Brennan 10th in World Championship Skiathlon
Rosie Brennan (Park City, Utah) skied to a FIS Nordic World Ski Championship personal-best 10th place in the women’s 15k skiathlon in Seefeld, Austria, Saturday. The U.S. added two more in the top-30 with Julia Kern (Waltham, Mass.) in 19th, and Rosie Frankowski (Minneapolis, Minn.) in 24th.
“We only do a skiathlon about once a year, so you never really know what to do,” said Brennan. “I tried to get in a group that I thought was realistic and relax and hang in there. My skis were quite good. Once we switched to skate I started trying to think a little more tactically of how to ski within my group. That is what I am most happy about, I think that was one of best tactically skied races I have ever had. It was a great way to start the championships”
“A personal World Championship best for Rosie Brennan was super fun to see,” said U.S. Head Cross Country Coach Chris Grover. “She was in the top 15 all day and then putting a little distance on 11 to secure that top-10 place.
“Julia Kern in 19th place has been skiing fantastic and a solid race for Rosie Frankowski in 24th, I think she was wanting more, but solid,” Grover added. “I know Caitlyn Patterson didn’t have the race she was looking for, but she was coming off an illness, so that was to be expected.”
Norway’s Therese Johaug took the gold in the women’s race, followed by teammate Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg in with the silver, and Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia with the bronze.
For the U.S. men, Scott Patterson (Anchorage, Alaska) was the top finisher with a hard fought 32nd on a rapidly warming course.
“It was a tough classic as the lead group took it out really hard,” said Patterson. “I was struggling a little with kick and dug myself into a hole and burned my legs a bit. My skis were fast, so I just tried to hold on as much as I could. When we switched to skate, I was waiting for my legs to come around, trying to get going and it never quite happened.”
“It really slowed down for the guys side and became a survival fest,” said Grover. “It was really cool to see both Scott and David Norris battle back a little bit on the skate side and start to pick off some guys. I think there are some good feelings there even if the race did not come together for any of our guys, I know they were all left wanting more, but there were some bright spots for each of them today.”
Norway’s Sjur Roethe took the gold, followed by Alexander Bolshunov of Russian with the solver and Martin Johnsrud Sundby of Norway winning the bronze. Patterson were David Norris (Fairbanks, Alaska) in 38th, Kyle Bratrud (Eden Prairie, Minn.) in 49th and Adam Martin (Wausau, Wisc.) in 54th.
The World Championships continue Sunday with the men’s and women’s classic team sprint.
RESULTS
Men’s skiathlon
Women’s skiathlon
HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*Same-day broadcast
**Next-day broadcast
Sunday, Feb. 24
5:30 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships men and women’s team sprint finals - Seefeld, AUT - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
10:30 a.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships men and women’s team sprint finals - Seefeld, AUT - Olympic Channel-TV*
11:30 p.m. - FIS World Cross Country Skiing Championships women’s team sprint finals - Seefeld, AUT - NBCSN*
All streams are available via desktop (NBCSports.com/Live, NBCSports.com/Gold andOlympicChannel.com) as well as mobile, tablet and connected television platforms. The NBC Sports app, NBC Sports Gold app and Olympic Channel app are available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire. Exclusive commercial-free coverage will be available for subscribers of the NBC Sports Gold Pass.
