U.S. Cross Country World Championship Ready for Worlds

Eighteen U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes are ready to kick off the 2019 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Seefeld, Austria, Feb. 20 - March 3 against the best athletes in the sport in more than a dozen events -  all of which will be televised and/or streamed its entirely on networks of NBC Sports.

“The Team has had excellent preparation camps over the past two weeks,” said U.S. Cross Country Team Head Coach Chris Grover. “The sprint team has been Vålådalen, Sweden, preparing at lower altitude, while the distance team has been in Davos, Switzerland, at moderate altitude.  Our only challenges during this period have been having too much winter (i.e. lots of snow and cold temps), and too many kilometers of excellent grooming enticing athletes to ski more than they should!”

The team includes two medalists from past championships, Jessie Diggins (Afton, Minn.) and Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, Wash.). At the 2017 World Championships in Lahti, Finland, Diggins won the silver in the freestyle sprint, and teamed up with Bjornsen in the classic team sprint to take the bronze. Only five Americans have won a cross country medal at World Championships.

“I’m excited for the World Championships, and as we wind down to the final week before the races, I feel good about my preparation,” said Diggins. “I can say with absolute honesty that I’ve done everything I can to be as fit as possible and as mentally ready as I can be, so now it’s just a matter of having fun and letting my body do what it already knows how to do; race as hard as possible!”

“The final prep has been going well here in Davos, Switzerland,” said Bjornsen. “I am really looking forward to showing up ready to fight in a variety of races throughout the Championships. I think my body is in the best place it has ever been at this time of the year, so I can't wait to see what I can convince my mind to do.”

Competition opens on Thursday, February 21, with the freestyle sprint, followed by the skiathlon before heading into the distance races. The Championships conclude on March 2-3 with a 30k women’s and 50k men’s freestyle mass start.

2019 U.S. Cross Country World Championship Team
(name, hometown, ski club, birthdate)

Men

• Simi Hamilton, Aspen, Co., (SMST2) 5/14/1987
• Erik Bjornsen, Winthrop, Wash., (Alaska Pacific University) 7/15/1991
• Andy Newell, Shaftsbury, Vt., (SMST2) 11/30/1983
• Kevin Bolger, Sun Valley, Idaho, (SVSEF) 04/11/1993
• Logan Hanneman, Fairbanks, Alaska, (Alaska Pacific University) 6/2/1993
• Kyle Bratrud, Eden Prairie, Minn., (SMST2) 2/9/1993
• David Norris, Fairbanks, Alaska, (Alaska Pacific University) 12/12/1990
• Ben Lustgarten, Burlington, Vt., (Craftsbury Green Racing) 4/17/1992
• Adam Martin, Wausau, Wis., (Craftsbury Green Racing) 10/26/1994
• Scott Patterson, Anchorage, Alaska, (Alaska Pacific University) 01/28/1998

Women

• Sadie Bjornsen, Winthrop, Wash., (Alaska Pacific University) 11/21/1989
• Sophie Caldwell, Stratton Mountain, Vt., (SMST2) 3/22/1990
• Jessie Diggins, Afton, Minn., (SMST2) 8/26/1991
• Rosie Brennan, Park City, Utah, (Alaska Pacific University) 12/2/1988
• Ida Sargent, Craftsbury, Vt., (Craftsbury Green Racing) 1/25/1988
• Julia Kern, Waltham, Mass., ( SMST2) 09/12/1997
• Caitlin Patterson, Craftsbury, Vt., (Craftsbury Green Racing) 1/30/1990
• Rosie Frankowski, Minneapolis, Minn., (Alaska Pacific University) 7/30/1991

HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
Preliminary schedule, subject to change
*Same-day delayed broadcast

Wednesday, Feb. 20
6:30 a.m. - Women's 5k qualifying - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com
8:00 a.m. - Men's 10k qualifying - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com
3:00 p.m. - Men's 10k and women's 5k - NBCSN*

Thursday, Feb. 21
6:00 a.m. - Men and women's sprint qualification - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com
8:30 a.m. - Women’s sprint finals - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
11:30 p.m. - Women’s sprint finals - NBCSN*

Saturday, Feb. 23
5:00 a.m. - Women’s 15k skiathlon - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:00 a.m. Men’s 30k skiathlon - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
8:30 a.m. Women’s 15k skiathlon - Olympic Channel-TV*
9:30 a.m. Men’s 30k skiathlon - Olympic Channel-TV*

Sunday, Feb. 24
5:30 a.m. - Men and women’s team sprint finals - OlympicChannel.com & NBC Sports Gold
10:30 a.m. - Men and women’s team sprint finals - Olympic Channel-TV*
11:30 p.m. - Women’s team sprint finals - NBCSN*

Tuesday, Feb. 26
7:30 a.m. - Women's 10k - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com
1:00 p.m. - Women's 10k - NBCSN*

Wednesday, Feb. 27
8:00 a.m. - Men's 15k - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com

Thursday, Feb. 28
7:00 a.m. - Women's 4x5k relay - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com

Friday, March 1
7:00 a.m. - Men's 4x10k relay - - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com

Saturday, March 2
7:00 a.m. - Women's 30k - - Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com

Sunday, March 3
7:00 a.m. - Men's 50k -- Olympic Channel-TV, OlympicChannel.com

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.