The Cross Country Skier Podcast

The Cross Country Skier Magazine podcast is an extension of stories from the Nordic skiing world that go beyond our print and web features. In this new medium, we’ll continue our conversations with athletes, coaches, touring center operators and other experts in the field, bringing fresh material to our audience.

Managing Expectations with Hannah Halvorsen and Hailey Swirbul 03/21/2022

Managing Expectations with Hannah Halvorsen and Hailey Swirbul Fresh off their Olympic debuts, U.S. Cross Country Ski Team members Hannah Halvorsen and Hailey Swirbul candidly discuss how they deal with performance pressure as elite competitors, the stress it puts on a healthy mindset and their different takes on balancing a desire to win with positive self-worth. The conversation expands on a piece Halvorsen penned for of the magazine: “Medals Matter, But They Don’t Define an Athlete.” The skiers also cover topics that range from handling “the high school hallway” of social media and why Norwegian skiers are so good to whether men approach pressure differently and the evolution of team dynamics and role modeling among the U.S. women. This episode of the Cross Country Skier Podcast is possible thanks to the support of . It’s also possible thanks to support from our listeners—if you like what you hear and would like to hear more, please make a contribution. /episode/index/show/crosscountryskier/id/22496453

Behind the Birkie with Executive Director Ben Popp 02/22/2022

Behind the Birkie with Executive Director Ben Popp The American Birkebeiner is so much more than a ski race—it provides an opportunity for Nordic skiers of all ages and abilities to unite as a community and celebrate our sport. Cross Country Skier podcast host Peter Graves talks with Birkie Executive Director Ben Popp about what it takes to put on the most iconic cross country ski race in the U.S. They also discuss race founder Tony Wise’s legacy, which included building and operating the Telemark Lodge and its associated alpine and Nordic ski trails. Following the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation’s purchase of the historic property last year, Popp fills us in about the exciting plans for its revival, including the possibility of a World Cup race in 2024. This episode of the Cross Country Skier Podcast is possible thanks to the support of . It’s also possible thanks to support from our listeners—if you like what you hear and would like to hear more, please make a contribution. /episode/index/show/crosscountryskier/id/21903704

An inside look at the Olympics and more with Peter Graves 01/12/2022

An inside look at the Olympics and more with Peter Graves Veteran sportscaster Peter Graves has been the host of the Cross Country Skier Podcast, but this time we turn the tables on him for a behind-the-scenes look at what’s it like to communicate the action at some of sporting’s biggest events to a worldwide audience. /episode/index/show/crosscountryskier/id/21698744

The Adirondacks’ New Nordic Hope 03/04/2021

The Adirondacks’ New Nordic Hope There’s a lot happening at Paul Smith’s College. To learn what’s afoot in the Adirondacks, we speak with John Morgan, a former National Team bobsledder who is overseeing the program at Paul Smith’s; Tim Burke, who’s competed in four Olympic Winter Games and is the director of athlete development for U.S. Biathlon; and Bill Demong, Vermontville, New York’s five-time Olympian who won a gold medal in Nordic combined at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and serves as executive director of USA Nordic. /episode/index/show/crosscountryskier/id/18142955

Tom Kelly’s 50-year cross country legacy 02/25/2021

Tom Kelly’s 50-year cross country legacy Tom Kelly’s career is rooted in cross country skiing. His 30-plus year tenure as vice president of communications with the U.S. Ski Team culminated trackside with the historic Olympic gold medal of Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall at the PyeongChang Olympic Games. Even in retirement, he’s remained active in Olympic sport and as one of the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team’s biggest fans. /episode/index/show/crosscountryskier/id/18091691

Gus Schumacher and Ben Ogden: Champions of 2020 12/22/2020

Gus Schumacher and Ben Ogden: Champions of 2020 Fresh off their 2020 FIS Junior World Championships gold medal relay, Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher join Peter to talk about their standout winter and what’s next for them and America’s other rising stars. /episode/index/show/crosscountryskier/id/17292173

