and got the silver medal.

On Tuesday, he went for the win.

Arendz put it all on the line in a 12.5-kilometre slog through deep, soft snow at the Alpensia Biathlon Cetnre in PyeongChang where he ended up with the bronze medal in a thrilling middle-distance biathlon scrap that saw three of the world’s best exchanging jabs until the finish line.

At the sound of the final bell, the 28-year-old earned the bronze medal with a time of 35:54.7.

“I knew there were some tired guys, so I went for it from the start and tried to put some pressure on,” said the Hartsville, P.E.I. resident, who was hunting down the first Paralympic title of his career after shooting clean in first three rounds at the range.

“I decided in that last bout (of shooting) to go for it all, throw it down, and go for the win. Unfortunately, I had the one miss and it made it a tight and interesting race.”

A quick trigger on the rifle sent the lanky Canuck for one trip around the 150-metre penalty loop, ending his golden hopes on a windy and warm day.

“It was a really tough battle all day. I handed it to them early and had a choice: to go for gold or settle for the podium. I went for the win and had that one miss that cost me today,” said Arendz.

Gassed heading out of the stadium for one more major climb, Arendz relinquished his lead with two kilometres remaining in the race.

“I ran out of energy at the end,” added Arendz. “I am really happy with my race and it is another medal for Canada. I know everything is going well. I just need that last little tweak to finally win one.”

Benjamin Daviet and Ihor Reptyukh were left to decide the gold.

Deadlocked at the 11.4 kilometre mark, Daviet of France, finished on top when the dust finally settled with a time of 35:25.3 (0+0+0+1). Ukraine’s Reptyukh topped Arendz for the silver medal with a time of 35:31.8 (0+0+1+0).

Arendz’s career Paralympic medal total now sits at four. With four races still remaining, he has replicated his performance exactly from the Sochi Games. He also grabbed the silver earlier in Pyeongchang in the 7.5 km event.

Meanwhile, the women’s standing classification, which included Canada’s Brittany Hudak, hit the start line Tuesday afternoon.

The two-time Paralympian from Prince Albert, Sask. dug deep to get around the 10-kilometre course in a fifth-place time of 39:42.0.

“The first lap I felt good. The skis were running well in these conditions, but then it just got slower as we went on,” said Hudak. “The flat sections you really try put power to glide the ski but your weight is sinking you into the snow. It got harder to get some glide and as my legs got more tired I didn’t feel like I was moving fast.”

Hudak kept her composure and focused on clean shooting in her four trips to the range. She missed just one shot in her final bout.

“I tried to keep calm in the range and take my time. The wind today was gusting, so I took a bit longer on my setup than I usually would and tried to be consistent. For the most part it worked well until that last lap, and that last bout. Overall it was an okay race.”

Neutral Paralympic Athletes finished one-two in the women’s standing. Ekaterina Rumyantseva set the time to beat at 34:10.0 (0+1+0+0). Anna Milenina was second at 35:30.0 (1+0+1+0). Ukraine’s Liudmyla Liashenko rounded out the women’s podium with a time of 36:23.6 (0+2+0+0).

Derek Zaplotinsky, of Smokey Lake, Alta., placed 12th in the men’s 12.5-kilometre sit-ski race with a time of 53:55.4 (2+1+1+1).

Full results here.

The cross-country sprint races are set for Wednesday.

March 13, 2018 (Thunder Bay, Ont.) – The 91st edition of the Ski Nationals got underway at Lappe Nordic in Thunder Bay on Saturday, March 10 with sunny weather and the Team Relay competition.

Nakkertok claimed victories in the Open Women’s and Men’s categories, with Mont-Ste.-Anne and Foothills winning the Challenge category races.

Carleton University won the women’s National Championship race, with Nipissing edging out Laval in a photo-finish for the men.

Sunday saw individual start classic races, with Barrie XC’s Scott Hill winning then men’s race, just under 2 seconds ahead of Skinouk’s Antoine Cyr, the top Junior Man.

Fondeur Laurentide’s Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt claimed the women’s title, with Hannah Mehain of Sovereign Lake grabbing gold, in the junior women’s class.

Day 1 results here.
Day 2 results here.

March 12, 2018 (Pyeongchang, Korea) – Brian McKeever stamped his name in the record books as Canada’s most decorated Paralympic winter athlete after winning his 14th career medal, 11th gold, in Monday’s 20-kilometre visually impaired cross-country ski race in PyeongChang, Korea.

Recognizing the conditions for the skate-ski marathon would be nothing short of a challenge with warm, windy and slushy snow, the Canadian squad utilized a two-guide strategy that brought them success at at the 2014 Games in Sochi. Graham Nishikawa (Whitehorse) and Russell Kennedy (Canmore, Alta.), who also competed for Canada at last month’s Olympics, tag-teamed guiding responsibilities throughout the four-lap race to secure McKeever’s spot in the history books.

The Canadian trio teamed up to clock a golden time of 46:02.4.

“It was super good today. Thanks to our wax techs, and both of these guides, they all did an awesome job today,” said the 38-year-old McKeever, who led the Canadian contingent into the Paralympic Stadium this week as flag bearer. “It is super windy out there so to be able to tuck in behind these big boys is important for me. They pushed hard, skied well and towed me along the whole way.”

The 34-year-old Nishikawa, who was also part of McKeever’s two-guide team in Sochi 2014, led the first eight kilometres of the trek up and down the rolling terrain of the Alpensia Biathlon Centre.

“We have the hardest job here. Brian is world class. He is so fast that we have to drive a really hard pace into the wind because we know he is always going to be there, so it is hard for us to keep the pace going,” said Nishikawa. “Using two fresh guides helps us keep a higher speed throughout the race. We all talked about the plan last night. We didn’t know exactly where the switch would happen, but we knew Russell would come in for a lap.”

Guiding McKeever for the first time, the 26-year-old Kennedy stepped in just before the 10-kilometre mark where he pulled his friend and legendary Paralympian through the crucial midway point of the race, before tapping Nishikawa back in for the final five-kilometre lap.

“The biggest thing about coming in mid-race is I have to remember that I’m fresh and Brian has already skied 10 kilometres so you have to be careful not to go out too hard or he could blow up,” said Kennedy. “Brian is such an incredible athlete. He is so fit, so I knew it would not be a major problem. It worked out really well today.”

Opening a mountain-sized lead on the deep international field by the 15-kilometre mark, McKeever risked pushing too hard before hitting the ski exchange area after 14 kilometres to step into some fresh boards.

“The plan was to ski comfortably into it, and build towards the end, and I think I built a little too much during the middle and almost undid it because that last lap was very hard to keep the pace,” laughed McKeever. “It was touch and go there for a bit, but we did enough in the middle to build a nice cushion, and we were able to manage it and hang on.”

Yury Holub and his guide Dzmitry Budzilovich from Belarus were the next best finishers coming across the line 65.1 seconds behind the Canucks with a time of 47:07.5. Thomas Clarion, of France, and his guide Antoine Bollet won the bronze medal at 47:24.4.

A five-time Paralympian, and only Canadian athlete to qualify for both the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in the same year, McKeever surpassed late Para-alpine skier, Lana Spreeman, for all-time medals won. Spreeman racked up 13 medals in her five Paralympic appearances.

“I wasn’t aware of this record, but it is pretty cool. I think for me more than anything is this is a testament to our entire program,” said McKeever. “We’ve had so many great skiers leading the way for me with my brother, Robin who is now coaching us, and Colette Bourgonje. Now it is awesome for me to be a part of a new generation that has arrived in Mark (Arendz), Colin Cameron, and the young women like Emily (Young), Brittany (Hudak) and Natalie (Wilkie) who are ready to carry the torch. I’m so excited to be around all of them this week and to be there cheering them on.”

Two of those young Canucks battled through the soupy snow as temperatures rose for the women’s 15-kilometre skate-ski standing race that took centre stage on Monday afternoon.

North Vancouver’s Emily Young slogged her way to a fifth-place finish with a time of 51:51.4. The youngest member of Canada’s Paralympic Team, 17-year-old Natalie Wilkie, had a solid outing in her first race in PyeongChang. Wilkie, of Salmon Arm, B.C., crossed the finish line with a time of 52:12.9 in her Paralympic debut.

“That was really tough – a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be,” said Wilkie. “I’ve never raced over five kilometres before in these types of conditions. It wasn’t easy, but I’m happy I was able to push to the end.”

Neutral Paralympic Athletes owned the top two steps on the women’s standing podium. Ekaterina Rumyantseva won the gold with a time of 49:37.6, while Anna Milenina was second at 50:55.6. Liudmyla Liashenko, of the Ukraine, was third at 51:06.6.

Full results here.

March 12, 2018 (Pyeongchang, Korea) – It was another three-medal day for the U.S. Paralympic Nordic Skiing Team as Kendall Gretsch (Downers Grove, Illinois) led the way with gold in the cross-country competition, while Dan Cnossen (Topeka, Kansas/Navy) won silver and Oksana Masters (Louisville, Kentucky) brought home bronze at the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.

The team’s success comes on the heels of Saturday’s historic podium finishes in biathlon and brings the event total to six medals after two days of competition: three gold, two silver and one bronze.

It was a three-woman race in the women’s long-distance event as the trio of Gretsch, Masters and Andrea Eskau of Germany traded the top three positions throughout the intermediate splits of the race. In the end, it was Gretsch who pulled away to a substantial lead of more than 32 seconds over runner-up Eskau, while Masters rounded out the podium in third.

Gretsch continues to make a name for herself as a breakout athlete of the Games with two gold medals so far in her Paralympic debut. Masters adds to her resume to become a five-time Paralympic medalist and continues to prove her mettle as she reached the podium in spite of an injured right elbow.

After winning Team USA’s first-ever biathlon gold in Saturday’s sprint, Cnossen added another podium finish in the men’s sitting classification. The retired Navy SEAL drastically improved his finish from the same event in Sochi, where he finished in 13th place. Cnossen is a Purple Heart recipient and has a Bronze Star.

U.S. Paralympic Nordic Team Medal Count: 6
Gold: 3 – Kendall Gretsch (cross-country 12km, biathlon sprint); Dan Cnossen (biathlon sprint)
Silver: 2 – Dan Cnossen (cross-country 15km); Oksana Masters (biathlon sprint)
Bronze: 1 – Oksana Masters (cross-country 12km)

TODAY’S CROSS-COUNTRY LONG-DISTANCE FINISHES
1st: Kendall Gretsch (Downers Grove, Ill./women’s sitting)
2nd: Dan Cnossen (Topeka, Kan./Navy/men’s sitting)
3rd: Oksana Masters (Louisville, Ky./women’s sitting)
11th: Andy Soule (Kerrville, Texas/Army/men’s sitting)
22nd: Sean Halsted (Spokane, Wash./Air Force/men’s sitting)

Quotes

Kendall Gretsch – gold
On winning two gold medals in two days…
“For cross-country, I was pretty unsure going in here. I knew that since our last world cup I had improved a lot, but you never know until you race. Just happy with how things went today and I was able to put together another good race.”

On how your body feels during all the laps…
“I was trying not to focus on how I was feeling because it’s not too great. Just trying to stay in the moment and keep going. I have a lot of people here cheering me on, so that definitely helps to get through the tough parts of the course.”

