The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) today announced finalists for the Team USA Awards, Best of February, which recognizes the outstanding achievements of Team USA athletes from last month. Three U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes are nominated: Dusty Henricksen, Justin Schoenefeld and Jamie Anderson.

Fans are invited to vote for their favorite athletes and teams at TeamUSA.org/Awards through midnight Monday, March 9.  

Male Athlete of the Month

Dusty Henricksen (Mammoth Lake, California), Snowboarding
Took gold in slopestyle at the grand prix in Mammoth Mountain, California, scoring 84.51 on the final run of the competition for his career-first world cup win and podium finish, and additionally finished second at the Burton U.S. Open, landing the first-ever backside quad cork 1800 in the slopestyle competition.

Justin Schoenefeld (Lawrenceburg, Indiana), Freestyle Skiing
Picked up a career-first world cup podium finish with a victory in aerials in Minsk, Belarus, on Feb. 22, highlighting Team USA’s first U.S. aerials win in two years and the first men’s win in three years.

Female Athlete of the Month

Jamie Anderson (South Lake Tahoe, California), Snowboarding
Won her fourth-straight major title in a row, taking the Burton U.S. Open crown in slopestyle, marking her eighth-career title, and additionally took first in slopestyle at the U.S. grand prix world cup and claimed her 11th Dew Tour title.

Selection Process
Each National Governing Body may nominate one female, one male and one team per sport discipline. An internal nominating committee selects finalists to advance to the voting round. Votes received from NGB representatives and select members of the media account for 50% of the final tally, with the other half determined by online fan voting via TeamUSA.org/Awards.

VOTE NOW

The FIS Snowboardcross World Cup makes its return to the highly-regarded resort of Sierra Nevada March 7-8 for the fourth of five World Cup events of the season. U.S. riders are eager to take to the course in Sierra Nevada, including two-time 2019 FIS World Champion Mick Dierdorff.

“Our team has been having an awesome camp in Austria and we are fired up for the last two World Cups of the season,” said Mick. “The venue in Spain historically has a bigger and faster course than we have seen so far this season. Big and fast is what I love, so I hope to wrap up this season with another podium under my belt.”

This is the first World Cup at Sierra Nevada since the 2012-13 season. Although the southern region of Spain is mostly known for its beautiful weather and the stunning Mediterranean Sea, Sierra Nevada will host competition in one of the few areas in the country with enough snow to cater to a World Cup contest. 

U.S. snowboardcross athletes have a history of performing well in Spain. Last year at the Baqueira Beret World Cup, Lindsey Jacobellis earned third place and Mick finished just outside of the podium in fourth. U.S. athletes are also coming into the event after finding World Cup success this season. U.S. Snowboardcross Team members Alex Deibold, Senna Leith, and Faye Gulini all claimed third-place finishes at the previous stop in Big White, Canada. 

With prior success in Spain and the momentum carrying them into the contest, the U.S. will be hoping to race their way to the podium. 

U.S. ATHLETES
Women
Faye Gulini - Pro
Lindsey Jacobellis - Pro
Rosie Mancari - Pro
Meghan Tierney - Development

Men
Mick Dierdorff - Pro
Nick Baumgartner - Pro
Senna Leith - Pro
Jake Vedder - Pro
Hagen Kearney - Pro
Cole Johnson 
Jonathan Cheever 

HOW TO WATCH
Subject to change
All times EST
*Same-day delayed broadcast
** Next-day broadcast

Saturday, March 7
5:50 a.m. - Men and women’s snowboardcross, Sierra Nevada, SPA - OlympicChannel.com, NBC Sports Gold
12:30 p.m. - Men and women’s snowboardcross, Sierra Nevada, SPA - Olympic Channel*

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.

Julia Kern just missed her second medal of the 2020 FIS U23 Cross Country World Championships, finishing fourth in the 10k classic in Oberwiesenthal, Germany, Monday. Hailey Swirbul was seventh. In the men’s 15k classic, Hunter Wonders was the top American in eighth. 

Snow, wind, and fog provided challenging conditions for the athletes and the ski techs Tuesday, but once again, the staff and athletes rose to the occasion and battled the competition and the elements.

“The conditions were definitely challenging today and our wax team absolutely crushed it!” Julia said. “They had all of the kick options covered and made ripping fast skis. I always love the gritty weather days because I feel like it gives me an advantage since I like skiing in tricky conditions.”

