Kikkan Randall is returning to Anchorage to take the helm of the city’s nordic ski club

Kikkan Randall, Alaska’s most decorated cross-country skier, is taking charge of the club that helped her become a skier.

Randall, a 2018 Olympic gold medalist, is the new executive director of the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage. The position has been vacant for a couple of years, NSAA spokesman Josh Niva said.

Randall participated in the ski club’s Junior Nordic program and grew up racing in events organized by the club.

“We are thrilled to have Kikkan return home to Alaska,” NSAA board president Joey Caterinichio said in a statement released by the club. “We couldn’t ask for a better role model for our community or leader for NSAA.”

Randall, 38, retired from the U.S. Ski Team after the 2018 Winter Olympics. She was an International Olympic Committee athlete representative until June, and she has been living in British Columbia for the last few years.

Caterinichio said Randall is moving back to Anchorage with her son, Breck, who is about to start kindergarten.

“I can’t wait to reconnect with the community and increase the joy of and access to Nordic skiing and our trail system for generations to come,” Randall said in a statement from the ski club.