On receiving the Paralympic gold medal last night…
“It’s a very humbling experience being able to hear your anthem. Puts everything into perspective. Knowing that you’re here not just here for yourself but for your country, it’s amazing.”

Dan Cnossen – silver
On winning two medals in two days…
“I’ve already exceeded my expectations. I’m very proud to represent the U.S. Today, I dug as deep as I could and went as hard as I could, and regardless of where I ended up on the result, it is my success to go as hard as I could.”

Describing how your body feels in the final two laps…
“It’s really a mental battle. The body wants to shut down, but your brain is telling you to go hard. The coaches are screaming, and it’s such a wonderful test of will power. That’s why I love this sport.”

On paying attention to the competitors during competition…
“It’s hard to not notice that. In my mind, I’m saying ‘just focus on what I can do.’ Push myself harder, can I go harder, can I climb this hill harder. Just focusing on myself and what I can control.”

Oksana Masters – bronze
On today’s race and being on the podium…
“I’m just so happy to be on the podium. I was a little worried on the long distance considering I haven’t done intensity in three weeks. It definitely is a very painful, rude awakening to how painful the sport is. I’m happy to be on the podium.”

On the pain she’s experiencing in her elbow…
“It was extremely excruciating. It feels like there’s just a saw going at your bone 24/7, especially hammering up the climbs. I had a spill over there through the stadium, but mind over matter.”

Looking Forward
Competition resumes Monday with the men’s and women’s standing and visually impaired cross-country long-distance events. Skiing starts at 10:00 a.m. KST (Monday, March 12)/7:00 p.m. EDT (Sunday, March 11).

Tune-in Details
NBC Olympics is providing 250 hours of coverage from PyeongChang, including 94 hours on television, which is NBC Olympics’ most ever for a Paralympic Winter Games. View the complete TV and streaming schedule here.

Full results here.

March 03, 2018 (Lahti, Finland) – The USA’s Sophie Caldwell led the North American charge finishing 8th in the women’s 1.4km Sprint FR as the FIS World Cup resumed at the Lahti Ski Games following the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Games.

Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla took the win over Sweden’s Stina Nilsson in second and Hanna Falk in third.

Caldwell’s teammate Sadie Bjornsen was 17th, Ida Sargent was 27th and Rosie Brennan finished 29th for four Americans in the top 30. Dahria Beatty was the lone Canadian on the start line in 34th.

Qualifications here.
Results here.

March 03, 2018 (Otepaa, Estonia) – American Chloe Levins placed seventh in the junior women’s 7.5km sprint for her second top-10 at Worlds, with just one penalty at 1:31.7 off the winning time. Megan Bankes led the Canadians in 9th with two penalties.

Poland’s Kamila Zuk won her second gold with one penalty as the silver went to Marketa Davidova of Czech Republic with two penalties at 26 seconds back. France’s Myrtille Begue shot clean to take the bronze medal, 52 seconds behind Zuk.

“Our wax techs and staff hit the nail on the head again today,” said Levins. “Conditions were perfect on the track and wind was calm on the range. It was a really tough race for everyone and a close fight for me on the last loop. For me, the sprint race is the toughest biathlon competition. There’s very little room for error or delay in both the skiing and shooting. It’s one of my goals to sharpen aspects of sprint racing in the future.”

Canadian Trevor Kiers posted a top-20 result in the junior men’s 10km sprint as Vasilii Tomshin shot clean for gold. Cody Johnson also shot clean for the USA finishing 37th.

Results here.

March 01, 2018 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Team Canada’s Emily Dickson, Nadia Moser and Megan Bankes took home a 9th-place finish in the Junior Women’s 3x6km Relay won by France. The Canucks used 14 spares with one penalty while the French team of Camille Bened, Myrtille Begue and Lou Jeanmonnot Laurent used eight spare rounds also with one penalty. No US team was entered.

Later in the day, the Canadian men including Teo Sanches, Angus Tweedie, Trevor Kiers and Adam Runnalls (4+14) were 17th while Team USA’s Cody Johnson, Timothy Cunningham, Cameron Christiansen and Jacob Pearson (8+18) were just behind in 19th as last year’s winners, Russia, defended their title.

Results here.

February 28, 2018 – The final notification of all remaining test results from the Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR) delegation has been received from the Doping-Free Sport Unit (DFSU).  The IOC can confirm that all the remaining results are negative.  Therefore, as stated in the Executive Board decision of 25th February the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee is automatically lifted with immediate effect.

February 24, 2018 (Hayward, WI) – The USA’s Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/Madsus) claimed a record 5th title at the 44th American Birkebeiner winning the women’s 50km FR race while Kyle Bratrud from Verona, Wisconsin, was the top American finishing third in the men’s 50km competition won by Norway’s Anders Gloersen.

Maria Graefnings of Sweden finished second in the women’s race only 2.5 seconds behind Gregg followed by the USA’s Chelsea Holmes (APU) of Girdwood, Alaska in third.

In the men’s race France’s Ivan Perrillat-Boiteux took home the silver at 1.9 seconds behind Gloersen. The USA’s David Norris was 5th. The Birkie freestyle races are also the 5th stage of the FIS Worldloppet Cup.

American Benjamin Saxton from Lakeville MN won the the men’s 55K Classic race with Cole Morgan (Bozeman, MT), in second and Mathias Rolid, Marquette, MI in third. For the women, Felicia Gesior, Verona, topped the podium followed by Brandy Stewart, Bozeman, MT in second with Josie Nelson, Medicine Lake, MN in third.

Worldloppet report here.

Men’s 50km FR results here.
Women’s 50km FR results here.
Classic results here.

February 24, 2018 – The U.S., Canadian and Czech biathlon teams are boycotting the IBU World Cup Biathlon Final in Tyumen, Russia on March 22-25, while France will attend as the doping dilemma in sport continues and clean athletes want action. Canada announced its position in early Dec. 2017 stating “The Russian anti-doping agency (RUSADA) remains non-compliant with requirements of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).” The U.S. Biathlon Team recently posted a statement (here) on Twitter claiming… “The International Biathlete Union (IBU) decision to let Tyumen arrange the World Cup events despite the Russian doping scandals is completely unacceptable.” According to Norway Today the Czech Republic’s Biathlete Federation announced the same but the Norwegian Federation has not confirmed while France’s Martin Fourcade apparently must attend to win the overall World Cup.

Read more here

February 23, 2018 (PyeongChang, South Korea) – Check out these great post-race photos following the incredible gold medal victory by Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) and Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, Alaska) who won the women’s Team Sprint to claim gold and bring home the USA’s first-ever women’s Olympic medal in cross-country skiing.

It was dream come true for the dynamic duo who also won gold at the Nordic World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy, back in 2013. The world-class teammates made history again only this time on the Olympic stage for a stunning legacy for Team USA. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house,” said one observer.

American Bill Koch captured the USA’s first Olympic medal winning silver in the men’s 30km Classic at the 1976 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria that stunned the world. Marty Hall, the Team USA head coach at those Games, formed and coached the first U.S. women’s team back in 1969 with early pioneers like Martha Rockwell, Alison Owen, and Trina Hosmer.

The world has been enthralled over the course of these Games watching athletic competition and marvelling at the incredible achievements of the athletes.  For these athletes and their National Olympic Committees (NOC), the Closing Ceremonies will celebrate years of hard work, dedication and a commitment to Olympic values and clean sport.  We are alarmed therefore at recent reports here that if true, suggest the IOC is prepared to put ahead of clean athletes and the integrity of sport the interests of Russia, by inviting the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) to participate in the Closing Ceremonies.

Remarks by your colleague Nicole Hoevertsz, IOC Executive Board Member and Chair of the Olympic Athletes of Russia Implementation Group (OAR IG) underscore that “The [IOC] Executive Committee has the explicit wish to lift the suspension of Russia during these Games”.  The latest reports, if true, suggest very strongly that a deal may already be in place.

Each of you, as IOC Members, can express your support or opposition for such a secret deal.  Each of you can signal to the ROC that to be recognised as an NOC requires an adherence to the fundamental values of sport and which can’t be bought.  Each of you can indicate that you stand for clean athletes and the integrity of sport.

Regardless of what you may hope, you can’t merely ‘wish away’ the most significant fraud in the history of sport.  A transgression of such magnitude warrants a proportional sanction which must go well beyond an irregular attendance at the Pyeongchang Games and paying a fine.  By failing to impose a meaningful sanction on the ROC, the IOC would be culpable in this effort to defraud clean athletes of the world.  Clean athletes continue to raise concerns and are understandably frustrated with the equivocal stance of the IOC when it comes to the systemic doping in Russia.

We don’t know what decision you will take regarding the ROC suspension nor if the standing of the Olympic Athletes from Russia will change before the flame in Pyeongchang is extinguished.  However, should the IOC lift the suspension of the ROC at the commencement of the Closing Ceremony, we suspect the clean athletes of the world would be outraged.

Institutionalised doping in Russia has been proven by multiple investigations (e.g. McLaren, Oswald, Schmid and validated at CAS).  It has been accepted by all authorities – except those from Russia.  As first revealed by a former Doping Control Officer and former athlete from Russia, Russian Olympic athletes have benefitted from the doping regime for years.  The retesting of samples from Sochi, London and Beijing validates the evidence of wide-spread doping and the ‘Sochi Plan’ provided by Grigory Rodchenkov and begs the question of how many others also benefitted but were not caught.

You may feel that the ROC is part of the Olympic family, and deserves to be welcomed back into the Olympic house.  We would argue that Olympic Moments have been stolen by doped members of past Russian contingents with no acknowledgement of responsibility by the ROC nor indication of contrition; the sanction must align with the IOC ‘zero tolerance for doping’ policy.

Who deserves your support more? An organisation from a supremely powerful and accomplished country which over multiple Games took doped teams and to this day has offered no apology or evidence of attempts to reconcile; Or, is it the multitudes of athletes who were deprived of their Olympic moments and who rightfully expect proportional punishment for doping transgressions.

We are the Institute of National Anti-Doping Organisations (iNADO).  NADOs conduct the majority of anti-doping work world-wide each year.  We hold sport accountable to the World Anti-Doping Code day in and day out.  NADOs are the only Signatories to the World Anti-Doping Code (Code) uniquely dedicated to protecting clean sport – it is our raison d’ être.  All other Signatories exist for other purposes – generally to promote and administer sport – to which anti-doping is ancillary.

Since our inception, iNADO and our membership have been forthright and unwavering in their support for clean athletes.

iNADO calls on the IOC to exercise its authority to maintain the sanction of the ROC until such time as the ROC:

• acknowledges the findings of the McLaren, Schmidt and Oswald Commissions
• demonstrates contrition and apologizes for the harm created
• reinforces the WADA Roadmap for RUSADA compliance
• calls for a ceasing of all attacks on the whistleblowers and undertakes efforts to guarantee their safety
• takes action to bring about the turning over to WADA of the samples, evidence and data from the Moscow laboratory
• adheres to the additional conditions imposed by the IOC such as the payment of the requisite fine.

Respectfully,

Doug MacQuarrie

Chair,

iNADO Board of Directors

February 22, 2018 (PyeongChang, South Korea) – Team Canada took home a top-10 finish in the Women’s 4x6km Relay amidst snowy challenging conditions at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre marking the final women’s event of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games.

