Media Information
North American and US Skimo Championships hosted in Utah
Lausanne, 12 March 2024 – The beginning of March came in like a lion with extreme winds and blanketed much of the west with powdery snow just as skimo athletes were preparing to race the North American Skimo Championships at the aptly named Wasatch Powderkeg at Solitude Mountain, Utah. The race brought athletes from all over the country and Canada for its three main events: the Vertical race, the Individual race and the Sprint. The Powderkeg also hosted the largest field of youth athletes with several dominant kids teams living and training nearby. It also had a Masters category, making the age range for racers 7 years to 63 years old.
This season things are heating up as the 2026 Olympics draw nearer. Top athletes from other sports are joining in the fun, no doubt with Olympic dreams. For example, Maria Lamb, a previous Olympic athlete in speed skating has been dominating the Individual event this season and won the Individual race this weekend; she also came in 2nd in the Sprint and 5th in the Vertical race.
Another crossover athlete, David Sinclair, a runner and nordic skier, placed second in the Sprint, his first time ever competing in the event. Sinclair also placed second in the Vertical and 4th in the Individual.
However, the sport still seems to be dominated by veterans, showing that experience gets results. John Gaston, from Aspen, CO with multiple National Championships wins under his belt, continued to place first in the Individual and Vertical events. Jules Goguely, from Ogden, UT, won the senior men’s sprint event over Sinclair.
A similar scene played out for the women’s sprint which was won by Hali Hafeman, from Colorado Springs, CO, ahead of newcomer Lamb.
Both Jules and Hali made it back stateside for the National Championships after an extended European World Cup trip with the USA Skimo national team.
The PowderKeg had its 2nd annual PowderPint race for kids ages 10 and under. They tackled a 800 vertical foot course in the blowing wind and harsh conditions. The depth of each age group is growing every year, and each age category from u14 up to u23 had upwards of 18 athletes competing. Many of these youth athletes have been, or about to depart, to Europe to compete in the Youth World Cup. The u18 category in both men and women’s fields is fiercely competitive.
The U18 Mens division saw a close battle in the vertical with Maxime Corbeil from Canada just edging out Solitude local, Anders Carlson, while Landon Jakob rounded out the podium. Anders stepped up on Saturday to secure the individual win, with Landon on his tail for 2nd. The u18M sprint final was the most exciting heat of the day with Emmett Itoi pulling out yet another come from behind win. Emmett’s ski fell off at the start, but then he put down by far the most impressive bootpack of the day, emerging 1st on the downhill.
The Women’s U18 field is equally competitive with Silverfork Skimo athletes sweeping the podium each day, but with a different winner in each event. Corrine Higgins took the win in the Vertical. Carson Leys crossed the finish line first for the individual. And Sienna Petersen battled for the win in the sprint race.
To try to draw in new athletes and talent to the sport, USA Skimo, the governing body for the sport in the US, has been focusing on promoting awareness of the event and the sport in general with eyes set on the Olympic podium. For the first time ever, the races were live
streamed for viewers to watch on social media and online. To re-watch the action please see the USA Skimo Youtube page. To participate in a skimo event near you check out USA Skimo’s webpage for a list of races.