Three Alaskans were part of a big day for the U.S. Ski Team at a World Cup cross-country ski race Saturday in Cogne, Italy.
Minnesota’s Jessie Diggins won the women’s sprint race and Colorado’s Simi Hamilton was fourth in the men’s race to lead a strong showing by the Americans.
Six women and four men skied their way into the top 30 for the United States. Among them were three Alaska Pacific University skiers – fifth-place Sadie Bjorsen and 27th-place Rosie Brennan in the women’s race and 27th-place Logan Hanneman in the men’s race.
Hanneman qualified for the heats by placing 15th in the morning preliminaries.
Bjornsen and Brennan both credited a strong training camp in Davos, Switzerland, for their success, which comes a week before the World Championships in Austria.
“I was really thrilled to have finished fifth today,” said Bjornsen. “After a long camp of solid training in Davos it feels good to know my plan to ‘focus my top form on the Championships’ is working out. Any time I make a sprint final means I’m in a place to fight for the podium. A few more days of sharpening up and a mind that is ready to dig even deeper is exactly what I was dreaming of for this time of year.”