The USA followed in 13th as Belarus claimed Olympic gold in a wild race that saw the lead change many times making for an exciting but unpredictable competition. Sweden claimed the silver and France won the bronze.

“It was a really difficult race, the wind and the snow made for a tough race. I’m really proud of this team. We all fought as hard as we could,” said Canadian anchor Rosanna Crawford who moved the Canucks up into 10th.

“I’m happy I could chase down a few spots for a top 10. The other 3 women were out on course cheering me on to catch Ukraine on my last lap and that provides some extra fuel! I had to wait out a big gust during my standing shooting but then was able to hit 4 and only use one spare,” she added.

Team USA’s Susan Dunklee, the only Olympic veteran on the squad, cleaned all five targets in the opening prone position, moving her to the front of the field by 2.9 seconds. Canada’s Sarah Beaudry was in third.

“I’m really happy with it,” said Dunklee about her leg. “I feel like I’m kind of back to where I wanted to be all season. When it goes well like this it’s a lot of fun. The second loop I was just trying to ski in control and just pretend I’m doing my own thing and not get overwhelmed by the idea of people hunting me down.”

Beaudry had a great start despite the challenging conditions. “The conditions were definitely hard but I would say more in the range then on the course. There was some falling snow but not enough to make the ski really hard. The wind was gusty and unpredictable on the range,” said Beaudry. “I came in prone and made a correction and then shot confidently which worked out. When I came in standing it was a little more gusty but I think my shaky legs were more the reason for my misses.”

“I am definitely a little disappointed about losing the pack but happy I held it together. I am super happy with my first Olympic experience. I am stoked I made the team and even more happy that I was able to step up when I got called into the individual,” added Beaudry.

The shooting range was a see-saw affair for most with wind and snow slowing tempo and adding to the spare rounds and penalties. By the finish, 192 spare rounds had been fired.

Italy took an early lead after the first standing, as snow fell, but lost it when Dorothea Wierer suffered a penalty in prone. But they were back on top soon after as Wierer cleaned in standing. Germany, the favourites, continued to falter sitting outside the top 10. Dunlee tagged Clare Egan and Beaudry handed off to Julia Ransom.

Egan was on form for an amazing day on the range as she cleaned all 10 targets and kept the American squad in contention holding her own alongside some of the bigger names in women’s biathlon.

“Most teams put their fastest skiers in the second legs, so I tried to stay with them and keep fighting,” said Egan. “I was really due for this. It’s by far my best race of the season so I couldn’t be more happy. I’ve had a week to sit here and prepare for this race. Having to sit out (the mixed relay) just made me want to make sure that I was even better prepared for this race.” She tagged Joanne Reid in 4th while Canada’s Ransom passed the reins over to Emma Lunder in 10th.

Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen took over the lead with Belarusian Irina Kryuko also in the mix along with Slovakia. Both Reid and Lunder suffered on the range but the USA was still in 6th starting the final leg as Emily Dreissigacker took over for the USA while Canada’s Lunder tagged Crawford in 13th.

Then it was Poland’s turn to shine but Darya Domracheva of Belarus, who earned a record three individual gold medals at Sochi, put her team in the lead and never looked back. Dreissigacker needed five spares dropping to 13th at the finish while Crawford needed two spares to claim 10th for Canada.

“The Relay was a crazy event with blowing snow and wind. Our women all handled the tough conditions very well and we produced a solid result as a team,” said Roddy Ward, HP Coach at Biathlon Canada.

Full results here.

February 21, 2018 (PyeongChang, South Korea) – Team USA’s Erik Bjornsen (Anchorage, Alaska) and Simi Hamilton (Aspen, Colo.) raced to a 6th-place finish claiming the best Olympic result ever for the United States in men’s cross country skiing.

Canada’s Len Valjas and Alex Harvey finished 8th just off the pace by two spots that the duo set last year at the 2017 Lahti World Championships.

Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo took home the gold over Alexander Bolshunov, Denis Spitsov the Olympic Athletes from Russia with France’s Maurice Manificat and Richard Jouve winning bronze.

“We’re proud of what we accomplished,” said Hamilton as he and Bjornsen had an incredible day winning their semi final heat. “Obviously it’s always our goal to be on the podium. We both know that we can be up there and maybe someday we will.”

In the final the Americans were in contention but a mishap by Bjornsen saw him hit the snow yet he quickly recovered and tagged Hamilton in 5th for the final leg. Norway’s Klaebo attacked on the final lap and by then it was a three-horse race wih Hamilton battling Italy behind.

Canada fared well through the first half of the final but couldn’t maintain the pace as things heated up when the final finishline drew near. The Canucks battled with Finland and prevailed for 8th on the day. “A top-10 out of a field of 29 countries means you represented your country well,” said Harvey.

Results here.

February 21, 2018 (PyeongChang, South Korea) – Jessie Diggins (Aton, Minn) and Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, Alaska) won Team Sprint GOLD bringing home the USA’s first Olympic women’s medal today at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games.

The dynamic duo repeated their gold medal performance from the Nordic World Championships at Val di Fiemme, Italy, back in 2013 as they made history again only this time on the Olympic stage.

The race came down to a final sprint to the line between Nilsson and Diggins with the American catching and passing the Swede just before the line for the historic victory. Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla and Stina Nilsson won the silver with Norway’s Marit Bjoergen and Maiken Caspersen Falla taking the bronze.

American Bill Koch captured the USA’s first Olympic medal winning silver in the men’s 30km Classic at the 1976 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria, that stunned the world. Marty Hall, the Team USA head coach at those Games, formed and coached the first U.S. women’s team back in 1969 with early pioneers like Martha Rockwell, Alison Owen, and Trina Hosmer. – ed

The win capped an amazing Games for Diggins with two fifth-place finishes and was icing on the cake of Randall’s amazing career as the triple Sprint Cup globe winner will retire after this season ends.

Results here.

February 10, 2018 (Pyeongchang, South Korea) – Canadian Olympic newbie, Julia Ransom, led the charge for North America in cold and windy conditions finishing 40th in the women’s 7.5K sprint with one penalty as the biathlon competitions got underway at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre with Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier winning gold as one of only three women to shoot clean.

The silver medal went to Norway’s Marte Olsbu with one penalty at 24.2 seconds back while Veronika Vitkova of Czech Republic, also with one penalty won the bronze at 25.8 seconds back.

France’s Marie Dorin Habert finished fourth at 33.1 seconds behind, with Dahlmeier’s teammate Vanessa Hinz, in fifth, at 40.3 seconds back. Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi was sixth finishing 40.5 seconds behind the winner.

The top American, Emily Dreissigacker, also making her first appearance at the Games, hit nine of 10 targets as well to finish 51st and was the lone American to qualify for Monday’s 10km pursuit.

Three more Canucks made the top-60 cut for the Pursuit as Rosanna Crawford finished 53rd with three penalties, Emma Lunder was 54th with two missed targets, and Megan Tandy was 57th on the day also with two penalties. In 61st with two misses was 61 Clare Egan followed by Susan Dunklee in 66th with five penalties and Joanned Reid in 86th with seven missed targets.

“It was very windy for the shooting,” said Dreissigacker. “In prone I definitely got kind of lucky and the wind was about the same as what I had zeroed in. And then in standing, I could feel the wind pushing my barrel around a little bit. I’m excited to be in the pursuit but I’m bummed for my teammates.”

“It’s very frustrating,” added Dunklee, 2017 Biathlon Worlds silver medallist. “You work for four years and you have big dreams to see what’s possible and it all comes down to one of these races like this. The sprint is so important for the rest of the races here. You really have to have a good sprint to qualify for the pursuit, to qualify for the mass start, so I’m really bummed about that.”

Results here.

February 10, 2018 (Pyeongchang, South Korea) – USA’s Kevin Bickner, of the historic Norge Ski Club, finished 18th on the Normal Hill at the Alpensia Ski Jumping facility at the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Games. Canada’s lone competitor Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes was 26th.

Andreas Wellinger of Germany took the gold over Johann Andre Forfang of Norway who claimed the silver while his teammate, Robert Johansson won the bronze.

Windy conditions caused multiple delays in the first Ski Jumping event of the 2018 Olympic Games. Bickner, who was 14th following the first round, was one of many skiers who were forced to overcome the mental and physical challenges of a windy competition on the world’s biggest stage.

“I just had a really good jump in the right conditions and everything came together,” said Bickner of his first round jump. “The second round was a little more challenging with the wild wind and frequent delays. The jump wasn’t quite as good but I’m still pretty satisfied with my result.”

Bickner was one of four American athletes who qualified for the competition. USA Nordic athlete Michael Glasder, also of the Norge Ski Club, was 32nd, just missing the top 30 cut for the final round. USA Nordic athlete and Norge Ski Club member Casey Larson was 39th in the first Olympic competition of his young career.

And USA Nordic Athlete Will Rhoads of Park City Ski and Snowboard finished 46th in his Olympic debut. It was a strong performance by all of the US athletes, with Bickner’s 18th marking the best Olympic result on the Normal Hill since Alan Alborn was 11th in 2002.

Results here.

February 09, 2018 (Pyeongchang, South Korea) – With the Opening Ceremonies held on Friday (Korean time) the first Olympic medal races are set to take place on Sat. Feb. 10 starting with the Women’s Skiathlon. The whopping time difference between South Korea and Europe and North America, means a little homework for viewers and we’ve tried to help by listing all Nordic events below indicating EST and local time (14-hour difference). Both NBC and CBC will have lots of coverage so sit back and get ready to cheer for your favourite athletes and hope that Team North America brings home some well-earned hardware.

NBC live streaming here.
CBC live streaming here.

XC Skiing – master here

Feb. 10 – Women’s Skiathlon – 2:15 am EST (16:15 local)
Feb. 11 – Men’s Skiathlon – 1:15 am est (5:15 local)
Feb. 13 – Men/Women C Sprint (qual/heats/finals) – 3:30 am EST (17:30 local)
Feb. 15 – Women’s 10km Skate – 1:30 am EST (15:30 local)
Feb. 16 – Men’s 15km Skate – 1 am EST (15:00 local)
Feb. 17 – Women’s 4x5km Relay – 4:30 am EST (18:30 local)
Feb. 18 – Men’s 4x10km Relay – 1:15 am EST (5:15 local)
Feb. 21 – Men/Women Team F Sprint (heats/finals) – 3 am EST (17:00 local)
Feb. 24 – Men’s 50km Classic Mass Start – 12 am EST (14:00 local)
Feb. 25 – Women’s 30km Classic Mass Start – 1:15 am EST (15:15 local)

Biathlon – master here.

