RASNOV, Romania (Feb. 22, 2016) – The FIS Nordic World Junior and U23 Championships kicked off on Monday with a 1.3k freestyle sprint in warm, wet and sloppy conditions. Logan Hanneman (Anchorage, AK, Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks), a U23, and Julia Kern (Waltham, MA, U.S. Ski Team D Team/Stratton Mountain School), a junior, led the U.S. men and women in 15th and 16th, respectively.
In the junior women’s sprint, Norway’s Amalie Ous snatched first from teammate Lotta Weng by just .22 seconds, followed by Sweden’s Jenny Solin in third. Kern led the team, starting out the sprints strong and qualifying 14th, which advanced her to the quarterfinal heats. The quarterfinals were close and Kern finished fourth in her heat and was unable to move on further. She was only 2.08 seconds from qualifying for the semifinals, ending up 16th.
Julia Kern finished 16th in the 1.3k junior women’s freestyle sprint at the FIS Nordic World Junior and U23 Championships Monday. (Peter Leonard)
Norway’s Johannes Klaebo claimed the junior men’s 1.3k sprint victory, 0.67 seconds over Korea’s Magnus Kim, who came in from dominating the Winter Youth Olympic Games last week. Italy’s Giacomo Gabrielli stole third in a photo finish with Russia’s Denis Spitsov. Henry Harmeyer (S. Burlington, VT, University of Vermont) led the U.S. junior men, just missing out on qualifying for the quarterfinal heats by 1.37 seconds, finishing 35th overall.
Competitive competition continued for the U23 ladies, as Sweden’s Jonna Sundling won the 1.3k freestyle sprints by 0.36 seconds over Switzerland’s Nadine Faehndrich. Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist finished third. Kelsey Phinney (Middlebury, VT, Middlebury College Ski Team) led the U.S. U23 women finishing 34th overall, just 1.20 seconds from qualifying for the quarterfinal heats.
France’s Lucas Chanavat won the men’s U23 sprints by 0.92 seconds over Sweden’s Karl-Johan Dyvik in second and France’s Jean Tiberghien in third. Hanneman qualified 25th which advanced him to the quarterfinal heats. But in the quarterfinals, Hanneman finished third 2.57 seconds behind and was unable to move on as the lucky loser.
Logan Hanneman (25) competes in the 1.3k freestyle sprint at the FIS Nordic World Junior and U23 Championships Monday. (Peter Leonard)
“Having Logan in 15th and Julia in 16th were very respectable results for today,” said U.S. Cross Country Ski Team Development Coach Bryan Fish. “All of the athletes skied really hard and well today. Some athletes probably wished they skied better, but it was a really warm, wet, sloppy day, which are conditions some of our athletes are not used to skiing in. The wax techs did an excellent job with the difficult conditions and everyone will use what they learned today to help them in Tuesday’s classic races.”
Competition continues Tuesday with a 10/5k classic for the juniors and a 15/10k classic for the U23’s. Race organizers were forced to double up on races on Tuesday, due to rain in the forecast for Wednesday.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The FIS Nordic World Junior Championships event brings more than 400 athletes ranging in age from 16 to 20 years old, from 30 nations to compete in 17 events in cross country skiing, ski jumping and nordic combined.
- The FIS U23 World Ski Championships includes three additional cross-country events for both men and women ages 21 to 23.
- If skiers perform well at the U23 Championships, they will have an opportunity to join the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team in Canada for the World Cup, March 1-12.
- Henry Harmeyer led the U.S. junior’s in 35th, followed by Zak Ketterson (Bloomington, MN, Loppet Nordic Racing) in 51st, Thomas O’Harra (Anchorage, AK, APU Nordic Ski Center) in 58th and Leo Hipp (Wyoming, MN, Northern Michigan University) in 66th.
- Julia Kern led the U.S. junior women in 16th, followed by Sarah Bezdicek (Plymouth, MN, Northern Michigan University) in 36th, Leah Lange (Park City, UT, Utah Olympic Park Sports Clubs/Park City Nordic Ski Club) in 42nd and Nicole Schneider (Plymouth, MN, Northern Michigan University) in 52nd.
- Logan Hanneman led the U.S. U23 men in 15th, followed by Ben Saxton (Lakeville, MN, U.S. Ski Team D Team/Stratton Mountain School) in 25th, Patrick Caldwell (Lyme Center, NH, U.S. Ski Team D Team/Stratton Mountain School) 43rd, and Akeo Maifeld-Carucci (Bozeman, MT, Bridger Ski Foundation) in 48th.
- Kelsey Phinney led the U.S. women U23’s in 34th, followed by Felicia Gesior (Marquette, MI, Northern Michigan University) in 39th, and Heather Mooney (Craftsbury Common, VT, Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club) in 46th.
QUOTES
Bryan Fish - U.S. Ski Team Development Coach
Having Logan in 15th and Julia in 16th were very respectable results for today. All of the athletes skied really hard and well today. Some athletes probably wished they skied better, but it was a really warm, wet, sloppy day, which are conditions some of our athletes are not used to skiing in.
The wax techs did an excellent job with the difficult conditions and everyone will use what they learned today to help them in Tuesday’s classic races.
RESULTS
Junior Men 1.3k Freestyle Sprint
Junior Female 1.3k Freestyle Sprint
U23 Male 1.3k Freestyle Sprint
U23 Female 1.3k Freestyle Sprint
