SCHILPARIO, Italy - It was an outstanding showing by the four Nanooks skiers at the U23 and Junior World Championships, highlighted by a monumental second-place finish by Rosie Fordham in the 10k freestyle interval start on Saturday. This historic achievement marks the first medal for Australia in an international cross-country skiing event.
Racing in the deep snow, Fordham shined, coming in second behind Germany's Helen Hoffman. Rounding out the top three was Canada's Liliane Gagnon. Fordham finished the 10k freestyle in 33:02.1, 25.7 seconds behind Hoffman and 11.6 seconds in front of Gagnon. She held the lead until Hoffman overtook the senior Nanook from Australia.
Joining her in the 10k freestyle was fellow Nanook Kendall Kramer, competing for Team USA and placing fourth. She was the top American to finish in the race, coming in 23 seconds off of Gagnon. She completed her race in 33:36.7 to tie for her best finish in a World Championship race. She finished 8.3 seconds in front of Maerta Rosenberg of Sweden, who entered the day having taken the top spot in both the 20k classic mass start and classic sprint earlier in the championships.
Tabitha Williams was the final Nanook to compete in the race, finishing 19th to give the Nanooks three racers in the top 20. This marks her best result in a U23 or Junior World Championship race, beating out her 21st-place finish in the 20k freestyle mass start at the Junior World Championships last year. Her 35:00.3 put the Great Britain international 8.7 seconds ahead of Italy's Nadine Laurent, who was coming off a sixth-place finish in the sprint final.
Finally, Cole Flowers recorded a 15th-place finish in the Junior classic sprint. After posting the 13th fastest time in qualifying, he was sitting in second place coming into the stadium before catching the edge of his ski in the loose corn snow. Although he stayed on his feet, he lost too much speed to maintain his position and finished third, missing out on advancement to the semifinals. He was the top American on the day in his first-ever international competition for the U.S.
Follow the 'Nooks
IG - @NanookSkiing
X - @NanooksSki
FB - Alaska Nanooks XC