Feb. 10 – Women’s 7.5km Sprint – 6:15 am EST (20:15 local)
Feb. 11 – Men’s 10km Sprint – 6:15 am EST (20:15 local)
Feb. 12 – Women’s 10km Pursuit – 5:10 am EST (19:10 local)
Feb. 12 – Men’s 12.5km Pursuit – 7 am EST (21:00 local)
Feb. 14 – Women’s 15km Individual – 6:05 am EST (20:05 local)
Feb. 15 – Men’s 20km Individual – 6:00 am EST (20:00 local)
Feb. 17 – Women’s 12.5km Mass Start – 6:15 am EST (20:15 local)
Feb. 18 – Men’s 15km Mass Start – 6:15 am EST (20:15 local)
Feb. 20 – Mixed Relay – 6:15 am EST (20:15 local)
Feb. 22 – Women’s 4 x 6km Relay – 6:15 am EST (20:15 local)
Feb. 23 – Men’s 4 x 7.5km Relay – 6:15 am EST (20:15 local)

Nordic Combined – master here

Feb. 14 – Individual Normal Hill/10km Gundersen – 1 am EST (15:00 local)
Feb. 20: Individual Large Hill/10km Gundersen – 5 am EST (19:00 local)
Feb. 22: 4 x 5km Team Large Hill – 2:30am EST (16:30 local)

Ski Jumping – master here

Feb. 8 – Men’s Individual Normal Hill (qualifications) – 7:30am EST (21:30 local)
Feb. 10 – Men’s Individual Normal Hill (final) –  7:35am EST (21:35 local)
Feb. 12 – Women’s Individual Normal Hill (final) – 7:50pm EST (21:50 local)
Feb. 16 – Men’s Individual Large Hill (qualifications) –  7:30am EST (21:30 local)
Feb. 17 – Men’s Individual Large Hill (final) – 7:30am EST (21:30 local)
Feb. 19 – Men’s Team (final) – 7:30am EST (21:30 local)

February 09, 2018 (Toronto, ON) – With the first races at the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Games kicking off on Feb. 10 here’s our final question for the SkiTrax Roundtable crew including Alex Harvey, Kikkan Randall, Devon Kershaw, Andy Newell and Sadie Bjornsen… With the Olympic Games around the corner what are your hopes / expectations for yourself and the team? Check out their replies here.

We also asked “What’s the craziest / funniest thing that’s ever happened to you as a cross-country ski racer ?”… you won’t believe some of the answers here. They all also took on our tough first question… “As the new FIS president, what are your top objectives?”…read their answers here. For the wannabe tennis player in the group click here. Let us know your thoughts on this new section at skitrax.com.

February 09, 2018 – CONGRATULATIONS! North America has caught up to the best in the world in cross-country skiing. In this Olympic year, American Jessica Diggins and Canada’s Alex Harvey have spearheaded astonishing results and hope to continue with more glorious North American Olympic medals. We look forward to both teams adding to the legacy of Becky Scott’s gold at the 2002 Games, Chandra Crawford’s gold at the 2006 Olympics, the Team Sprint gold by Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey at the Nordic Worlds in 2011, and Harvey’s stellar 5okm gold at Lahti2017.

Timely, just now prior to the Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, that BPA Limited is pleased to announce the release of Bjorger V. Pettersen’s amazing in-depth book “A Cross Country Ski Story” that chronicles the development of the sport of cross-country skiing in Canada, North America and the World. From the humble roots, that began first with winning teenage teams, in Prince George, BC, and went on to launch the program at Inuvik, NWT and finally to the Canadian National Ski Team.

“Welcome to my mountains, to my trails through Canada’s terrain of rolling hills and prairies – to my world of cross country skiing,” says Pettersen, who is recognized as the first full time ski coach and cross-country sport builder in Canada. Notably, Pettersen’s team of young Native skiers from the TEST/Inuvik Program drew worldwide attention and were headlines in many countries. The Firth twins, Sharon and Shirley become North American champions at 14, after only having skied for 5 months.

A Cross Country Ski Story is probably the most extensive book ever written about the sport; a high quality, hard cover book of 435 pages and 300 pictures both in b&w and color. Finally, first at the Canadian Centennial Races in 1967 at Prince George, BC and then at the week-long Top of the World Ski Championships in Inuvik 1968-72 we were able to bring the best in the world to come and ski on our turf. This immediately made us more competitive.

During 1983-88, Pettersen, a 27-year member of the FIS Cross Country Committee, spent his time picking the Olympic cross-country site and stadium for the Calgary Games, designing the trail system and layout. Then during the Olympic period, Pettersen operated as Venue Manager and Chief of Race. The Games in Calgary left a huge footprint for Canadians and really entrenched the sport on the world stage.

Bob Gray, an ex-member of the US cross-country ski team was one of the first to read Pettersen’s newly published book. He wrote a full-page memo after reading it, this is the first paragraph. “Dear Bjorger..Got your book. What a delight! What a page turner…read it cover to cover. It was like living my racing career and travel all over again…I started racing in 1953 under John Caldwell who had just come back from the 1952 Olympics in Oslo and raced until 1974.”

For more information contact Bjorger Pettersen directly in Okotoks, Alberta at bjorger@shaw.ca or visit A Cross Country Ski Story here.

February 07, 2018 (PyeongChang, Korea) – In about 24 hours all the waiting will be over, as the 2018 Olympic Winter Games are set to begin heralded by the pageantry and anticipation of the Opening Ceremonies, here in this remote mountain paradise in the Gangwon Province.

This looks like the year that “winter” has been put back into the Winter Games, as much of the talk has centered around the frigid temperatures that have blanketed this area for weeks now. Temperatures have fallen to about -25 in the clear, dark night.

Friday’s Opening Ceremony is in a lovely, but open-air stadium. Skiing courses are in beautiful condition and all have been groomed to perfection. Following two relatively warm Olympics (Sochi and Vancouver), the temps here mark a massive change. Team USA, for example will be sporting nifty heated parkas, for the opening march.

The theme of the ceremonies is peace, and many spectators and media alike are curious which K-Pop music star might make a special appearance during the two-hour ceremony. The stadium will host about 35,000 people and will be used only four times before it is torn down. Officials are providing each spectator at the opening and closing ceremonies with a blanket, a rain coat and a small heating pad.

Yesterday Trax attended a press conference with members of the USA Olympic cross-country ski team in the Main Press Center. Here are a few quotes from the event.

IDA SARGENT: “it’s nice for me to see the cold temperatures, and despite my injury I feel ready to race.”

KIKKAN RANDALL: “The transformation of the women’s team has been incredible. We push each other and make each other stronger. I cannot believe I have now been to five Olympic Games, my first one was 16 years ago. I’ve been to this venue once before, in summer, and I like it. It’s a great Olympic course and very challenging…..”

JESSIE DIGGINS: On the team culture: “We have worked hard to develop a team culture and to have fun. I guess I’m the team cheerleader, and I’ve never had more fun on the road than now. I feel we race fast when we have fun and we played alot of games and things at our team camp (in Seefeld, AUT). On the venue: What’s not to like, I’m from Minnesota…it’s cold and we’re skiing on (part) a golf course. From a performance standpoint: I’ve now been to two Olympics, it’s different from my first Games, but I’m trying not to over-think things…..I feel my shape is coming into peak form.”

The press conference was very well attended, with an overflow media crowd, a real sign of the interest in this team. Most of the venues are pretty close together making it relatively easy for spectators to move about. Around Alpensia, the vibe is that of a bustling, hip resort town.

The volunteers have been wonderful and are nicknamed the “Passion Crew”. Outside of the Korean work force most of the volunteers here are from the United States followed by previous host nations of Russia and Canada.

Everything looks great, the conditions are excellent, and now it’s Games-time.

Bring on the Olympic Winter Games!

February 07, 2018 (Toronto, ON) – With the Games just around the corner we slipped in two more questions to the SkiTrax Roundtable crew including Alex Harvey, Kikkan Randall, Devon Kershaw, Andy Newell and Sadie Bjornsen for round three… If you could choose to be an Elite athlete in another sport what would it be and why? Check out their replies here.

They all also took on our tough first question as well… “As the new FIS president, what are your top objectives?”…read their answers here. Round two was a blast as well when you find out who did Harvey’s laundry here. Let us know your thoughts on this new section at skitrax.com and look for round four coming shortly.

February 03, 2018 (Cantley, Que.) – It was another cool, sunny day at the Nakkertok Ski Centre in Cantley, as the “The Cyclery” Race Day began with the men’s 15k skate races. The American racers have come out in force at the competitions, which double as part of the “SuperTour”, the U.S. National Race Series.

John Hegman of Sun Valley, Idaho had a 10-second victory over Anchorage, Alaska’s David Norris in the Open Men’s competition. Vail, Colorado’s Tad Elliot was 3rd, and Jack Carlyle of Sault Ste Marie, was the top Canadian in 4th, just 3 seconds from the podium.

The top local skier was Dominique Moncion-Groulx of Gatineau, who skied to a 17th place finish on his home trails at Nakkertok.

For the women there was a 10k skate race. Olympian Rosie Frankowski of Anchorage dominated the event with a 37 second margin of victory over Becca Rorabaugh of Vermont, yesterday’s sprint race winner. Another Vermonter, Erika Flowers finished 3rd and the top Canadian was again 4th, Frédérique Vézina of Mont Ste. Anne.

Again it was a Nakkertok athlete, Zoë Williams, who was the top local skier finishing 1 place higher than yesterday, in 9th place. Zoë repeated as 3rd Canadian racer, an excellent result for a first year senior.

The junior women’s race saw a repeat victory for Thunder Bay’s Hannah Shields, with Chelsea’s Tove Halvorsen in 3rd. The junior men’s winner was Francis Izquierdo-Bernier from Fondeur Laurentides, with Aidan Kirkham of Kanata in 5th. Both local skiers race for the host club.

The Para-Nordic Nationals are also part of the event and National Team member Sebastien Fortier of Quebec City won the men’s sitski competition with Cindy Ouellet of Mont Ste. Anne the women’s champ. The standing class races were won by Andy Lin of Vancouver and Julie Mayer of Sudbury.

Sunday features pursuit start, classic races, beginning at 09:00. In the pursuit the skiers start based on their times from today’s race, so the first skier across the finish line is the winner.

Results here.

February 03, 2018 (Goms, SUI) – The USA wrapped up its most successful week ever at the FIS Junior Nordic World Championships taking silver in the 4x5km Men’s Relay competition as the championships came to a close. The USA was just two seconds from the gold.

Luke Jager (Alaska Pacific Nordic Ski Center), Ben Ogden (Stratton Mountain School), Hunter Wondes (Alaska Pacific Nordic Ski Center) and Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars) combined to finish second in the relay just behind Norway with Russia in third. Team Canada’s Antoine Cyr, Graham Ritchie, Felix Longpre and Etienne Hebert finished 11th.

In the women’s 4×3.3 km relay the USA’s Kathleen O’Connell, Hailey Swirbul, Margaret and Hannah Halvorsen finished 8th while Team Canada’s Hannah Mehain, Natalie Hynes, Annika Richardson and Alexandra Racine placed 15th as the German squad were the surprise winners. Russia claimed the silver and Sweden the bronze.

It gave the USA three medals on the week along with Hailey Swirbul’s (Univ. of Alaska-Anchorage) silver and bronze in individual events.

Women’s results here.
Men’s results here.

February 02, 2018 (Cantley, QC) – The Haywood Noram Eastern Canadian Championships and SuperTour race got underway today at Nakkertok, with chilly -15 degree temperatures but lots of sun.

The morning qualifiers were won by Becca Rorabaugh of Alaska, APU and Julien Locke of Black Jack. Locke won by a commanding 5-second margin an impressive performance from Julien, considering he travelled over from the Seefeld World Cup, on Tuesday.