Sweden took the gold and bronze with Ebba Anderssen taking the win and teammate Emma Ribon in third. Norway’s Marte Johansen took the silver. Julia finished just 7.8 seconds off the podium. For the men, Russia’s Sergey Ardashev won the gold, Norway’s Harald Amundsen took the silver, and Hugo Lapalus of France took the bronze. 

The U23 and Junior Cross Country World Championships continue Wednesday with a 15k mass-start freestyle for the women, and a 30k mass-start freestyle for the men. Thursday, the U23 women race a 15k mass-start freestyle, and the men will race a 30k mass-start freestyle. 

After recovering from a mid-season leg injury and a strong showing at Ski Tour 2020, Julia is finishing season strong at the U23 World Champs, and she’s looking forward to carrying her form into the final couple day of competition, and then into the final World Cup races of the season in Quebec City, Minneapolis and Canmore, Alberta.

“My form is feeling really good after all of the racing from the Ski Tour 2020,” Julia said, “and I have been really excited about the energy the team has had here in Oberwiesenthal!”

On Friday, Ben Ogden, Gus Schumacher, Johnny Hagenbuch, and Luke Jager look to defend their 4x5k World Championship title in the team relay.

All races are streaming live on the official 2020 FIS Junior and U23 Cross Country World Championships Facebook page.

RESULTS
Women's 10k classic
Men's 15k classic

The X Games tour serves as a major part of the winter’s elite-level freeski and snowboard event calendar, and the 2019-20 competition season came complete with a special bonus. Alongside contests in the southern hemisphere, the season kicked off in August with X Games Norway 2019, and this year, we are going to close it out with the 2020 edition March 7-8 at Hafjell Resort.

U.S. Freeski Pro Team member and 2020 X Games Aspen slopestyle bronze medalist Maggie Voisin is especially psyched about heading to X Games Norway 2020. 

“I am so happy to be headed back to beautiful Norway for X Games this week,” said Maggie. “X Games Norway hasn’t included slopestyle since 2017, so I’m extra excited to be competing in both events (slopestyle and big air). Also, I didn’t have the chance to compete earlier this year in Norway, so this time around is a nice second chance. This will be my second to last contest of the season and I’m looking forward to finishing strong.”

U.S. athletes have already racked up numerous X Games podiums this season including six gold, two silver and four bronze medals across Norway and Aspen events. A few of these medals can be attributed to U.S. Freeski Pro Team members Alex Hall and Colby Stevenson. Alex returns to Norway as the defending X Games Norway big air gold medalist, while Colby is the reigning gold medalist in both slopestyle and knuckle huck from X Games Aspen. 
 

Alex and Colby will have to fend off the likes of 11-time X Games medalist Henrik Harlaut of Sweden and Norway’s own Olympic gold medalist Oystein Braaten. 

The U.S. Snowboard Team is also rolling into competition with a pair of heavy hitters. Coming hot off her eighth Burton U.S. Open slopestyle title and also serving as the defending X Games Aspen slopestyle gold medalist is Jamie Anderson. Jamie has had an unrivaled season winning every slopestyle event she has entered. Jamie also has her work cut out for her competing against a hungry back-to-back defending X Games Norway big air gold medalist in Austrian Anna Gasser.
 

Joining Jamie is U.S. Rookie Team member Dusty Henricksen who, for anyone that’s been paying attention, is now fully on the radar as one of the top riders in the world. Dusty stacked victories at the Youth Olympic Games, the Land Rover U.S. Grand Prix, and a silver medal at the 2020 Burton U.S. Open. Meanwhile, Dusty is blowing minds on Instagram and landing “never-been-dones,” like the backside quad cork 1800 that he landed last week for the first time ever in snowboard slopestyle competition.

Dusty’s competition also includes a long list of heavy hitters, such as the 2018 Olympic slopestyle gold medalist Sebastian Toutant and the 2020 Burton U.S. Open Champion Yuki Kadono. 

X Games fans in the United States can watch more than eight hours of live competition coverage from X Games Norway March 7-8, on the ESPN App and X Games YouTube, X Games Facebook and X Games Twitter pages. Tune in live to catch all the action. 

HOW TO WATCH 
Subject to change
All times EST
@XGames - Streaming via YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages.