Vegard Ulvang: Fluoros, COVID and a Remarkable Career 12/11/2020

Vegard Ulvang: Fluoros, COVID and a Remarkable Career Peter talks with chairman of the FIS Cross Country Committee and multi-Olympic medalist Vegard Ulvang. Recognized around the world for his athletic accomplishments, the native Norwegian maintains a thoughtful, humble style that is widely respected. Ulvang goes deep on his remarkable career, the status of cross country in Norway, fluorocarbon waxes and how COVID-19 will affect this year’s World Cup. /episode/index/show/crosscountryskier/id/17140940

Chris Grover on Covid, Funding and Selects for the 2021 U.S. Cross Country Team 05/22/2020

Chris Grover on Covid, Funding and Selects for the 2021 U.S. Cross Country Team In early May, U.S. Ski & Snowboard announced its nominations for the 2021 Cross Country Ski Team. Hot on the heels of some great finishes at Junior Worlds, next year’s team is fat with young talent, including the biggest D team ever. But the team is equally notable for the absence of some great veteran skiers who didn’t meet the criteria. In this episode, Cross Country Skier’s Adam Howard is joined by Chris Grover, longtime U.S. Cross Country Ski Team head coach, to talk about all of these development /episode/index/show/crosscountryskier/id/14518061

Bill McKibben: The Future of Winter 02/21/2020

Bill McKibben: The Future of Winter Thirty years ago, environmentalist Bill McKibben wrote “The End of Nature,” the first book for a general audience on climate change. And while disappearing snows are a concern of any cross country skier, they perhaps best know McKibben’s name for another one of his titles, “Long Distance: A Year of Living Strenuously,” in which he explores the limits of endurance over a year of dedicated ski training. /episode/index/show/crosscountryskier/id/13220204

Fifty Years of Coaching with Marty Hall 02/21/2020

Fifty Years of Coaching with Marty Hall When Bill Koch won the first-ever U.S. Olympic medal in Nordic skiing at the 1976 Innsbruck Games, Marty Hall was the coach behind the athlete. But Hall’s successes extend well before and long after Kochie’s silver medal, including having built the U.S. women’s team from the ground up beginning in 1969 with athletes like Allison Owens and Martha Rockwell and coaching the Canadian National Team. /episode/index/show/crosscountryskier/id/13204817

Katharine Ogden’s Highs and Lows 02/19/2020

Katharine Ogden’s Highs and Lows In spring 2017, the same year Katharine Ogden anchored the bronze-medal-winning Junior World Championships relay and became the first American to podium in an individual Junior World Championships race, she was diagnosed with a near-crippling anxiety disorder that threatened to derail her racing career. But two years later, she’s skiing for Dartmouth College, recently won her third NCAA title and is balancing a school schedule with racing nationally and abroad. /episode/index/show/crosscountryskier/id/13198532

Coach’s Corner: Previewing the 2019-2020 World Cup 12/11/2019

Coach’s Corner: Previewing the 2019-2020 World Cup Chris Grover joins us to preview the upcoming international racing season. Find out what to look forward to, and what he’s most excited for in the months ahead. Topics include team rosters, which athletes to watch for, main events, the first World Cup on U.S. soil in 19 years and how fandom around the U.S. team has grown post Gold Medal. /episode/index/show/crosscountryskier/id/12354107

Racing in a Post-Fluorinated Wax World 12/10/2019

Racing in a Post-Fluorinated Wax World Fasterskier.com journalist Jason Albert covers everything about the World Cup cross country scene, from FIS and WADA politics to wax. For the past year, he’s undertaken unprecedented research on the long-term effects of our use of short and long chain fluorinated wax both on the environment and human health. With the recent EPA crackdown on wax manufacturers and importers is the end near? And, how account- able should our sport’s governing bodies be? /episode/index/show/crosscountryskier/id/12353459

Digging Deep: How Life Has Changed for Olympic Gold Medalist Jessie Diggins 11/25/2019

Digging Deep: How Life Has Changed for Olympic Gold Medalist Jessie Diggins When Jessie Diggins crossed the finish line during the team sprint at the PyeongChang Olympic Games she, along with teammate Kikkan Randall, became the first U.S. cross country skier to win a medal at that level since 1976. In this episode we sit down with Jessie to hear how her life has changed since that day, how it has affected her perspective on skiing and what she’s looking ahead to in the coming season. /episode/index/show/crosscountryskier/id/12173378

The Cross Country Skier Podcast

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