The women’s heats saw Becca Rorabaugh continuing her winning ways. In the final Rorabaugh went out to a small lead and kept it through to the finish. Kaitlynn Miller of SMS T2 and Erika Flowers of Craftsbury moved to the front of the pack on the final climb, to fight for the podium on the finishing straight. It was Miller who prevailed at the finish, by 3/100ths of a second.

Much as in the women’s race, the top qualifier Julien Locke, dominated the initial heats. It was a bit closer in the final as Ben Saxton of SMS T2 was close to Julien early, and the two broke away from the rest of the group.

On the final climb Locke still had a bit of a lead, but a small tactical error on the final corner, gave Saxton a break as they entered the finishing straight. It was a close fight to the finish, with Ben Saxton claiming the win by a 10th of a second.

Nakkertok skier Patrick Stewart-Jones claimed 3rd, just ahead of 4-time U.S. Olympian Kris Freeman of Caldwell Sport/Stratton.

Audio Interview with Julien Locke

The Junior Woman’s sprint was won by Hannah Shields of Lappe fairly comfortably over Paige Latta of Sovereign Lake and Marianne Scherrer of Skibec.

On the men’s side it was Nakkertok’s Pierre Grall-Johnson that came from behind, for the win in his home stadium. Malcolm Thompson of Big Thunder and Ian Williams of Telemark were 2nd and 3rd.

The race also counted as the Para-Nordic National Championships.

Derek Zaplotinsky of Strathcona Wilderness Center had a very close win, 3/10ths of a second over fellow National team skier Sebastien Fortier in the men’s sitski competition. Another National team member, Ethan Hess, was 3rd.

Cindy Ouellet of Mont Ste. Anne was the woman’s sitski champ, with Andy Lin of Vancouver Nordic Racers and Lyn-Marie Bilodeau of Orford winning the standing class competitions.

Unofficially, it looks like after today’s races, Ontario is in the lead in the division standings over Quebec, by 654 to 585.

Next up tomorrow are The Cyclery, interval start, skate competitions.

February 02, 2018 (Goms, SUI) – American Ian Torchia led the North Americans finishing 27th in the U23 Men’s 30km Skiathlon 15/15km C/F as Russia’s Denis Spitsov claimed the gold over Frenchman Jules Lapierre by 2.9 seconds. Ole Joergen Bruvoll from Norway secured the bronze with a late race charge over Russian Ivan Yakimushkin in fourth. All Canadians racing were lapped. The USA’s Lauren Jortberg placed 29th in the 15km women’s race with Canadian Katherine Stewart-Jones 31st. Anastasia Sedova led a Russian podium sweep with Natalia Nepryaeva in second and Yana Kirpichenko third.

Women’s results here.
Men’s results here.

February 01, 2018 (Switzerland) – In a stunning reversal the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has overturned the International Olympic Committee (IOC) sanctions against 28 Russian athletes on Feb. 1 while upholding the sanctions against 11 Russian athletes.

Included in the group of 28 Russian athletes whose sanctions were lifted are cross-country skiers Evgeniy Belov, Alexander Bessmertnykh, Nikita Kriukov, Alexander Legkov, Natalia Matveeva, Alexey Petukhov, Evgenia Shapovalova, and Maxim Vylegzhanin.

Russians Julia Ivanova, Yulia Chekaleva and Anastasia Dotsenko are among the 11 banned from competing in PyeongChang but the CAS did remove their lifetime ban clearing the way for possible participation in future Olympic competitions.

The sanctions stem from anti-doping rule violations in relation to the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. In its press release, CAS explained that in these cases the evidence collected was found to be insufficient to establish that an anti-doping rule violation (ADRV) was committed by the athletes concerned. In addition, these 28 athletes will also have their individual results from Sochi 2014 reinstated.

The athletes may appear one step closer to competing in PyeongChang, but the International Olympic Committee still has the final say regarding participation, and if the IOC statement following the decision is any indication, the  granting of permission for the Russian athletes to compete is far from guaranteed.

“The result of the CAS decision does not mean that athletes from the group of 28 will be invited to the Games. Not being sanctioned does not automatically confer the privilege of an invitation,” stated the IOC in a press release on Feb. 1.

The verdict will go down as a major defeat for the IOC at CAS reports Inside the Games.

“The IOC regrets very much that – according to the CAS press release – the panels did not take this proven existence of the systemic manipulation of the anti-doping system into consideration for the other 28 cases. The CAS required an even higher threshold on the necessary level of evidence than the Oswald Commission and former CAS decisions,” explained the IOC.

“This may have a serious impact on the future fight against doping. Therefore, the IOC will analyze the reasoned decisions very carefully once they are available and consider consequences, including an appeal to the Swiss Federal Tribunal.”

Beyond participating at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, the International Ski Federation (FIS) acknowledged the ruling stating that it would fully respect the decision of the CAS and confirmed that the Russian athletes would have their FIS suspensions lifted.

“For future FIS competitions, including the World Cup, FIS has lifted the current provisional suspensions for the following athletes based on today’s decision: Evgeniy Belov, Alexander Bessmertnykh, Nikita Kriukov, Alexander Legkov, Natalia Matveeva, Alexey Petukhov, Evgenia Shapovalova, Maxim Vylegzhanin,” stated FIS in a press release.

To reach its findings, CAS appointed arbitral panels for each procedure composed of Prof. Christoph Vedder (Germany), President, Dr Dirk-Reiner Martens (Germany), and Dr Hamid Gharavi (France/Iran) for one group of procedures and Prof. Michael Geistlinger (Austria) for the second group of procedures.

The hearings for three Russian biathletes were postponed until after the Winter Olympic Games.

CAS Ruling here.
IOC Statement here.
Inside the Games here.

January 31, 2018 – “I write down my goals so that when I get them, I’ll know I was brave enough to want them.” -Alexi Pappas. It can be incredibly hard, goal setting. It takes guts to admit that you want something so badly it hurts, and then put everything you have towards getting it. It stings when you don’t get what you want. It can be overwhelming when you DO get it.

And sometimes it scares me when I realize just how much of my being I’ve committed to this crazy sport that I love. But I wouldn’t be doing this right if I didn’t admit that I love the idea of going after the impossible, of doing something that’s never been done before. We’ve never had a Women’s XC medal at the Olympics. You know that. I know that. Your second-cousin-once-removed knows that. But until yesterday, we’ve never had a Woman win any distance longer than 10km, either. We’ve also never had this many different Women on the World Cup podium in one season. – read Diggins’ blog here.

January 30, 2018 (Goms, SUI) – American Hailey Swirbul delivered a stellar SILVER performance in the women’s 5km CL today in Switzerland, the best-ever US xc ski result at the FIS Nordic Junior World Championships.

Russia’s Polina Nekrasova won the gold by 14.4 seconds over Swirbul with Anita Korva (FIN) in third at  25.4 seconds behind. Hannah Halvorsen (USA) was 22nd while Natalie Hynes was the top Canadian in 36th.

In the Junior Men’s 10km CL race the USA’s Ben Ogden took home a top 10 finishing 7th while Antoine Cyr led the Canadians in 12th. Americans Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars) and Hunter Wonders were 17th and 22nd respectively.

Jon Rolf Skamo Hope (Nor), 20, took the win by nine seconds over silver medalist Russian Sergey Ardashev while Norwegian Joergen Lippert was 27.9 seconds behind for the bronze

Women’s results here.
Men’s results here.

January 30, 2018 (Park City, Utah) – USA Nordic athlete Ben Loomis (Eau Claire, WI) climbed the podium today, finishing 3rd in the 10 kilometer individual event at the FIS Junior World Championships. It was the first individual medal since 2002, when Alex Glueck and Nathan Gerhart were 2nd and 3rd in Schonach, Germany, and only the fourth US individual medal ever.

Blue skies and fast snow conditions set the stage for a hard fight today at the event in Kandersteg, Switzerland. Conditions on the hill were fair, with a slight breeze for the round of jumping. Loomis began the race in seventh, after a solid performance on the hill.

“Jumping was pretty good today, but I know I can improve,” said Loomis. “Overall it’s been consistently getting better and better so I’m happy with the direction things are going.”

Loomis began the race 38 seconds behind the leader. Within the first few kilometers a pack was formed with places third through seventh, and the chase was on. Loomis skied smart, jockeying for position when necessary and trading off the lead in the chase pack, but never going out of his comfort zone.

“It was definitely a really hard race,” said Loomis. “I had some ground to make up after the jumping, but I was able to push hard and ski a really smart race and I’m very happy with the outcome.”

“I was able to finish on the podium which was my goal for this race,” added Loomis. “It was a really tough course, but the race organizers did a really good job of keeping the course maintained.”

“Now I just want to focus on finishing the week here strong. I think we have a good chance in the team event, so I’m looking forward to putting our best effort into that and seeing what we can do as a team,” said Loomis.

While Loomis was the highlight of the day, he wasn’t the only American who turned in a good performance. Stephen Schumann (Park City, UT) had a strong race, skiing from 29th to 13th with the fifth fastest time. And Jared Shumate (Park City, UT) turned in a solid performance of 29th after skiing the 16th fastest time.

“Today was a great day,” said coach Tomas Matura. “I was a little nervous after we had some trouble in the PCR (provisional competition round) but everyone stepped up and did well today.”

“All of our athletes skied well on the course today,” added Matura. “I was expecting Ben to ski well, but Stephen, Jared surprised me with their times on the course. And Tucker (Hoefler) had a good day as well.”

The next Nordic Combined competition for the men will be the 4x5K Team Sprint on Thursday, February 1.

Results
1. Ondrej Pazout (CZE)
2. Einer Luraas Oftebro (NOR)
3. Ben Loomis (USA)

13. Stephen Schumann (USA)
35. Jared Shumate (USA)
51. Tucker Hoefler (USA)

Full results here.

January 29, 2018 (Goms, SUI) – Hannah Halverson (USA) APU led the North American charge finishing strong in 8th in the Junior Women’s  Sprint FR as the FIS Nordic Junior/U23 World Championships got underway on Sunday in Goms.

Sweden’s Moa Lundgren took the win over Norway’s Kristine Skistad Stavaas with Frida Karlsson (SWE) in third. The top Canadian was Hannah Mehain (Sovereign Lake Nordic) in 29th.

Canada’s Graham Ritchie (Big Thunder Nordic) claimed 12th in the Junior Men’s race with the USA’s Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars) 19th and Canadian Antoine Cyr (Skinouk) 30th for three North Americans in the top 30.

Tom Mancini (Fra) took the win over Norwegian Joergen Lippert in second with 17-year-old Davos skier, Valeria Grond (Sui) in third.

Women’s Qualification here – Final here.
Men’s Qualification here – Final here.

January 29, 2018 (Canmore, AB) — Canada will field a cross-country skiing team mixed with loads of international experience along with youthful energy and drive for the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.

The national body for cross-country skiing nominated a lineup of four women and seven men to the Canadian Olympic Committee that will don the maple leaf race suit in PyeongChang.

Each of the 11 athletes met the standard for nomination to the Canadian Olympic Committee under Cross Country Canada’s Internal Nomination Procedures for the 2018 Olympic Games, and in the process form a talented squad replete with veteran leadership and podium potential.