FREESKI
Saturday, March 7
10:30 a.m. - Women’s ski big air - Hafjell Resort, Norway - @XGames
12:30 a.m. - Men’s ski big air - Hafjell Resort, Norway - @XGames
2:30 p.m. - Ski knuckle huck - Hafjell Resort, Norway - @XGames

Sunday, March 8
7:00 a.m. - Women’s ski slopestyle - Hafjell Resort, Norway - @XGames
10:00 a.m. - Men’s ski slopestyle - Hafjell Resort, Norway - @XGames

SNOWBOARD
Saturday, March 7
9:30 a.m. - Women’s snowboard big air - Hafjell Resort, Norway - @XGames
11:30 a.m. - Men’s snowboard big air - Hafjell Resort, Norway - @XGames
1:30 p.m. - Snowboard knuckle huck - Hafjell Resort, Norway - @XGames

Sunday, March 8
5:30 a.m. - Women’s snowboard slopestyle - Hafjell Resort, Norway - @XGames
8:30 a.m. - Men’s snowboard slopestyle - Hafjell Resort, Norway - @XGames
 

Gus Schumacher took the gold and led the way for the Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team at the FIS Junior Cross Country World Championships in Oberwiesenthal, Germany, Monday. Ben Ogden was ninth, Luke Jager was 10th and Johnny Hagenbuch 25th.

Setting aside his disappointment from Saturday’s sprint, where he was the top qualifier, but didn’t advance to the finals and settled for seventh, Gus laid it all on the line Monday, winning the first-ever individual men's medal for the United States at the Junior World Championships.

“It went just about perfectly,” Gus said of his race. “Everything came together really well and it hurt, but just when I needed it to.”

Germany’s Friedrich Moch took the silver, and Italy’s Davide Graz the bronze.

In the women's 5k classic, Sophia Laukli was the top American in 13th, Kendall Kramer was 22nd, Sydney Palmer-KLeger was 43rd, and Mara McCollor was 60th. Norway’s Helene Marie Fossesholm won the gold, Lisa Lohmann of Germany took the silver, and Izabela Marcisz of Poland scored the bronze. 

The U23 and Junior Cross Country World Championships continue Tuesday with the U23 women racing a 10k classic, and the U23 men a 15k classic. The juniors return to action with a 15k freestyle for the women, and a 30k freestyle for the men Thursday. 

Ben, Gus, Johnny, and Luke are the defending World Champions in the 4x5k relay. They will defend their title Saturday. 

All races are streaming live on the official 2020 FIS Junior and U23 Cross Country World Championships Facebook page.

RESULTS
Women's 5k classic
Men's 10k classic

The final stop of the 16th Annual Rev Tour NorAm is underway this week at the new state-of-the-art Woodward Park City, Utah. Freeski and snowboard slopestyle and big air competition will take place starting Monday, March 2 through Friday, March 6.

Just down the road from U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s Center of Excellence, Woodward’s new facilities have already received overwhelming praise from U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes. Alongside an all-female mini-camp focused on progression from March 6-7, the Rev Tour is just the beginning of what should be a long and fruitful relationship for both organizations.

U.S. Freeski Rookie Team member Deven Fagan shared his thoughts about competing at the new facilities. 

“I’m so hyped to compete at the brand new Woodward Park City,” said Deven enthusiastically. “I’m looking forward to skiing and competing with some of my friends who I haven’t been able to ski with this year due to a very busy competition and travel schedule. Hopefully, I can get another podium and continue to gather some very crucial competition experience at a great venue.”

Joining Deven from the U.S. Freeski Rookie team is Hunter Henderson, Grace Henderson, Rell Harwood, Marin Hamill, Cody LaPlante, as well as pro team members Kiernan Fagan and Hunter Hess. 

U.S. Snowboard Rookie Team member Jade Thurgood also shared her excitement for this week’s competition. 

“I’m really stoked to be competing at the new Woodward Park City, especially after I dislocated my shoulder a couple of weeks ago,” she said. “I’ve ridden there before and it’s a really cool set up. I can’t wait to see what they’re going to be offering us from a course perspective for the competition. I bet it is going to be really sweet.”

Joining Jade this week from the U.S. Snowboard team are teammates Courtney Rummel and Ty Schnorrbusch. For the men, pro team members Kyle Mack, Lyon Farrell, Sean FitzSimons, Luke Winkelmann as well as rookie team members Jake Canter and Dusty Henricksen are set to compete. 

