Masskier
New member
Liz Stephen wins gold medal at U.S. Nationals
January 9, 2006
By James Biggam Times Argus Staff
Liz Stephen of East Montpelier competes in the women's 5-kilometer freestyle race on Sunday at the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships in Soldier Hollow, Utah. Stephen tied for first place.
Photo: AP Photo
SOLDIER HOLLOW, Utah – The road to Turin was paved with gold for Liz Stephen on Sunday.
The 18-year-old East Montpelier skier claimed her first gold medal at the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships, recording a time of 14 minutes, 48.7 seconds for a share of first place with Kikkan Randall in the women's 5-kilometer freestyle race.
Stephen, who is doing a post-graduate year at Burke Mountain Academy, is now a top contender for the Olympic Games after placing third and fourth in other races this past week at U.S. Nationals.
"I would go if I qualified," Stephen said of a possible trip to Turin.
For Stephen, Sunday's victory came on the heels of a bronze medal in Saturday's 10k classic, a 12th-place result in Thursday's Sprints and a fourth-place finish in Tuesday's 15k freestyle.
Over a hundred racers jockeyed for the precious few spots on the Olympic team, and Stephen said fatigue was a common theme among just about everyone at Sunday's start line.
"Everyone was going to hurt out there and it was mostly who could ski well and hurt the most and be fast all at the same time," she said of her tie. "It happened to be Kikkan and I today."
Both Stephen and Randall finished a comfortable 27.8 seconds ahead of bronze medalist Kristina Standberg, but a group of 14 skiers were all within 30 seconds of Strandberg.
"There were 15 girls in the first minute (after the leaders), so that's wicked tight," Stephen said. "It was demanding for everyone. There was a lot of uphill and a lot of downhill and not much room for error. One second could move you two or three places."
Sunday marked Stephen's second trip to the podium in 24 hours, but the convert from alpine skiing said she's still getting used to the attention. Standing next to more experienced skiers like Randall and Standberg, Stephen tried in futility to familiarize herself with podium etiquette.
"They knew how to hold their skis – I dropped mine," she said. "I couldn't hold them or my poles and I just kept dropping them – it was a little embarrassing. Obviously I could use a little more practice, but it was really cool."
Losing a grip on her skis was just about the only thing that's gone wrong this week for Stephen, who is slated to compete in Tuesday's 20k pursuit, her fifth race in a week.
On Sunday night she was also named to the Under-23 World Championship Team that will compete in Kranj, Slovenia from Jan. 31 until Feb. 5.
However, Stephen could skip the Junior World Championships if she made the team for the Turin Games. Another top-tier result in Tuesday's pursuit could knock her from the Olympic "bubble" and officially land her on the U.S. team. Considering Stephen's age, though, Burke coach Matt Whitcomb is concerned about racing his junior skiers too much.
"If somebody came up to us and said, 'Look, you're on the team, you don't have to do the last race,' I might keep her out of it," he said.
According to the Burke coach, Stephen has made incredible strides this winter in improving her speed on level terrain.
"One of her new fortes this year is the flats," Whitcomb said. "She's really working on using her legs and being more efficient and using the economy of her entire body on the flatter sections. That's somewhere where she's been able to make up some time, and she's also a phenomenal hill climber – she's tough as nails. People can say talent all they want, but this kid knows how to go hard. And that's what the sport is all about. There's only a few other girls out there that can push to that level. It's a unique thing. Everyone can go hard, but can you push yourself past the anaerobic threshold, where your body isn't clearing lactate and your muscles will eventually begin to fail?"
Most competitors at U.S. Nationals had already raced a total of 35 kilometers before Sunday's event, all at an altitude of 6,000 feet.
"At this type of altitude you have to expect to feel yourself in almost immediate oxygen debt and you have to respond accordingly and not lose your head," Whitcomb said.
Whitcomb identified longer races as Stephen's greatest strength, saying her world class engine and tolerance for pain make her a perfect candidate for 15k or 20k races.
"She's a real distance monger and like the longer races where she can settle into a zone and do what she's done her whole life," Whitcomb said. "She really wants to do the pursuit because it's one of the more fun events."
Tuesday's pursuit begins with a 10k classic leg, and then skiers run into an exchange zone where their skating skis and poles will be waiting. Competitors will click out of their classic skis, click into their skating skis, grab their poles and then embark upon their second 10k loop.
Regardless of Tuesday's results, there's no question that Stephen has skied fast enough at U.S. Nationals to make the Olympics.
If, for some reason, Stephen is not selected, Whitcomb said he would not be disappointed and the pair would proceed with the season as planned.
"Seeing as though she turns 19 in five days, it's important to keep the goals that we started at the beginning of the season consistent through the season," he said. "She's still concentrating primarily on World Juniors. Last year the emphasis was on qualifying, which she did, and this year's emphasis is to do well. Our philosophy is to do it step by step and we haven't really talked a lot about the Olympics. We've kept it low key and kept the Olympics out of the conversation, but she knows that if she skis well (at U.S. Nationals) – and that's what she's done – that she has a good chance of qualifying (for Turin)."