“This is a team that has evolved from a group of talented athletes excited to be on the start line into a group of determined high-performers focused, and confident, in their ability to achieve international podium results,” said Tom Holland, high-performance director, Cross Country Canada. “Led by our men’s team of Devon, Alex and Lenny over the last two quadrennials, we are in the podium hunt, and will continue to push towards getting Canada back on the Olympic podium at the Nordic venue.”

Canada qualified a core group of six Olympic veterans, three of whom have won World Championship or World Cup medals. Each of these athletes, who qualified based on their World Cup results over the last two years, include: Alex Harvey (St-Ferréol-les-Neiges, QC); Devon Kershaw (Sudbury, ON); Lenny Valjas (Toronto, ON), Jesse Cockney (Canmore, AB), and Graeme Killick (Fort McMurray, AB) on the men’s side. Emily Nishikawa (Whitehorse, YK) is the lone returning Olympian on the women’s squad.

“There were great learnings for us in our last two Olympics. We had a great Games at home in Vancouver where we over performed, and expectations were high for us in Sochi where we learned you can’t take anything for granted if you want to compete with the best,” said Harvey. “We are coming into these Games with a lot of confidence and momentum. We have a good mix of veterans and first time Olympians. Hopefully the girls and young guys can take it all in and learn from us. It is an exciting time for our entire team. It is always a great honour to represent our country and we can’t wait to get there and into our Team Canada gear.”

Three athletes from Whitehorse will hit the start line in PyeongChang. Knute Johnsgaard, Dahria Beatty and Emily Nishikawa, who all hail from Canada’s north, will be in PyeongChang. Each of them earned their Olympic spots based on strong results on the World Cup over the last two years, highlighted by Johnsgaard’s historic first-ever bronze-medal finish on the Canadian men’s relay team last year. They will be joined by three other first-time Olympic team members including: Cendrine Browne (Saint-Jérôme, QC); Anne-Marie Comeau (Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, QC) and Russell Kennedy (Canmore, AB).

“It is an absolute dream come true to be selected for my first Olympic Games,” said Dahria Beatty. “It has been a goal of mine ever since I was a little kid racing. Now that it is finally a reality, I am excited to make the most of the Olympic atmosphere and race my heart out for Canada.”

Browne, Comeau and Kennedy all earned the final three spots on the Canadian Olympic cross-country skiing team following Cross Country Canada’s Olympic Trials that were held in Mont-Sainte-Anne, QC.

“I am thrilled by the incredible talent of our cross-country team,” said Team Canada’s Chef de Mission, Isabelle Charest. “These athletes have worked hard to earn their spots and I look forward to cheering them on as they live out their Olympic experience.”

Canada has three Olympic medals in cross-country skiing, led by Beckie Scott’s first-ever for Canada at Salt Lake City 2002 when she skied to the gold. Scott also won a silver medal in the team sprint with Sara Renner at Turin 2006 – the same year Chandra Crawford won the gold medal in the skate-sprint race.

The athletes nominated are:

– Dahria Beatty (Whitehorse, YK)
– Cendrine Browne (Saint-Jérôme, QC)
– Jesse Cockney (Yellowknife, NWT)
– Anne-Marie Comeau (Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, QC)
– Alex Harvey (Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, QC)
– Knute Johnsgaard (Whitehorse, YK)
– Russell Kennedy (Canmore, AB)
– Devon Kershaw (Sudbury, ON)
– Graeme Killick (Fort McMurray, AB)
– Emily Nishikawa (Whitehorse, YK)
– Lenny Valjas (Toronto, ON)

The coaches nominated are:

– Ivan Babikov (Canmore, AB)
– Louis Bouchard (Quebec City, QC)

January 28, 2018 (Seefeld, Austria) – Canada’s Alex Harvey captured his third podium of the season finishing 2nd behind Switzerland’s Dario Colgona in the Men’s 15km FR mass start with Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby in third.

The USA’s Eric Bjornsen nailed a career-best 9th with teammate Simi Hamilton in 12th, his best-ever distance race result as well, for a strong North American showing at the final World Cup competition before the start of the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, Korea. Also in the points were Scott Patterson (USA) who finished 27th and Devon Kershaw (Can) in 30th. The World Cup in Seefeld is also a test event for the 2019 Nordic World Chanpionships.

“When you haven’t raced in two weeks it is always exciting to see where you are at. I was ready to take a beating today,” said Harvey. “The races started our really fast so that first lap was hard. I was feeling really tired after the last few weeks of training and thought ‘oh boy, this could be a long day.’ After the first lap, things started slowing down and I was able to pace myself. It turned out to be a really good day.”

Bjornsen was on cloud nine with his first top-10 World Cup performance. “What a fun race that was today. Such an awesome feeling to see the leader right in front of you the whole time. Being on the World Cup for the last four years, it’s a feeling I’ve lost touch of. I’m just super happy to feel competitive with the best,” said Bjornsen.

Hamilton was equally stoked as he’s known for his sprinting prowess. “It was a great day out there for the North Americans. I was really happy with my race, and definitely surprised myself. From the start I just focused on moving up through the pack as efficiently as I could. My skis were absolute rockets, and I think that was pretty evident with some fantastic results in both the men’s race and the women’s race,” Hamilton told Trax.

The early leader was Russia’s Ustiugov which raised some eyebrows considering his recent ban by the IOC from competing in Pyeongchang. The initial fast pace eased up and the lead changed as all moves were marked.

Cologna attacked on the final big climb of the 3.75 km course and established a gap that gave him the edge needed as Harvey an Sundby duked it out for second with the Canadian coming out on top.

“I was tired from the sprint yesterday. Usually I don’t have such a long day with sprints. With the fast pace from the start I wasn’t quite ready for it. But I moved up when I could and knew that the final big hill would be the place to try and win the race. It’s good to know that since the Tour de Ski my shape is still at a high level and I’m happy heading into the Olympics,” said Cologna.

“It wasn’t the hardest course so I kind of just mentally got myself ready for the big push at the end,” added Harvey. I was able to pace myself for the last uphill. I knew it would come down to a sprint down the last hill. Dario just had a little more than me at the finish. It is a great feeling to know you can find something inside to finish second on a day when you aren’t feeling good or don’t have the legs.”

Graeme Killick (Can) also had his top result of the season finishing 31st, Patrick Caldwell (USA) was 49th, Ben Lustgarten (USA) was 56th, Len Valjas (Can) was 58th, Tyler Kornfield (USA) placed 77th, while Knute Johnsgaard was 82nd, Bob Thompson (Can) was 87th and Julien Locke finished 92nd.

Results here.

January 28, 2018 (Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, Italy) – The USA’s Susan Dunklee and Lowell Bailey capture the bronze medal on Sunday in the single mixed relay at the IBU Open European Championships in Italy with 10 spare rounds at 9.1 seconds behind the winners Thekla Brun-Lie and Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen from Norway.

Canada’s Sarah Beaudry and Carsen Campbell finished 8th with eight spare rounds at 1:03.6 behind the winners. Norway used six spare rounds and was followed by France in second with 11 spares at 8.6 seconds back.

“Over Christmas, we trained a little bit with the French athletes, including Jacquelin,” said Bailey. “So I know that he has quite a fast finish, and I thought I am kind of an old man here, I should maybe try to go harder on the first part of the lap. But he stayed with me all the time and had me in the end.”

“It was a good opportunity to tune up the race shape, build some confidence and find that sharp feeling heading into the Olympics,” Dunklee said about the event. “The single mixed relay is one of my favorite race formats and today was a blast!”

Later in the day, the U.S. foursome of Chloe Levins, Deedra Irwin, Paul Schommer and Alex Howe finished 17th in the mixed relay.

Results here. http://biathlonresults.com/

January 27, 2018 (Seefeld, Austria) – Canada’s Alex Harvey battled to 8th in the men’s 1.1km Freestyle sprint as Norway’s Johannes Klaebo topped the podium again with Lucas Chanavat, of France in second followed by Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson in third.

Simi Hamilton led Team USA in 9th after qualifying strong in 5th, as he and Harvey both skied their way into the semis but did not advance to the final round. Harvey qualified 22nd.

Harvey relaxed at the back of the pack for most of his quarter-final heat and then put the hammer down to win his opening round and advance to the next round. During his semifinal he skied mid-pack but could only manage fourth as his day came to an end and he did not advance as a Lucky Loser.

Erik Bjornsen (USA) finished 37th followed by teammate Logan Hanneman in 39th with Len Valjas (Can), making his return to the World Cup after an injury, in 40th. Andy Newell (USA) was 42nd followed by Julien Locke (Can) in 43rd, with Knute Johnsgaard (Can) in 51st, Bob Thompson (Can) in 58th, Graeme Killick (Can) 61st, Reese Hanneman (USA) 65th, Devon Kershaw (Can) 70th and Ben Lustgarten (USA) finished 76th.

Qualifications here.
Results here.

January 27, 2018 (Seefeld, Austria) – The USA’s Sophie Caldwell took home a special victory in the women’s 1.1km Freestyle sprint event with Laurien van der Graaf (Sui) joining her on the top step of the podium as FIS declared a first-ever World Cup tie. Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla was third.

“I was not expecting to take the win and didn’t realize I had tied for first until 20 minutes after the race had ended,” said Caldwell. “Any day in the final is a good day, any day on the podium is a good day, so of course I’m thrilled with a win.”

Caldwell found herself up against Norway’s powerhouse skier Maiken Kaspersen Falla in every heat, taking down the Norwegian star in both the semifinals and finals. Falla set a torrid pace in the final round, but Caldwell never left her tails. In a field sprint to the finish, Caldwell powered by Falla while van der Graaf came charging up the other side to grab a tie with Caldwell in a photo finish that could not be separated.

Bjornsen made the final as well finishing 6th. She had a strong qualifier and set a goal of getting out of quarter finals for the first time in two years in a skate sprint. She clearly showed she was back to form after several weeks of recovery from the Tour de Ski. Kikkan Randall also made the heats finishing 14th on the day.

“It was an incredible day out there today on the World Championship course for next year,” said Bjornsen. “It is fun to have our final preparation for the Olympics on our World Champs course for next year! I finally had some of my first good feelings since the Tour de Ski today, and had a ton of fun with it.”

Canada’s 23-year-old Dahria Beatty from Whitehorse was the lone Canuck to qualify for the women’s heats as she squeaked through after clocking the 30th fastest qualifying time. Beatty’s day came to an end after finishing fourth in her heat to post the second-best finish of her career in 20th place.

“It was great to feel like my body has started to come around again,” said Beatty. “I was able to push hard in the qualifier, and find enough to get through to the heats, which was a relief after a tougher start to the season. Overall I am really happy with how today went. It is my second-best World Cup result ever and best one I have ever had in Europe. To have a strong race in the final sprint before the Olympics is great for the energy going into the Games and was great to be able to race the heats on next year’s World Championships course.”

Bjornsen remains seventh in the overall FIS World Cup rankings, while teammate Jessie Diggins, who sat out the race, holds onto third. Diggins had planned to skip the freestyle sprint to pace herself going into PyeongChang. She is expected to compete in Sunday’s 10k freestyle mass start.

Qualifications here.
Results here.

January 27, 2018 (Obberied, Germany) – Canada’s Para-Nordic athletes added another gold and bronze to their bag of medals at the IPC World Cup in Obberied, Germany on Tuesday in sprint racing.