Dusty is coming off a spectacular performance at the 2020 Burton U.S. Open where he earned second-place and landed the first-ever backside quad cork 1800 in elite-level slopestyle competition. Dusty will be looking to close out his season with what would be the fifth podium of his break out winter. 

If you are in Park City, be sure to go check out the new Woodward Park City and also witness the final Rev Tour NorAm stop of the season. See the details about Woodward Park City and the competition schedule below. 

WOODWARD PARK CITY

SCHEDULE
 

Tommy Ford led three Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team members into the top 16 in Monday’s FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom at Hinterstoder, Austria, finishing in 12th. 

France’s Alexis Pinturault grabbed his second victory in two days, with two solid and strong giant slalom runs, while Croatia’s Filip Zubcic was second, .45 seconds off the pace, while Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen was third, .72 seconds out.

After a salting program had been implemented by the organizing committee, the courses held up quite well, despite soft spring conditions. Even so, with the fastest time being 1:24:30 (by Alexis), the first run was the longest course the men’s giant slalom field has seen this season. Due to challenging weather and course conditions, many of this season’s giant slalom races have gone from the reserve start, meaning they have been shortened considerably. Athletes reached the finish gassed after both runs on Monday, and the strongest men with the best stamina out there prevailed. 

“The new standard is becoming the spring conditions right now,” reflected Tommy. “My first run I thought I skied well, really clean, good up top, and powerful. I let the fatigue get to me a little bit on the bottom section, my skis got caught and I thought my recovery was really good for where I was in the course but it didn’t help with the time. Going into the second run I was confident but I didn’t feel like I had as much hunger as I have been having, for whatever reason.”

Tommy had two sizable mistakes in the first run but kept his flow going and skied through it with control. A straighter-set second run didn’t play to his strengths, but he still made up time on the straight bottom section and ended up 12th. Ryan Cochran-Siegle continued his strong results across disciplines, with a great second run, ending up 15th, while Ted followed, tied for 16th. 

George Steffey—who was starting in just his third World Cup—did not qualify for a second run. River Radamus did not finish.  

With his victory, Alexis Pinturault regained the lead in the overall standings, with 1,148 points, while Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde moved down to second with 1,122 points (after Monday’s sixth-place result), and Attacking Viking teammate Henrik Kristoffersen in third, with 1,041 points. With his third place on Monday, Henrik takes the lead in the giant slalom standings, with 394 points to Alexis’ 388. 

Up next, the men will travel to Kvitfjell, Norway for a super-G and downhill—the final speed series before World Cup Finals. Rumors have been floating about whether or not the World Cup Finals, which is slated to be hosted by Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy will happen, in light of the continued spread of the Novel Coronavirus. On Monday after the race, the International Ski Federation (FIS) Council held an emergency telephone conference to discuss the FIS World Cup for the final three weeks, and released their decision following the call. 

"After a long discussion, the Council agreed with the request of the Italian Winter Sports Federation (FISI) on the advice of the Italian Regional Government and Health Authorities in Veneto, to wait until Friday 6th March to make a final decision on the staging of the FIS Alpine World Cup Finals in Cortina."

More details will be forthcoming. 

RESULTS
Giant Slalom

STANDINGS
Overall
Giant Slalom

Clear, blue skies and an unforgiving course provided a beautiful backdrop for Jaelin Kauf to claim her first World Cup win of the season at the Shymbulak FIS Dual Moguls World Cup event in Kazakhstan. Sunday’s win marks Jaelin’s seventh career World Cup victory, and her third podium of the 2019-2020 season - all of which have been battled out on the duals course. 

“I'm really stoked to be on top of the podium,” said Jaelin. “It’s a big confidence booster. I’ve been using this year to try new things and not worry too much about results. But it feels good to get that result and be on top again.” 

Jaelin shared the podium with Australia’s Jakara Anthony in second and France’s Perrine Laffont in third. 

At only 220 meters long, the Shymbulak course did not provide a lot of runway, skiers had to fight for every turn to gain an edge on their competitors. Athletes pushed themselves and their competitors to the limit on the firm and icy moguls and there was no shortage of carnage on the Shymbulak course. 

Anything can happen in duals, but Jaelin’s veteran experience and pure enjoyment of skiing a dual event allowed her to push through the course all day long to ski strong and tight - even as skiers blew out around her, including Jakara and Perrine. 

