On another day of racing in Falun, Sweden, five Americans advanced to the quarterfinal heats in the skate sprint. Jessie Diggins, Rosie Brennan, Julia Kern and Sammy Smith advanced for the women and Ben Ogden for the men. 

It was another partly cloudy day at the racing complex, with thousands of fans packed in around the sprint course - showcasing the fan base of Swedish skiing. In the qualification round, seven women and five U.S. men were on the start list, among the other 52 other women and 68 men. Diggins, Brennan, Kern, Smith, Novie McCabe, Lauren Jortberg and Hailey Swirbul started for the women, while Zak Ketterson, Luke Jager, JC Schoonmaker, Kevin Bolger and Ogden started for the men. 

A highlight of the day included Sammy Smith, the youngest competitor in the field by nearly three years, qualifying for the heats in her second-ever skate sprint start. Smith is an all-around athlete and when she is not skiing, Smith is an avid soccer player, runner and freestyle skier. 

Overall, Diggins finished 13th, Kern 14th, Smith 27th, Brennan 29th and Ogden 12th.

In the last several weeks, the race schedule has been stacked with the 50k Holmenkollen and a long World Championships program. Fatigue is a real threat to all athletes on the circuit but with only two more locations left to race, athletes are finding what is left in the tank and giving it their all. 

"With all of this racing, my body has just been unpredictable. Today, my body just had nothing and it was tough to find much sprinter power in my legs," said Brennan. "It's time to rest up and a few more races to give some fight for!"

At the end of the day, the team focused on the fast skis and the amount of Americans in the heats - showcasing the depth that this team is building on the international stage. Now, rest is a priority before tomorrow's second-annual 4.5k mixed team relay, which the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team won just one year ago.

Quest for the Overall

Diggins' quest to the FIS overall crystal globe is closer than ever. Before this race, Diggins was 123 points out from the FIS overall crystal globe and is second in the standings for the overall distance globe. After today's sprint, she has narrowed the gap even more, with the next couple of races key in clinching the season. 

"It is an honor to be in the fight at all and sitting second in the overall and distance, but it is not something that I try and focus on or think about a lot because so many things need to line up and go right over the course of the whole season," said Diggins. "It is of course something that is really cool and exciting and fun and especially knowing all the fans that are following it! Me personally, I am trying to focus on every day and racing the best that I can. Each day, I go out there and have some concrete process goals that I am working towards and that is my main focus right now."

Brennan is currently sitting in fourth place in the overall World Cup globe standings while Kern is sitting in fifth and Ogden in 10th for the sprint World Cup overall sprint standings.

RESULTS
Women
Men

The theme today was to give it all you had and that was what the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team did in the 10k classic in Falun, Sweden. 

With the snow falling harder as the hours passed by, making the wax conditions tougher by the minute, the U.S. posted solid results in the third to last World Cup of the season, with four in the top-15. 

The women started the day and found four in the top-30. Jessie Diggins led the team and finished in fourth place, Rosie Brennan was close behind in sixth, Novie McCabe in 14th and Hailey Swirbul in 30th. This is Diggins' best-ever individual classic distance race. 

Diggins had a strong race, staying consistent within the top-10 in the individual start. In the early splits, Diggins was running between third and sixth place, chasing the times of her competitors, mainly Kerttu Kiskanen of Finland, the ultimate winner of the day, Katharina Hennig of Germany and Anne Kjersti Kalvaa of Norway. Diggins put on a strong performance and with today's results, is less than 150 points away from Tiril Udnes Weng for the overall FIS World Cup crystal globe and sits in second place for the overall distance trophy - making the last races of the season key in clinching the season. 

"First of all, so stoked for my teammates out there today. That was so cool to see. On the women's side, to have three in the top-15 was awesome," said Diggins. "For me, I was really happy with my race. This was my best-ever individual career result classic distance race and i'm looking forward to the next!"

Brennan had another top-10 result, showing her consistency on the circuit. Brennan, who has raced nearly every race this season, showcased how strong she is by her sixth place result. Through the splits, she was always in the mix, having the fastest time in the early splits and only falling a few spots towards the end. Brennan crossed the line in sixth, only 44.5 seconds back from Niskanen, adding more World Cup points to her resume and closing the gap even more for the FIS overall World Cup crystal globe, where she sits in fourth. 

"Today's race was great!" said Brennan. "I really like the courses here and felt really good throughout the race and now trying to focus on each day and get the most out of the few races we have left. Really looking forward to some sprint action tomorrow!" 

Rounding out the women was McCabe. McCabe is back in Europe just days after she won both NCAA National Championships races in Lake Placid, NY. McCabe, who is having a strong season, crossed the line in 14th, one of her best races on the World Cup circuit. 

Hailey Swirbul was 30th, adding more crucial World Cup points to her list and 17-year-old Sammy Smith was 41st in her second World Cup start (first distance start!) of her career.

