U.S. Ski & Snowboard has announced the 18 athletes, eight women and ten men, who will represent the U.S. at 2023 FIS Cross Country World Ski Championships, which kick off in Planica, Slovenia, in just under two weeks. The athletes and their domestic club/school affiliations are:
Women:
- Rosie Brennan (APU)
- Jessie Diggins (SMS)
- Julia Kern (SMS)
- Sophia Laukli (University of Utah)
- Novie McCabe (Methow Valley Nordic and University of Utah)
- Sydney Palmer-Leger (SMS and University of Utah)
- Alayna Sonnesyn (SMS)
- Hailey Swirbul (APU)
Men:
- Kevin Bolger (Sun Valley)
- John Steel Hagenbuch (Sun Valley and Dartmouth College)
- Luke Jager (APU and University of Utah)
- Zak Ketterson (Team Birkie)
- David Norris (Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club)
- Ben Ogden (SMS and University of Vermont)
- Scott Patterson (APU)
- JC Schoonmaker (Sugar Bowl Ski Team & Academy)
- Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars)
- Hunter Wonders (APU)
McCabe, Palmer-Leger, and Sonnesyn, for the women, and Hagenbuch, Jager, and Ketterson, for the men, are first-time World Champs nominees. Diggins has raced for America at every World Champs since 2011, and Brennan at every World Champs since 2015. Planica will mark the second or third championships for everyone else on the team.
“We are very excited to bring this group of talented athletes to the World Championships in Planica,” said U.S. Cross Country Program Director Chris Grover in a USSS press release. “We will be arriving at the World Championships with a lot of momentum after finishing the previous period of World Cup with multiple podiums and a ranking of third overall in the World Cup Nation’s Cup. We also will be bringing a very experienced and knowledgeable staff that is dedicated to helping these athletes achieve peak performances at the Championships. Planica has been one of our favorite venues over the years and we are really looking forward to coming back to the Julian Alps.”
Racing begins in Planica with the classic sprint on February 23, and extends through the men’s 50-kilometer classic race on March 5. World Championships will mark a two-week return to the pre–equal distance era of competition; women will race a 10km skate, 15km skiathlon, and 30km mass start classic, in some instances for the first time this year, while the men will race 15km, 30km, and 50km, respectively, in these disciplines.
All races will be streamed on Ski & Snowboard Live. Per the press release, Chad Salmela and Kikkan Randall will be on the call.
— Gavin Kentch
