By Gavin Kentch
While Rosie Brennan continues her recovery and/or medical care in Anchorage (yes, she is back in Alaska currently; no, I don’t have an update for you beyond what she posted on Instagram on January 19), a fellow 2022 Olympian and APU teammate, Novie McCabe, remains sidelined while also working through some sort of health or medical setback.
Whatever the issue is, it came on relatively quickly; this preseason profile, published a little over two months ago on November 22, stated, “Next, McCabe is headed to Finland on Nov 19th to join her teammates for final on-snow preparations ahead of the World Cup opener.” A few days earlier McCabe had been DNS in a pair of season-opening FIS races in Palmer, a status that is consistent with, among other things, planning to race and getting as far as registering but then needing to pull out at relatively the last minute. McCabe did not, in fact, head to Finland, at any point, and as far as I know last raced at a local team sprint in April 2024.
Meanwhile, Anchorage can be a small town, and a smaller ski community. I have seen McCabe out training. I have seen her on easy skis. I stood alongside her for the first two laps of the men’s 20km classic at U.S. Nationals, capturing this deeply wholesome reaction when longtime boyfriend Luke Jager (bib 5 in video) realized that that was her cheering for him when they came by.
Alive and skiing easy, but not up to racing yet, is basically what McCabe told me when I officially asked her for comment.
“I’m not physically in a position to race right now,” McCabe wrote to Nordic Insights earlier this month, “but I’m enjoying easy ski training and am working on returning to full health.”
Speaking factually and as a reporter, this concludes your update. Speaking more emotionally and as someone who is casual friends with multiple American pro skiers, I can promise you that, if you have a question about the health or wellbeing of your favorite athlete, they are not going to be offended if you inquire after them. This can be a difficult sport, for all of us, at the best of times; it is not made easier by working through medical issues on the sidelines while your teammates continue to race. McCabe has sincerely appreciated learning that multiple readers have asked after her, is my point here, and I clearly wish her well.
You’re reading this on Nordic Insights, one man’s labor of love dedicated to publicizing American nordic skiing. Last season’s GoFundMe is literally the only reason why I turned a profit in years one and two of Nordic Insights, and in turn the only reason why there is a year three of Nordic Insights for you to be reading now: I was okay with working for very little money to get this love letter to American cross-country skiing off the ground, but I didn’t want to lose money for the privilege of doing so. If you would like to support what remains a brutally shoestring operation, last season’s GoFundMe may be found here. Thank you for your consideration, and, especially, for reading.