For the men, the day was highlighted by Ben Ogden. Ogden went out in classic Ben fashion - fast. Marking himself as the guy the beat, Ogden held some of the fastest times at the 1.5k, 2.5k, 3.3k and 4.3k time checks for the majority of the race, even beating out Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo on crucial parts of the course. At the end of the day, Ogden ended the day in 13th place - not his best career result - but one of the fastest and most consistent races we have seen from Ogden. 

"Ben is only 22 years old and is showing consistency in his results," said Kikkan Randall in the live commentary during the race. "He put himself out there and held it for over 6k and pretty soon, he will become more consistent longer into the races, it's fun to watch."

Next to Ogden was teammate Scott Patterson, who crossed the line in 17th, only one minute and eight seconds back. Patterson led a strong race, charging on the steep uphills, skiing around the fast turn clean and tactically skiing the downhills. Patterson, a strong distance skier, has been consistent all year, which showed in another top-20 result on the biggest stage. 

Rounding out the men's team was Zak Ketterson and Luke Jager. Jager, returning to the World Cup circuit after heading back to the USA for the NCAA National Championships, finished the day in 35th and Ketterson, back on the circuit after spending time at home, was 41st. The men's podium showcased the strength of Norway, with Klaebo in first, Martin Loewstroem Nyenget in second and Harald Oestberg Amundsen in third. 

Now, the team will reset for tomorrow's skate sprint in Falun.

RESULTS
Women's
Men's 

OVERALL WORLD CUP RESULTS
Women's
Men's

The Drammen City Sprints are unlike anything on the World Cup circuit and today Julia Kern crossed the finish line in sixth place, adding another top-10 result to her hefty resume. 

Shutting down main street, trucking in snow, setting the 1.2k course with four lanes of classic track, the Drammen City Sprints bring some of the most exciting ski racing to the center stage. With fans lining the entire course, flags hanging from apartment buildings balcony's to the start and finish on the steps of a famous church, the atmosphere is just electric. With only two more weeks of World Cup racing left, the best athletes in the world are giving it their all until the very end. 

For the U.S., Kern led the day for the women and Ben Ogden led for the men. Kern initially qualified in 17th, right behind teammate Rosie Brennan (16th) and Jessie Diggins (14th). Today, Kern was focused on one thing: her double pole. 

"Where do I begin!" Kern said in her post-race voice memo. "Drammen is one of the coolest city sprints I saw growing up and I always dreamed about racing here, so to be here and to qualify - something that a few years ago felt out of reach - it was really cool. Huge props to the team, the snow was tricky and we were testing everything from hard wax, to klister to zero's today. Just huge props to our tech team!"

In the semis, Kern won after being in the back of the pack at the beginning of the downhill to finishing in first, best in part to her strong double pole and wickedly fast skis. Next, the final. With a packed heat, Kern stayed with the pack until a small gap began to form on the second to last final climb. Tactically, she knew she wanted to be in the mix to out-sprint her competitors on the downhill into the finish but ski racing is ski racing! Kern crossed the line in sixth place and will now rest and reset before Falun.

"For my races, I was happy to see my double pole finish was my strength of the day. Going into the semis, I knew it would be a stacked heat but I was able to ski the downhill really well and push around the corners and then slingshot, going from sixth to first in that downhill! In the final, anything was possible. I am really proud of how I skied and the skis I was on - thanks to my tech Eli Brown!" 

For Ogden, it was a similar story to Kern's - fast tempo, strong double pole. Qualifying in 11th place, Ogden was in the mix from the start. In his quarterfinal heat, Ogden was out of the gate fast. With his signature "Benny Shuffle", he out-sprinted his competitors from the gun and made a large gap for nearly the entire 1.2k race. Yet, on the final climb into the stadium, his competitors caught up and he finished second, enough to move onto the semis. In the semis, the story read the same. He set the pace and everyone had to give it their all to keep up. At the end, he did not advance, but his skiing was inspiring today. 

Zak Ketterson also advanced to the heats, after taking a few weeks off of the World Cup circuit and heading back home to Minnesota. Ketterson, in front of his family and fiancé, advanced to the heats. "It was my first classic sprint in a decent amount of time," said Ketterson. "Drammen is one of those events that you get really excited about and I was really stoked to qualify and do it here on a course that I struggled with in the past. It was an awesome day, make the heats, and a great amount of confidence going into the next races!" At the end of the day, Ketterson finished 23rd. 

Another highlight of the day was the first-ever World Cup start for Sammy Smith, the youngest athlete on the team. A multi-talented athlete, Smith plays soccer, was named to the U-17 World Cup soccer team, is an avid runner and freestyle skier. Smith did not advance today in Drammen but finished 36th on the biggest stage. 

For the rest of the women's team, Brennan was in the fastest quarter-final heat of the day, but did not advance to the semis and finished the day in 14th. For Diggins, coming off the 50k just a few days earlier, did not advance from the heats and ended the day in 21st. Hailey Swirbul was just off the brink of qualifying, crossing the line in 31st. For the men, JC Schoonmaker did not advance to the heats and finished qualifiers in 37th place and Logan Diekmann was 42nd. 

Falun is next with a 10k classic, skate sprint, and 4.x5k mixed team relay! 

RESULTS
Men
Women