Kikkan Randall
Kikkan Randall ( born December 31, 1982 in Salt Lake City ) is an American cross-country skier. By winning the silver medal in the sprint competition of the Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, top - ten finishes at the Winter Olympics and at world junior championships and twelve World Cup victories, it is the most successful American cross-country skier of all time.
Life and career
In her youth, Randall was an active athlete. The middle distance runner began cross-country skiing in the winter as a training method to use. Initial success quickly realized for the niece of two Olympic athletes in cross country skiing at the national level, so that they began to specialize in cross-country skiing.
In her second World Junior Championships in 2001 in Poland Karpacz the sprint specialist finished the victory of Pirjo Manninen sixth place. This is so far the best result of what an American cross-country skier could ever achieve at Junior World Championships. In the same year she first participated in Nordic World Ski Championships. In Lahti, however, they already failed in qualifying and was only 34 in 2002 she was Olympian in her hometown of Salt Lake City. But again, they missed the 44th qualifying finals in the sprint competition.
In the season 2004/ 05 Randall, who was previously active only in the Continental or in American racing series launched, for the first time in the Cross Country World Cup. About the 10 km freestyle took the sprinter in Reit im Winkl the 70th and last place. At the Nordic World Ski Championships 2005 in Oberstdorf they missed, as with the previous major events, the finals in the sprint competition. A year later, however, at the Olympic Winter Games in Turin in 2006, she managed the leap into the semifinals and won the ninth place, the best result of a U.S. cross-country skier at the Winter Olympics ever. A short time later, her fifth place in the sprint in Borlänge Sweden for the first time into the top ten of a World Cup competition.
On January 21, 2007 Randall reached the first podium finish of a U.S. athlete in Cross Country World Cup in the sprint in Rybinsk Russia. A year later she was at the same place improve this placement. After a burst of speed on the last climb it was no longer seek the approval of freestyle sprint from its competitors and celebrated their first victory in the World Cup. Having them in the overall standings of all sprint competitions of the Cross Country World Cup could prove the twelfth place in 2007, it reached 2008 15th place. In the 2008 / 09 season, Randall showed initially moderate results in Otepaeae, Rybinsk and Valdidentro by improving form. In the Nordic World Ski Championships in Liberec 2009 she succeeded then the biggest success of her career. In the final of Srintwettbewerbs she was beaten only by Arianna Follis. This was the first medal win a U.S. cross-country skier in the Nordic World Ski Championships.
At the Olympic Games in Vancouver in 2010 she retired from the semi-finals of the sprint competition, finishing in eighth place. During the sprint competition in Oslo she won 2nd place with their only podium finish in the season 2009/10. In the 2010/11 season, she won the sprint competitions in Drammen and Liberec. With another podium and top ten finishes it secured third place in the sprint World Cup. Even in the World Cup, it reached number ten the best ever placing their career. In the Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 in Oslo she failed in the quarter- finals, finishing in 26th place. The best result of the sprint specialist in Oslo was the 18th place 30 km free style ( mass start ). For the first time they also finished the Tour de Ski, where she reached the 21th Place. At the beginning of the 2011/12 season in Dusseldorf Randall won the fourth World Cup competition of her career. At the same place, she celebrated with her partner Sadie Bjornsen their first podium finish in a team sprint. The U.S. duo was beaten only the team from Norway.