Brian McKeever struck gold in the men’s visually impaired classification, while Collin Cameron, of Sudbury, Ont., broke through for his first medal of the season in men’s sit-skiing.

Collin Cameron celebrated the first medal of his season, claiming the bronze in the men’s sit-ski race.

Results here.

January 22, 2018 (Red Deer, AB) – A chilly start to the day in Red Deer, but the temperatures climbed to close to zero, as racing action unfolded with classic mass starts. The men raced a 15k and the lead group included 9 skiers after the first of 4 laps. Lappe’s Andy Shields, Canmore’s Russell Kennedy, Scott Hill of Barrie XC and Jesse Cockney set out on the final lap together.

On the last lap Jesse Cockney faded back a bit off the front, and Andy Shields skied to a comfortable 9 second victory over Russell Kennedy. Scott Hill was another 4 seconds back in 3rd.

In the Jr. Men’s event Black Jack’s Remi Drolet was a fraction of a second short of 6th overall, and captured the Junior win by a minute over Canmore’s Sam Hendry. Strathcona’s Tallon Noble was 3rd.

The women’s race got off to a bit of a rough start, as skiers battled for position. There was also 4 athletes contesting 3 podium positions over the last lap. Annika Hicks of Canmore came through with the win by 2.5 seconds over Olivia Bouffard-Nesbit of Fondeurs Laurentides and 24 seconds over Foothills Nordic’s Zina Kocher.

Kaia Andal of Caledonia Nordic won the Jr Women’s race by a large 1 and 1/2 minute margin over Rocky Mountain Racer’s Sara McLean. Clair Littlefair of Yellowknife was 3rd. Andal was 5th overall in Open Women, just ahead of Black Jack’s Molly Miller, a Jr. Girl who finished 6th in the open women’s race.

Results

January 21, 2018 (Planica, Slovenia) – Kazakhstan’s Alexey Poltoranin was unstoppable in the men’s 15 km classic taking the win over Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo in second at 13.2 second back. Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson claimed the final podium spto in third at 42.8 behind.

“I am really happy to win. This is a good course for me and I had very good skis and want to say thank you to my service team,” said the winner,” said Poltoranin who earned his 7th career victory in the 15 km classic tying the record of legendary Swede, Gunde Svan.

The USA’s Scott Patterson was the top North American in 43rd followed by Canada’s Devon Kershaw in 44th. American Ben Lustgarten was 46th, Tyler Kornfield (USA) was 57th, Bob Thompson (Can) finished 64th, and Dominique Moncion-Groulx (Can) was 70. Andy Newell (USA) did not finish while Julien Locke (Can) did not start.

January 21, 2018 (Antholz, Italy) – Snowy conditions saw the USA’s Tim Burke finish 22nd in the men’s 15km Mass Start with four penalties at 1:43.8 behind winner Martin Fourcade who had two missed targets with a time of 40:18.6.

Norway’s Tarjei Boe landed second on the podium also with two penalties at 2.8 seconds back. Boe’s teammate, Erland Bjoentegaard, notched his first-ever world cup podium taking third, also with two penalties at 5.1 seconds behind Fourcade.

None of the 30 competitors clean all 20 targets, and only two hit 19 of 20. Burke was among a group of 11 that cleaned on the opening prone shooting stage but suffered two misses in the second prone stage and one more at each of the standing stages.

“The conditions on the range were pretty tricky today with strong wind gusts,” said Burke. “I made the right adjustments on the first prone stage but underestimated the wind on the second stage and missed accordingly. It snowed a lot overnight but the groomers did a good job with the track and conditions were good for the race.”

“I felt a bit tired during the race today but that was to be expected with three races in three days at altitude,” he added. “Now I am looking forward to a few recovery days and then starting my final preparations for the Olympics.”

In the women’s 10km Mass Start, Darya Domracheva staged another of her classic comebacks, cleaning the last standing stage to move from 10th position to first place, winning the snowy Antholz race in 40:23.9.

Her only penalty of the day came in the first prone stage when she fell to 19th position, then steadily moved up to finish 11.9 seconds ahead of second place Anastasiya Kuzmina of Slovakia, with three penalties. Fast finishing Kaisa Mäkäräinen of Finland, with four penalties, took third at 16.2 seconds back. No North Americans competed.

Results here.

January 20, 2018 (Planica, Slovenia) – Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) was unstoppable on his way to victory in the men’s 1.6km CL Sprint in Planica with teammate Emil Iverson in second followed by Sweden’s Teodor Peterson in third at  8.14 seconds back.

The USA’s Simi Hamilton qualified 16th but was eliminated in his 1/4 final placing 4th to end up 19th on the day. His teammate Andy Newell qualified 23rd and met the same fate in his 1/4 final to finish 20th.

Logan Hanneman (USA) was 35th, Tyler Kornfield (USA) placed 38th, Benjamin Lustgarten (USA) finished 59th, Canadian Julien Locke was 62nd, BobThompson was 66th and Antoine Briand finished 70th.

Klaebo leads the Sprint Cup and is now leading the overall World Cup as well taking over the leader’s bib from Martin Johnsrud Sundby (Nor). “I had a lot of fun out there today. It was great to see so many people along the course and the stadium. I really liked the course with the long uphill sections,” said Klaebo.

The USA’s Hamilton was happy with his race but hoped for more. “I was happy with today’s race. I wasn’t exactly sure how my body would respond in a classic sprint since the only other time I’ve classic sprinted this year was in Ruka when I was battling illness at the beginning of the season. The course was incredibly hard and long, so I was really happy to be able to put together a decent qualifier. Even though classic races are undoubtedly my weakness, I was still confident going into the day because I know my fitness is quite good right now and I’ve been healthy for the last 6 weeks.

“The skiing was great. The tracks held up really well and it was firm and fast. The downhill corners were a little sketchy because they got progressively icier throughout the day, but as long as you either rode the berm, slid on the ice, or found tacky snow on the outside of the berm, they were fine. It was a pretty unique course because it was so long and there was basically no recovery, but the hardest part about it I think was the 90 second climb that came about half way in. We don’t really see climbs that long on the World Cup, but its always great to race on a course that is pretty different from everything else we race on. My skis were awesome and our techs did an incredible job handing us skis that had great kick and were super fast.

“I knew from the qualifier that I was skiing the long climb really well, so in my quarter final I focused on skiing that climb as fast and smooth as I could to pick off a couple people. I thought I executed that well, but I didn’t have enough gas for the last 200 meters to finish in the top 2. My finish was not that great, but I’ve always really struggled with long double pole finishes when the body is totally flooded with lactate, so that really didn’t come as a surprise. Still, I focused on finishing as hard as I possibly could. All and all, a good day and I’m really looking forward to getting back onto the skate skis for next weekend’s races in Seefeld,” said Hamilton.

His teammate Newell was also looking for a better day in the tracks. “I was hoping for more out there today so a little bit disappointed with the final result. It was beautiful classic conditions out there and pretty straight forward waxing which made for really fun skiing. The course had a little bit of a different feel because it basically just had one really long climb from the low point to the high point. and of course so fast ice corners to keep things interesting. especially in qualification I felt semi out of control and scrubbed some speed. The courses actually skied a bit better in the heats I thought once they had less traffic.

In the heats I again chose heat one with the same strategy I’ve been using. Chose first heat and shoot for a final/podium rather than a top 15 etc. Not sure if thats the right call… hard to tell sometimes. I skied the majority of the heat on the tails of Kleabo until the top of the climb he and Niskenen got a small gap. In the end it wasn’t fast enough.

Although this wasn’t the pre Olympic result I was looking for I still have a few weeks to fine tune classic skiing and fitness and think about what I need to do to have a top performance in Pyeonchang,” he concluded.

Qualifications here.
Results here.

January 17, 2018 – The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Biathlon Canada officially announced the ten athletes and two coaches nominated to represent Team Canada in biathlon at the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.

Canada secured ten spots based on performances during the 2016-17 IBU World Cup season. Biathletes were selected to positions based on their performances in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 IBU World Cup seasons.

The biathletes nominated are:

– Sarah Beaudry – Prince George, BC
– Rosanna Crawford – Canmore, AB
– Macx Davies – Canmore, AB
– Christian Gow – Calgary, AB
– Scott Gow – Calgary, AB
– Brendan Green – Hay River, NT
– Emma Lunder – Vernon, BC
– Julia Ransom – Kelowna, BC
– Nathan Smith – Calgary, AB
– Megan Tandy – Prince George, BC

The team will be coached by National Team Head Coach Matthias Ahrens, and National Team Women’s Coach/High-Performance Director Roddy Ward. Technical staff include Head Ski Tech Raphael Grosset (France), and ski techs Pavel Stolba (Czech Republic), Andrzej Lesnick (Poland) and Martin Struna (Canmore, AB).

Two-time Olympian Rosanna Crawford is the veteran of the women’s team. She has been on superb form lately, with third and fourth-place finishes at World Cup #5 this past weekend in Ruhpolding, Germany. Crawford joined forces with Julia Ransom, Megan Tandy and Emma Lunder, for an eighth-place finish in the relay at the Olympic test event. Sarah Beaudry, Crawford, Lunder, and Ransom have all experienced personal-best finishes on the World Cup circuit this season.

The men’s team includes a mix of experienced and first-time Olympians. In 2016, two-time Olympian Brendan Green and Sochi 2014 team member Nathan Smith joined with the up-and coming Gow brothers to make history by capturing bronze for Canada’s first ever relay medal at the IBU World Championships. The year before, Smith had become the first Canadian male biathlete to win a world championship medal, earning silver in the 10km sprint. He is also the second Canadian man to stand on a World Cup biathlon podium, winning gold in a 12.5km pursuit.

Over the past two seasons, the Gow brothers have climbed the IBU rankings, scoring personal-best results. Smith missed most of 2016-17 due to illness but emerged strong enough to compete at the Olympic test event.

The team will take part in a training camp in Canmore, Alberta until February 2 before making their way to PyeongChang.

Canada has won a total of three medals in biathlon at the Olympic Winter Games, the most recent coming at Lillehammer 1994. At Sochi 2014, Team Canada biathletes achieved best-ever Olympic results in seven of the 11 events.

Biathlon will take place February 10-23 (Days 1-14) at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre.

January 14, 2018 (Ruhpolding, GER) – We caught up with Canadian biathlete, Rosanna Crawford, following her milestone career-first podium taking 3rd in the women’s 15km individual and her first 20/20 on the range.

Crawford tells us which one means more to her and the lead up to her record day in the sport at Ruhpolding, one of the mecca’s of biathlon, where 25-30,000 screaming fans are on hand to urge you on, but also add immense pressure as well.

The national teamer since 2006 talks about her family ties and sister Chandra (Olympic gold medalist from Torino) her “rock”, the sad loss of her brother Jordan this past spring and the importance of the bonds at home and with her boyfriend of 8 years, Brendan Green, also on the national team, to help get her to the start line.

Her coaches Matthias Ahrens and Roddy Ward along with her teammates create a true “biathlon family” that is essential for such milestone days as Crawford had in Ruhpolding…read more on her record day here.

