Ava Thurston recently finished up a series of races in Falun, Sweden! Competing for the US as part of the U18 Scandic Cup team, Ava laid down some great results against tough competition from Norway, Sweden, Finland, and other prominent ski nations.
In the first race, Ava finished an incredible 8th place to lead the American squad! Conditions were reported to be very marginal, with most athletes not even being able to test their skis beforehand with just a run for a warmup. Talk about having to trust your wax…luckily we seem to be used to that type of thing here at home in New England.
Racing in the 5km classic
Next up was a skate sprint, where Ava qualified for the rounds in 16th followed by a 15th place overall finish after scoring 3rd in her heat. It was a busy weekend of 3 races in 3 days, with a mixed-technique relay to finish things off. Ava was the scramble (1st) leg skier for the first USA team, which ended up 5th behind 2 Norwegien and 2 Swedish teams…in case you weren’t aware, Norway and Sweden are pretty good at this whole nordic thing, but it’s clear that we’re closing the gap 🙂
Textbook tuck technique for those looking to improve their aerodynamics!
After racing, the whole group (6 girls and 6 boys) is getting to spend a few days training with local Swedish clubs and travelling to Mora, the home of the Vasaloppet. Pretty cool to get the racing done with and then have some non-stress days to explore a totally different area and, we hope, get some cool stories and recaps to bring back home soon! Way to go Ava!
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