January 9, 2006
By James Biggam Times Argus Staff
Liz Stephen of East Montpelier competes in the women's 5-kilometer freestyle race on Sunday at the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships in Soldier Hollow, Utah. Stephen tied for first place.
Photo: AP Photo
SOLDIER HOLLOW, Utah – The road to Turin was paved with gold for Liz Stephen on Sunday.
The 18-year-old East Montpelier skier claimed her first gold medal at the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships, recording a time of 14 minutes, 48.7 seconds for a share of first place with Kikkan Randall in the women's 5-kilometer freestyle race.
Stephen, who is doing a post-graduate year at Burke Mountain Academy, is now a top contender for the Olympic Games after placing third and fourth in other races this past week at U.S. Nationals.
"I would go if I qualified," Stephen said of a possible trip to Turin.
For Stephen, Sunday's victory came on the heels of a bronze medal in Saturday's 10k classic, a 12th-place result in Thursday's Sprints and a fourth-place finish in Tuesday's 15k freestyle.
Over a hundred racers jockeyed for the precious few spots on the Olympic team, and Stephen said fatigue was a common theme among just about everyone at Sunday's start line.
"Everyone was going to hurt out there and it was mostly who could ski well and hurt the most and be fast all at the same time," she said of her tie. "It happened to be Kikkan and I today."
Both Stephen and Randall finished a comfortable 27.8 seconds ahead of bronze medalist Kristina Standberg, but a group of 14 skiers were all within 30 seconds of Strandberg.
"There were 15 girls in the first minute (after the leaders), so that's wicked tight," Stephen said. "It was demanding for everyone. There was a lot of uphill and a lot of downhill and not much room for error. One second could move you two or three places."
Sunday marked Stephen's second trip to the podium in 24 hours, but the convert from alpine skiing said she's still getting used to the attention. Standing next to more experienced skiers like Randall and Standberg, Stephen tried in futility to familiarize herself with podium etiquette.
"They knew how to hold their skis – I dropped mine," she said. "I couldn't hold them or my poles and I just kept dropping them – it was a little embarrassing. Obviously I could use a little more practice, but it was really cool."
Losing a grip on her skis was just about the only thing that's gone wrong this week for Stephen, who is slated to compete in Tuesday's 20k pursuit, her fifth race in a week.
On Sunday night she was also named to the Under-23 World Championship Team that will compete in Kranj, Slovenia from Jan. 31 until Feb. 5.
However, Stephen could skip the Junior World Championships if she made the team for the Turin Games. Another top-tier result in Tuesday's pursuit could knock her from the Olympic "bubble" and officially land her on the U.S. team. Considering Stephen's age, though, Burke coach Matt Whitcomb is concerned about racing his junior skiers too much.
"If somebody came up to us and said, 'Look, you're on the team, you don't have to do the last race,' I might keep her out of it," he said.
According to the Burke coach, Stephen has made incredible strides this winter in improving her speed on level terrain.
"One of her new fortes this year is the flats," Whitcomb said. "She's really working on using her legs and being more efficient and using the economy of her entire body on the flatter sections. That's somewhere where she's been able to make up some time, and she's also a phenomenal hill climber – she's tough as nails. People can say talent all they want, but this kid knows how to go hard. And that's what the sport is all about. There's only a few other girls out there that can push to that level. It's a unique thing. Everyone can go hard, but can you push yourself past the anaerobic threshold, where your body isn't clearing lactate and your muscles will eventually begin to fail?"
Most competitors at U.S. Nationals had already raced a total of 35 kilometers before Sunday's event, all at an altitude of 6,000 feet.
"At this type of altitude you have to expect to feel yourself in almost immediate oxygen debt and you have to respond accordingly and not lose your head," Whitcomb said.
Whitcomb identified longer races as Stephen's greatest strength, saying her world class engine and tolerance for pain make her a perfect candidate for 15k or 20k races.
"She's a real distance monger and like the longer races where she can settle into a zone and do what she's done her whole life," Whitcomb said. "She really wants to do the pursuit because it's one of the more fun events."
Tuesday's pursuit begins with a 10k classic leg, and then skiers run into an exchange zone where their skating skis and poles will be waiting. Competitors will click out of their classic skis, click into their skating skis, grab their poles and then embark upon their second 10k loop.
Regardless of Tuesday's results, there's no question that Stephen has skied fast enough at U.S. Nationals to make the Olympics.
If, for some reason, Stephen is not selected, Whitcomb said he would not be disappointed and the pair would proceed with the season as planned.
"Seeing as though she turns 19 in five days, it's important to keep the goals that we started at the beginning of the season consistent through the season," he said. "She's still concentrating primarily on World Juniors. Last year the emphasis was on qualifying, which she did, and this year's emphasis is to do well. Our philosophy is to do it step by step and we haven't really talked a lot about the Olympics. We've kept it low key and kept the Olympics out of the conversation, but she knows that if she skis well (at U.S. Nationals) – and that's what she's done – that she has a good chance of qualifying (for Turin)."