January 07, 2018 (Val di Fiemme, Italy) – Alex Harvey became the first Canadian to finish on the final podium at cross-country skiing’s famed Tour de Ski realizing a long-term goal of the Canadian team. The 29-year-old Harvey finished third overall after his second-straight bronze-medal performance in the final weekend of the Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

“I think on paper this may not be as big as winning World Championships, but for me in terms of satisfaction, this is the number one achievement in my career,” said Harvey, who posted the sixth fastest time up the final climb. “To be steady throughout 10 days of skiing, and never really have a bad day, that gives me huge satisfaction.”

Harvey secured the final spot on the overall podium after finishing Sunday’s final, and most punishing stage of all in the epic seven-race journey through Europe, in third with a time of 30:22.7.

Switzerland’s Dario Cologna was crowned the King of cross-country skiing, winning a historic fourth overall Tour title after taking the final stage with a time of 28:52.1. Cologna tied Justyna Kowalczyk (Pol) as the only four-time winners of the Tour.

Norway’s Martin Sundby and Harvey battled it out over the final 500 metres for second spot with Sundby holding on to the silver also claiming the Fastest Time of the Day as he moved up from sixth overall at the start of the day.

“You don’t get on the podium for the Tour overall without a strong team behind you. The wax techs work so hard and know that we cannot afford a bad day with the skis. The physio and massage therapists are critical for recovery, and the coaches make it all seamless the second you walk out the door. This is huge for our entire team.”

Harvey’s best Tour finish was fifth in 2016. Canada’s Devon Kershaw was fourth at the 2012 Tour de Ski.

“This is just a great feeling. It is a podium for the entire Canadian Team,” said Harvey. “Devon (Kershaw), Lenny (Valjas), Ivan (Babikov) and I have all had great success on the Tour over the years, but we have always come up short in the overall. I always left the Tour with a little disappointment because we were good, but not quite good enough. One of us had always came up just a bit short. I’m happy we finally got it done.”

Starting the final stage in third place after Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov pulled out of the event with injury, the 29-year old Harvey went head-to-head with the most daunting stage of all – a nine kilometre skate-ski pursuit with the final three kilometres straight up Alpe Cermis, an alpine ski hill that boasts a 28 per cent hill grade.

Harvey was forced to skip the final stage of the Tour for four straight years due to circulation issues in his legs that prevented him from climbing the hill. Surgery to cure the issue resulted in him continuing to chase history.

“It means so much to me to perform on this climb because of my legs in the past. The hill is so important if you want to be on the podium. I have never been good here. I kept working at getting better and today it finally clicked,” said Harvey, who added that the final hill also helps improves his overall skiing.

“It is relentless and there is nowhere to stop. Whenever you feel the burn in your legs it only gets worse. You have to pace it well in the first one-third and ski within yourself. You hit that first pitch and it is game on and you fall into whatever day you are having. There is nowhere to recover, and being tough mentally is not enough to be on podium. You have to have the legs.”

Harvey found his legs on Sunday.

Starting eight seconds back of Alexey Poltoranin, of Kazakhstan, and 83 seconds behind Tour leader Dario Cologna, he wasted no time hunting down Poltoranin on the flats, catching him at the four kilometre mark before the world’s best threw tactics out the window – forcing man against hill.

With four skiers battling for second spot at the eight kilometre mark, the hard-nosed Canuck from Saint-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que., hammered his way up the punishing ascent that has turned some of the fittest men in the world into boys.

“Getting to the top is total relief at first. You are in so much pain, and then when you start to catch your breath and the burn goes away you are feeling so accomplished regardless if you are third or 19th. You’ve climbed a mountain you are not supposed to be cross-country skiing on,” said Harvey. “But to have gone through the whole Tour and you get to the top – it means a lot,” said Harvey.

“I was following Sundby and it was really, really hard. I tried to go with him. We were beside each other for a bit, he looked at me and then he went again. That was a good sign. Normally I’m so dead over the top I can’t think of accelerating, but I was able to try it today,” said Harvey. “It was my best day ever on the hill. Previous years I was slower and it felt harder, but today I felt I had a little more to give.”

Emptying the tank and sprawled out on the ground at the finish line, Harvey celebrated the historic finish on the Tour, and the 26th World Cup podium of his unprecedented career. Nine of them have come on the prestigious Tour de Ski.

The 12th annual Tour de Ski consisted of six races over the last nine days. One race was cancelled in Oberstdorf, Germany due to a winter storm. The ultimate test of physical and mental fitness, the world’s best Nordic athletes hit the start line for races in Switzerland, Germany and Italy.

Results here.
Final Standings here.

January 07, 2018 (Val di Fiemme, Italy) – In a display of true grit, Jessie Diggins bridged a 10-second gap to overtake Krista Parmakoski of Finland on the flanks of Alpe Cermis to become the first American to finish on the final podium in the Tour de Ski, taking third. Sadie Bjornsen capped a stellar nine days on the Tour finishing ninth – the first time two Americans have cracked the top 10.

“What a day,” Diggins said. “I’m so happy with this Tour de Ski, and so proud of our team for all the hard work our techs and coaches have put into each and every race, and so proud of my teammates for racing so hard. That’s one grueling race series.”

Heidi Weng of Norway, on the heels of a strong classic race a day earlier, overtook her teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg on the steep upper section of Alpe Cermis to claim her second straight Tour de Ski title by 48.5 seconds. Diggins was two minutes, 23 seconds back and put 34 seconds on Parmakoski.

It was a day of many storylines for the American women, who just eight years ago weren’t even competing in the Tour de Ski. It was a best-ever individual finish with Diggins’ podium, besting the mark of fifth set by both Diggins in 2017 and Liz Stephen in 2015. Bjornsen’s career-best Tour in ninth put two Americans into the top 10, matching Norway and Finland. Stephen put in the fifth fastest time to climb all the way up to 16th. It was also a career-best finish for Rosie Brennan in 24th.

In Saturday’s classic mass start, Diggins had dropped one spot in the Tour rankings and was starting 10 seconds back from Parmakoski. On the opening flats, Diggins kept an even pace maintaining the gap distance and keeping the Finn in her sights. As they neared the start of the climb, Diggins began to close the gap quickly coming even with Parmakoski as they began the ascent of Alpe Cermis.

Ahead of them, Weng was doing the same with her teammate Østberg, skiing side by side up the alpine ski area slopes. As they reached the steepest portion, Weng attacked and starting building a gap as Østberg dropped back. As Diggins approached a similar spot, she, too attacked and starting building seconds on Parmakoski. As she wound her way around the switchbacks she continued to build. And when she hit the straighter sections near the top she built more and more margin to solidify her podium position.

“I caught Krista maybe a third of the way on the flats and we traded leads, working together to go faster,” Diggins said. “My strategy was just to keep the tempo high, keep my body upright and leaning into the climb, and just keep moving. But on the flat sections where we were weaving around gates, I noticed I was starting to pull away just a little bit, so I would push extra hard each turn and just keep my tempo up, and that’s how I gradually pulled away.”

Bjornsen had planned to chase down Anastasia Sedova just ahead of her and then climb together with Sedova and Nathalie von Siebenthal of Switzerland. But the two took off quickly on the wall and Bjornsen skied to the finish on her own, defending her top-10 ranking.

“Wow, it feels incredible to finish that tour,” said Bjornsen, who is having a strong and consistent season, scoring her first ever top 10 in a major stage race. “It feels so good to accomplish the goal I set for myself before the season started! The Tour is such a tough event because you are racing day after day, and you have those amazing, and disappointing races throughout the event. But you just have to stay positive and keep fighting for every second.”

Tour skiing is challenging – not just from the arduous physical exertion, but the mental toll. “This tour feels like I had more swings than normal, but my highs were higher than normal so I am happy! I hope to come back one day and fight for the podium like Jessie did this year. She is a true inspiration and makes me believe it can be possible. The feeling of achievement as I cross the line in that final hill climb is like no other feeling in the world. It feels like I have conquered the world.”

Brennan is also having a strong season and wrapped up the Tour with the 16th fastest stage time.

“This was a tough tour for me and certainly not what I had hoped for, but I managed to bookend it well,” said Brennan, who did record her best Tour ever. “I am really happy with my opening sprint and with my climb today, the rest was a challenge.”

As arduous as it is up Alpe Cermis, Brennan looked forward to the hill climb finale. “It is a very nerve-racking race because you just never know what is going to happen out there,” she said. “But I love climbing and I love the feeling of reaching the top.”

Her strong climb came a day after a blood sugar crash left her a bit unsure of herself going into the final stage. “I felt so much better and am really happy with the way I skied today,” she said. “Now, it is time to rest and absorb all the intensity we have had during the Tour.”

“The Tour de Ski has been a great way for me to race into shape for the season,” said Stephen.  “I feel that it has worked that way again this year, as my body seems to be feeling better and better each race. This year’s result in the climb was not what I was gunning for but for where I am at this season, I have to be satisfied with today’s result.”

There was a great sense of pride permeating the entire U.S. Ski Team as athletes gathered at the team’s wax truck after the race.

“I’m proud of our team, and honestly every person that finished this event,” said Bjornsen. “It’s a tough one, but one of the more rewarding feelings I believe you can find.”

As one of the Team’s longtime Tour leaders, Stephen takes pride in where the Team has come. “I am extremely proud of Jessie, as she had her work cut out for her today to get an overall podium and that is something that I know she has wanted to achieve,” she said. “So it was amazing to watch her stand up there today.

“Sadie skied an incredibly strong Tour too, and I really could not be more proud of the team we had standing on the top of the mountain today. When I retire one of these years in the near future, I will miss these Tour de Ski moments, with our tight little team and the small Tour de Ski World Cup field. It is in these intimate moments with people I care about that are what makes sport so important in my life.”

The Tour de Ski marked the final distance events in the Olympic selection period. Diggins, Bjornsen and Sophie Caldwell (Peru, Vt.) had already qualified via a top eight World Cup finish in an Olympic discipline. Qualifying for the Olympic Team via a top 50 distance World Cup ranking are Kikkan Randall (Anchorage), Brennan and Stephen. It will be the fifth Olympics for Randall, third for Stephen and first for Brennan.

The World Cup tour now heads to Dresden, Germany for a freestyle sprint and team sprint next weekend. Diggins and Bjornsen will sit it out to rest.

Results here.
Final Standings here.
Winner of the Day (fastest times)

January 07, 2018 (Oberhof, GER) – The Canadian men’s 4×7.5km relay squad finished 10th behind Sweden, the surprise winners amidst extremely heavy fog, as they triumphed with one penalty and nine spare rounds.

Second went to Italy with two penalties and eleven spares at 45.1 seconds back while Norway finished in third with three penalties and three spares at 1:27.9 behind.

Canada’s Christian Gow, Scott Gow, Brendan Green and Carsen Campbell suffered six penalties with 20 spares finishing 6:23.1  behind. The USA did not enter a squad.

In the women’s 4x6km Relay France took the win in foggy, windy and snowy conditions with one penalty and ten spares upsetting Germany who were the favourites but settled for second, with two spares and thirteen spares at 32.4 seconds back. Surprising Sweden finished third, with eight spares at 48.2 seconds back.

Canada’s Julia Ransom, Megan Tandy, Emma Lunder and Sarah Beaudry finished 14th with two penalties with 13 spares at 6:37.5 behind.

Men’s results here.
Women’s results here