Brennan Rallies For Eighth In World Cup 10k Classic

Rosie Brennan led four Davis U.S. Cross Country Ski Team athletes into the points, finishing eighth at the FIS Cross Country World Cup 10k classic in Lahti, Finland, Sunday.

Norway’s Therese Johaug took the victory with a time of 24 minutes, 28 seconds. Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva was second, followed by Finland Krista Parmakowski in third. Brennan was 1:02 off the winning time. Jessie Diggins was 20th, followed by Julia Kern in 28th and Hailey Swirbul in 29th.

For Brennan, popping a top 10 result following the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, where she competed in all six cross country events, followed by another long couple of travel days from China to Finland, was a significant accomplishment.

“I am really happy with today,” Brennan said. “I have always struggled post championships, not so much in my body but in my mind. It's really difficult to live on the road and be sharp and push so hard all the time. It often feels like there is never a chance to let down the way someone who goes home every week might experience. I am always trying to figure this out and work towards finding ways to let down and then pull the fight back up for the weekend. It's all part of the game, and it's a good challenge to try to figure everything out.” 

Sunday’s result was even more satisfying for Brennan after she just missed the opportunity to advance to the semifinals in Saturday’s freestyle sprint by four hundredths of a second.

“I was definitely frustrated after yesterday and am really happy I was able to let it go and find myself out there today,” she said. “We have great weather this weekend and a big crowd, so that was a huge bonus. It was a joy to not be skiing in an arctic tornado!”

In the men's 15k classic, Scott Patterson just missed the points, finishing 33rd.

Up next, the FIS Cross Country World Cup Tour heads to Drammen, Norway, for a freestyle sprint on Thursday, March 3.

RESULTS
Women’s 10k classic
Men’s 15k classic