U.S. to boost funding for cross-country skiing

American officials encouraged by team's performance in Turin

updated 2:46 p.m. ET Feb. 23, 2006

PRAGELATO, Italy - For the last few years, many U.S. cross-country skiers have paid their own way to compete around the world.

Soon, that might change, giving Kikkan Randall and her comrades a chance to close the gap on their Scandinavian rivals.

Hoping to become more competitive internationally, especially at the Olympics, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association announced Thursday plans to boost funding of its cross-country program — one that has long lacked enough money to compete on the world stage.

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“It’s great,” said retiring U.S. skier Justin Freeman, whose younger brother Kris is one of the team’s strongest skiers. “It comes down to money. It’s really tricky. Even being on the ski team, it only takes you through six months, but the other six months you’ve still got to put a roof over your head.”

The news came one day before four of Randall’s countrywomen were to lead the U.S. in the final women’s race of the Turin Games, the 30km skate. The final men’s race, the 50km, comes on Sunday, the closing day of the games.

U.S. cross-country coach Trond Nystad in December raised concerns about the level of support for his team, arguing American Nordic skiers trail the dominant Scandinavian countries — including his native Norway — because of limited financial means and a subpar development program.

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Some athletes not among the U.S. top five have been forced to pay their way to World Cup competitions and other races.

“We’ve made some great progress in cross-country with a relatively small program,” said Alan Ashley, USSA vice president of athletics. “And we also know that to help our U.S. athletes get to the top level internationally, we have to provide more program support.”

While more money isn’t the only answer — cross-country skiing is unlikely to ever be a way of life in the United States the way it is elsewhere — it is a step in the right direction.

“It should have an impact,” Nystad said.

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There is potential on the team, as evidenced by Randall’s ninth-place finish in the women’s 1.1km sprint Wednesday — the best Olympic cross-country result ever by a U.S. woman.

Randall’s partner in last week’s inaugural team sprint, 32-year-old Wendy Wagner, plans to retire after these Olympics because she can no longer afford to pay her own way.

Heading into the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, Wagner was among 12 athletes on the U.S. team. But last year, there were only five official spots on the national team, all of which went to men.

Wagner was traveling with her family Thursday and didn’t respond to an e-mail from The Associated Press, but the new funding isn’t expected to change her mind.

U.S. Nordic director Luke Bodensteiner envisions much of the new money going to improvements in the development program and closer collaboration with the country’s top club teams in training.

“It’s a good jump,” Bodensteiner said. “We’re still shy of Norway, but most nations are shy of Norway and find a way to get it done.”