“The course was definitely a little crazy with small and sharp moguls,” explained Jaelin. “It was easy to get caught up and thrown off. I focused on staying light and making sure I was really soft, not getting caught up, and putting my run down and skiing as fast as I could.” 

Three American women advanced to the round of 16: Jaelin, Tess Johnson and Hannah Soar. Hannah skied a tight race against Japan’s Kisara Sumiyoshi but did not advance to the quarter finals. She finished the day in ninth. 

Tess beat Russia’s Anastasiia Smirinova to advance to the quarter finals where she met Perrine. Tess upset Perrine’s undefeated streak at the dual mogul event in Deer Valley Feb. 8 and was looking for a similar result in Kazakhstan, but it was not meant to be. “Tess really gave this course hell all week,” said Head Moguls Coach Matt Gnoza. Tess ended the competition in seventh place.

Kai Owens also started for the U.S. and although did not advance to the round of 16, skied a solid run for a good score and ended the day in 17th. “As a World Cup rookie, it’s a huge learning experience being on this three-week trip, and it was nice to see that from her,” said Matt.

On the men’s side, Japan’s Ikuma Horishima claimed victory over Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury in the big final. Canada’s Laurent Dumais rounded out the podium in third.

Kalman Heims was the only American man to advance to the round of 16 after beating Brad Wilson in a friendly fire during the round of 32 in a tight duel. Kalman went a little too much on the top air against Switzerland’s Marco Tade, and couldn’t corral it back with the firm snow, which cost him moving into the quarter finals. He finished the competition in 16th. Brad finished in 19th. 

Rookies Alex Lewis and Nick Page skied great runs, but were unfortunately seeded against the day’s top skiers, Ikuma and Mikael, in the round of 32. Alex finished in 23rd and Nick in 25th. Emerson Smith finished 31st. 

The duals-only event provides a different dynamic than a moguls World Cup. “I thought it was so much fun,” said Jaelin of the duals-only stop. “In training you’re focusing less on little specific things, and more on putting your whole run to beat other girls to the bottom.”

“The team does love to ski dual events, they are hungry for that,” said Matt. “One of the takeaways from today is we did spend our summers not just training the same stuff over and over, so we’re very comfortable in training all the different lines and getting familiar with the course, no matter what we get dealt in duals can rise to the occasion. The prep work is paying off for these duals-only events.”

The Freestyle World Cup tour continues next week to Krasnoyarsk, Russia, for aerials and another dual moguls competition, both of which are new stops on each tour. “I’m excited to move to a different course,” said Jaelin. “[This one] beat us up a little bit, it was tough on the body. I’m excited to go see somewhere else we've never been.” 

Results
Women’s dual moguls
Men’s dual moguls

Ryan Cochran-Siegle led the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team in Sunday’s alpine combined, finishing 18th. 

France’s Alexis Pinturault was the second-fastest in the super-G portion of the alpine combined, and skied the fastest slalom run of the day, earning his second alpine combined victory of the season and the discipline globe to boot. Switzerland’s Mauro Caviezel was second, .99 seconds out, while Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde rounded out the podium in third, 1.25 seconds off the pace. 

With a 9:45 am first run start time, athletes enjoyed considerably better conditions for the super-G portion of the alpine combined, in which Bryce Bennett grabbed a solid ninth-fastest time, while Ryan was 11th, Ted Ligety 18th, George Steffey was 30th, and Kyle Negomir 42nd. 

The Americans struggled in the slalom portion of the combined, with the springlike conditions creating a deep groove in the surface. Ted opted not to start in the slalom portion of the combined, while Ryan finished 18th and Bryce played it smart for the finish, ending up in 21st overall but (more importantly) earning a valuable FIS super-G result (Note: competitors in the combined could get a separate FIS super-G result, but only if they successfully complete both runs of the race). George Steffey—who was starting in just his second World Cup—was en route to his first World Cup points when his tips crossed in the slalom, and he did not finish. Kyle Negomir was 36th. 

With his third-place, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde continues to lead in the overall standings with 1082 points, while Alexis Pinturault moved up one spot to second, with 1048 points, followed by Henrik Kristoffersen—who was 11th in Sunday’s uncharacteristic alpine combined start, making it his second-ever World Cup AC start —with 981 points. 

Up next, the men will ski a giant slalom on Monday. 

