Kern Cracks Top Five in World Championships Sprint
The 2025 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships kicked off in front of an electrifying crowd of 25,000 fans, with 66 nations represented and 308 athletes—187 men and 121 women—taking the course for the individual skate sprint. The Stifel U.S. Ski Team delivered, with all eight American athletes advancing to the sprint heats for the first time in years at a major championship. Julia Kern took home her first top five of the season, landing in fifth on the sport's biggest stage. Ben Ogden led the way for the men, finishing in 12th.
The atmosphere in Trondheim was electric, with tens of thousands crowding the sprint course. During the qualifications, the sound was almost deafening - and it only got louder as the day went on, creating a similar atmosphere to what the athletes experienced in Minneapolis last February at the Stifel Loppet Cup.
Kern headlined the American results, finishing fifth overall—her best result of the season and her first time making it through to an individual World Championship sprint final. Kern’s performance highlighted a strong day for the U.S. women’s squad, which was led by defending world champion Jessie Diggins, who embarked on her eighth World Championships campaign. Rosie Brennan, who is in her sixth World Championships, also delivered a solid performance after a month off of the World Cup, while first-time World Championship racer Kate Oldham impressed with a 22nd place finish in her debut.
On the men’s side, Ogden led the way for the U.S. squad, finishing 12th overall. He was followed by teammates Gus Schumacher, JC Schoonmaker and first-time World Championships competitor Jack Young. Notably, all Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes placed inside the top 30, marking a successful opening day for the team.
"One of my goals today was to dig deep and push hard over the sections where the race will be decided," said Kern. "And with yesterday's race prep, I fixed all of the mistakes I made then and skied the downhills and corners well. I owe a lot of that success to my teammates because yesterday, I was learning from Kate (Oldham), who was showing us how to ski them well - and that was cool to have that younger teammate show us. It really shows the depth of our team!"
Kern and Ogden were firing on all cylinders in the sprint heats. Ogden was paired with teammate Schumacher in the third quarterfinal heat, with only Ogden qualifying by being in the top two. Schoonmaker and Young made up heat four, and though neither advanced, it was a solid day of racing, especially for Young, who was skiing in his first World Championships and will now travel back to the U.S. to represent Colby College at the NCAA Championships.
For the women, Kern was in the second heat and was second across the line, nailing it to secure a spot in the semis. Brennan did not advance out of heat two. Then, Diggins skied a strong race into the third quarterfinal heat and held her own in the fastest women's heat of the day, where the two lucky losers advanced from that heat; Diggins, unfortunately, did not qualify. Oldham's day was already won by advancing through to the heats in her first-ever World Champs start and gave it her all in the quarterfinals and landed fifth in her heat. Though she did not qualify to the semis, it was a strong showing by the Montana State University skier. Then, through the semifinals, Kern was the lone American and skied a strong and fast race. Crossing the line in fourth, she thought her day was over, yet her heat was the faster of the two semifinals and secured her a spot into her first final of the year. In the final, it was a cat-and-mouse game, but Kern skied a savvy and tactful race despite the snow worsening as the day went on.
She was fifth, "but that felt like a win today," she said, post-race while hugging her coach Kristen Bourne and wax technician Eli Brown.
The day belonged to Norway’s hometown hero Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who captured yet another sprint World Championship gold in front of his home crowd, marking his 10th World Championships medal. Italy’s Federico Pellegrino secured silver, while Finland’s Lauri Vuorinen pulled off an upset to claim bronze. In the women’s race, Sweden’s Jonna Sundling dethroned the Norwegian favorite Kristine Stavaas Skistad to win gold, while Switzerland’s Nadine Fähndrich rounded out the podium with bronze.
The U.S. results were Kern in fifth, Oldham in 22nd, Diggins 23rd and Brennan in 30th. For the men, Ogden was 12th, Schoonmaker in 15th, Young 18th and Schumacher 27th.
The Championships continue on Saturday, March 1, with the men’s 20k skiathlon. Watch live on skiandnowboard.live at 8:00 a.m. ET.
HOW TO WATCH (All times ET)
- Saturday, 3/1
- 8:00 a.m. - men’s 20k skiathlon - skiandsnowboard.live
- Sunday, 3/2
- 8:00 a.m. - women’s 20k skiathlon - skiandsnowboard.live
- Tuesday, 3/4
- 7:00 a.m. - men’s 10k classic - skiandsnowboard.live
- 9:30 a.m. - women’s 10k classic - skiandsnowboard.live
- Wednesday, March 5
- 8:30 a.m. - team sprint - skiandsnowboard.live
- Thursday, March 6
- 6:30 a.m. - men’s 4x7.5k relay - skiandsnowboard.live
- Friday, March 7
- 8:00 a.m. women’s 4x7.5k relay - skiandsnowboard.live
- Saturday, March 8
- 5:30 a.m. men’s 50k - skiandsnowboard.live
- Sunday, March 9
- 5:30 a.m. - women’s 50k - skiandsnowboard.live
