Here is a blog I wrote for the National Nordic Foundation about my time at home plus a little add on:
Over the last ten years, the U.S. Women’s Cross Country team
has undoubtedly found its stride. Many years ago, Kikkan Randall spearheaded an
ambitious goal to not only be the best herself, but to be part of a team that
is internationally competitive. She gave us belief, she shared all that she
could, and taught us how to be good teammates, and gracious winners. We continue to build on this year after year
with more and more girls finding success. The success in relay events might be the best
measure of having a competitive team. Landing on a relay podium means having
four girls that can put together a good race on the same day, showing the depth
of any one team, and we now start every relay with the intention of reaching
the podium.
I am unbelievably lucky to be part of this wave. When I
first started cross country skiing, there were no women on the U.S. Team and
that certainly made it hard to see much of a future for myself. I then watched
Kikkan continue on with undying belief and confidence that she could be the
best and watched her succeed. I suddenly began to see that future and moved to
Alaska to train with her. While my path has been a bit circuitous, I am
grateful to have had this experience and to be part of such a successful team.
I will forever be amazed by Kikkan’s belief that this was
possible when there wasn’t even a women’s team, but what I admire even more is
her ability to bring so many of us with her. I badly want this success to
continue long after I have retired and I hope that every one of us girls on the
World Cup can provide inspiration and motivation for girls around the country the
same way Kikkan did and continues to do for us. I hope the belief grows
stronger as more of us reach the podium. We all came from different clubs and
have different backgrounds showing many ways in which success is possible, but
we all share a continued belief that we can be the best and are willing to work
hard to get there.
I chose to make a trip back to Utah to prepare for World
Championships at altitude and to get a little break from the road. I happened
to arrive back home the day World Junior and U23 Championships started. It was
very special for me to cheer for these juniors on my own home course in an
international event. I was able to see Katharine Ogden receive the first ever
World Junior medal for the U.S. and then cheer my heart out as four junior
girls with tall socks on skied their way to a 3rd place relay
finish. These girls have already taken Kikkan’s message and run with it,
forming a goal two years ago to land on this podium together and continuing to
push on until they got there. Their success means to the world to me because it
means that we have not only found success ourselves on the World Cup, but that
we passed that determination, inspiration, team spirit, and work ethic on to
the next successful generation of female skiers.
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| KO winning the first ever World Junior medal for the USA |
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| The 4 girls who were on the 3rd place relay team and myself |
Home is always a good place for me to prepare for anything. Despite some less than stellar weather, I enjoyed every minute being home and had some great training sessions. However, it is always a little nerve-racking to leave Europe as there is always some doubt in your mind as to whether or not you will be able to return to racing in the same way you left it with so much travel and time zone changes. I landed in Estonia a few days before most of the team to try to combat some jet leg and had two race starts to get back into it before heading to the World Championships. Still seeking that coveted spot in the top 30 of the sprint, I chose to race both Saturday and Sunday. The sprint was going really well, possibly qualifying speed when I got a little out of control on a downhill and didn't make the turn at the bottom. I guess that's a part of what makes ski racing exciting, crashes always happen at some point. Anyway, I regrouped for the distance race, a rainy 10k classic with some big hills. It was sloppy and slow, but I enjoy such conditions and I found a good groove out on course, skiing to 24th position, something I am satisfied. With one week to finish my preparations for World Championships, I am looking forward to strong performances from the whole team in the coming weeks.
The championships will be aired on TV so please tune in!
2017 FIS NORDIC WORLD SKI CHAMPIONSHIPS
Live Streaming and Broadcast Schedule (times EST)
Thursday, Feb. 23
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. - Classic Sprint - LIVE STREAM
5:30 - 7:30 p.m. - Classic Sprint - TV: NBCSN
Friday, Feb. 24
3:30-4:30 a.m. - Nordic combined HS100m ski jumping - LIVE STREAM
6:30-7:30 a.m. - Nordic combined 10k - LIVE STREAM
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. - Women's HS100m ski jumping - LIVE STREAM
1:30-2:30 p.m. - Women's HS100m ski Jumping - TV: NBCSN
2:30-4:00 p.m. - Daily broadcast coverage - TV: Universal HD
Saturday, Feb. 25
5:00-7:00 a.m. - Women's skiathlon - LIVE STREAM
7:30-9:30 a.m. - Men's skiathlon - LIVE STREAM
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. - Men's HS100m Ski jumping - LIVE STREAM
8:00-11:00 p.m. - Daily broadcast coverage - TV: Universal HD
Sunday, Feb. 26
5:00-6:00 a.m. - Nordic combined team HS100m ski jumping - LIVE STREAM
6:30-8:30 a.m. - Team freestyle sprint - LIVE STREAM
8:30-9:30 a.m. - Nordic combined 4x5k team event - LIVE STREAM
10:30 a.m.-12:40 p.m. - Mixed gender HS100m ski jumping team event - LIVE STREAM
9:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. - Daily broadcast coverage - TV: Universal HD
Tuesday, Feb. 28
6:45-8:45 a.m. - Women's 10k classic - LIVE STREAM|
5:30-7:00 p.m. - Women's 10k classic - TV: Universal HD
Wednesday, Mar. 1
5:00-6:00 a.m. - Nordic combined HS130m ski jumping - LIVE STREAM
6:45-8:45 a.m. - Men's 15k classic - LIVE STREAM
9:15-10:15 a.m. - Nordic combined 10k - LIVE STREAM
7:00-10:00 p.m. - Daily broadcast coverage - TV: Universal HD
Thursday, Mar. 2
8:00-10:00 a.m. - Women's 4x5k relay - LIVE STREAM
11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. - Men's HS130m ski jumping - LIVE STREAM
1:00-3:00 p.m - Daily broadcast coverage - TV: NBCSN
Friday, Mar. 3
6:30-8:30 a.m. - Men's 4x10k relay - LIVE STREAM
9:00-10:00 a.m. - Nordic combined HS130m ski jump - LIVE STREAM
11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. - Nordic combined 2x7.5k team sprint - LIVE STREAM
12:00-2:30 p.m. - Daily broadcast coverage - TV: NBCSN
Saturday, Mar. 4
7:30-9:30 a.m. - Women's 30k freestyle - LIVE STREAM
10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. - Men's HS130m ski jumping team event - LIVE STREAM
7:30-10:30 p.m. - Daily broadcast coverage - TV: Universal HD
Sunday, Mar. 5
7:00-9:00 a.m. - Men's 50k freestyle - LIVE STREAM
1:30-3:30 p.m. - Men's 50k freestyle - TV: Universal HD
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| Otepaa |