Women’s Alpine Combined in La Thuile, Italy Canceled
Due to heavy snowfall, Sunday’s alpine combined in La Thuile, Italy was canceled and it will not be replaced. Like Saturday, the event was slated to be held in front of limited spectators as a matter of precaution against the coronavirus, which is providing ongoing concerns.

Federica Brignone won the alpine combined globe, as she won both of the alpine combined races on this season’s calendar, making it the first globe of Federica’s career. She currently leads in the overall standings by 153 points ahead of Mikaela Shiffrin, who is still absent from the World Cup tour following her father’s passing. Corinne leads the fight for the super-G globe by 19 points over Federica, with just one super-G race remaining at World Cup Finals. Mikaela’s return to Europe and to competition is still unknown. 

The originally scheduled giant slalom and slalom series in Ofterschwang, Germany on March 7-8 has been canceled and will not be replaced. Up next for the women is a tech series including parallel slalom, giant slalom and slalom events in Åre, Sweden on March 12-14. 

RESULTS
Men’s Alpine Combined

STANDINGS
Men’s Overall
Men’s Alpine Combined
Women’s Overall
Women’s Alpine Combined

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST

Monday, March 2
3:15 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 1, Hinterstoder, AUT - NBC Sports Gold
6:00 a.m. - Men’s giant slalom run 2, Hinterstoder, AUT - NBC Sports Gold

*Same-day delayed broadcast
**Next-day broadcast

Note: All televised events to stream across NBCSports.com, NBC Sports app, OlympicChannel.com, and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA app. 

Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass, available here: https://www.nbcsports.com/gold/snow.

Julia Kern won the bronze medal in the freestyle sprint at the FIS U23 Cross Country World Championships in Oberwiesenthal, Germany, Saturday. Sweden went 1-2 with Emma Ribom winning the gold, and Johanna Hagstroem taking the silver.

"I felt really strong all day,” Julia said. “Our skis felt awesome all day, and my family from Germany was out cheering, which made it extra special.”

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was an extra special day to finish 🥉 at @jwsc2020 in front of my family who taught me how to ski on these ski trails ❤️ (swipe right to see mini me skiing ☺️) ⁣ ⁣ Thanks to our incredible staff and team for the ripping skis ⚡️ and loud cheering through some crazy weather! Psyched to see what this team can accomplish together this week!! 🇺🇸 #gonnf #usa #home #fullheart (📷: @flyingpoint )

A post shared by Julia Kern (@juliakernski) on Mar 1, 2020 at 1:54pm PST

Julia led three Davis U.S. Cross Country Team athletes into the heats, qualifying third. Hailey Swirbul qualified 21st, and Zak Ketterson qualified 15th. 

As the quarterfinals got underway, the venue was hit with a strong snow squall that dropped a couple of inches of snow, slowing the course conditions. As the heats progressed and the sun finally returned, the course conditions improved. Regardless, racing in quarterfinal heat 5, Julia won as heavy snow fell, charging up the final climb to easily glide across the line with the victory. For Hailey though, she finished fifth in her opening quarterfinal heat - the fastest of the five heats - just 0.24 out of the Lucky Loser position as the heavy snow started to fall. She finished 22nd overall.

Meanwhile, the men’s quarterfinal heats got off to a slow start as heavy snow fell and the first heat saw the top qualifier disqualified for a false start. Zak, racing in heat 3, finished fifth and did not advance to the semifinals. He finished 22nd overall.

In the women’s finals, Julia got boxed-in off the start and settled into fifth position. On the first climb, she tried a move to the inside but got boxed in again. “We learned from watching the juniors (Saturday) that it is really hard to pass,” Julia said. “So my strategy all day was to have the best start possible and be close to the front. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a great start in the final and got boxed out.”

Cresting the top of the final climb and heading into the finish stretch, Julia dug deep, passing both Lena Quintin of France and Katerina Janatovas of the Czech Republic to secure her spot on the podium. “I was feeling really good and tried really hard to find gaps on the climb, but kept getting boxed out and couldn’t get around,” she added. “I am happy to have been able to move up from fifth to third in the end.”

The U23 and Junior Cross Country World Championships continue Monday with the junior women competing in a 5k classic, and the junior men in a 10k classic. Tuesday features the U23 women racing a 10k classic, and the U23 men a 15k classic. All races are streaming live on the official 2020 FIS Junior and U23 Cross Country World Championships Facebook page.

RESULTS
Women’s sprint
Men’s sprint