More than glitter: How US women pin Nordic medal hopes on teamwork
| Pyeongchang, South Korea
Not so long ago, the idea of Americans winning an Olympic medal in Nordic skiing was about as heretical as the thought of a Norwegian team winning the Super Bowl.
After all, it had only been done once, by Bill Koch in 1976. And it had never been done by an American woman. But a few girls from Alaska to Vermont were convinced it was possible 鈥� even when they were finishing dead last on the World Cup.
Never mind that their coaches had never raced at that level, let alone won any medals. Or that by the time the word 鈥渟ki鈥� was invented in English, Scandinavians had a 5,800-year head start on perfecting the art of gliding across snow. Or that Norwegian skiers were national celebrities with a team budget 14 times bigger than that of the Americans, who still do their own dishes at training camps and are virtually unknown at home.
Undaunted, these girls painted their cheeks with glitter; pulled on red, blue, and white striped knee-socks; and shattered the European glass ceiling of cross-country skiing 鈥� capturing gold, silver, and bronze medals at World Championships, and winning more than 80 medals at World Cups. Now they鈥檙e gunning for an Olympic medal, and their best shot is in the next two events: the 4x5 km relay on Saturday, and the team sprint next Wednesday.
鈥淚t would be pretty special to be able to do it in the relay,鈥� says Kikkan Randall, America鈥檚 most decorated female cross-country skier.
It would also be fitting. For the key to these ladies鈥� unprecedented results is a team culture that has been more than a decade in the making. They value each other as much for being good listeners as racing fast, and celebrate individual success as a collective success 鈥� because each woman is recognized for her role creating a team environment that empowers every one to fulfill her potential. The US men鈥檚 team has also played a key role as supportive peers and 鈥渂rothers鈥� 鈥� with little trace of the jock culture that often dominates in sports.
Even for those baffled by the world of spandex, ski wax, and skiers who prefer going uphill, such team-building transcends those mysteries. It is as applicable to managing an office as building a world-class ski team.
鈥淚 would be lying to say that we aren鈥檛 some of the most competitive girls in the world, but we learned that it鈥檚 not helpful to build yourself up by pushing/putting others down,鈥� says Holly Brooks, a member of the 2012 US women鈥檚 team that won America鈥檚 first World Cup relay medal. She has since left the team and started her own business in Anchorage, Alaska. 鈥淚nstead, one of the best tactics is to band together, build each other up, and collaborate. I think that tactic can be extrapolated into any avenue in life.鈥�
Raising the bar
Randall has been very close 鈥� devastatingly close 鈥� to winning an Olympic medal before. In the 2014 Games, she was a heavy favorite in the sprint competition.
That in itself was an accomplishment. It would be hard to overstate just how outclassed Americans were when Randall鈥檚 career began.
In her first individual World Cup, she had finished last 鈥� nearly five minutes behind the winner. At the 2006 Olympics, her relay team came in 14th out of 17 nations.
But Randall persisted and won a World Cup medal the following season 鈥� the first for US women in modern racing.
Working with coach Erik Flora at Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage, she created a nucleus of hard-working women who were chosen more for their motivation than their results. Among them was Sadie Bjornsen, who had nearly quit skiing after missing the 2010 Olympics, but under Flora鈥檚 tutelage has since medaled at World Championships.
Flora鈥檚 formula was simple, based on a year he spent training with one of Norway鈥檚 premier ski clubs: Get a core group of committed athletes together, and train hard. Really hard.
At the time, Norwegians were logging around 900 hours a year, but Americans were averaging 500 to 600 hours.聽聽
He gradually raised that bar 鈥� and Randall demonstrated the results.
By the time she arrived in Sochi, she had won gold with teammate Jessie Diggins at the 2013 World Championships and was weeks away from clinching her third sprint World Cup title 鈥� a season-long contest and the most prestigious award in ski racing, because it requires consistency over a five-month period.
So when Randall missed qualifying for the Olympic sprint semi-finals by .05 seconds, the entire stadium fell silent. She and the team also had a disappointing 9th-place showing in the relay, an event in which they had won two World Cup medals.
But that night as team member Bjornsen was walking back from dinner she ran into Aino-Kaisa Saarinen, a Finnish skier who had joined the Americans for a training camp in Alaska two years prior. In an isolated cabin on the edge of a glacier, Saarinen had participated in their team-building activities 鈥� from making meals and doing dishes together to creating dance routines.
So when, on the eve of the Olympic relay, Saarinen felt that her team鈥檚 spirits needed lifting up, she took a page out of the Americans鈥� book and brought her team together to sing karaoke and play rally car games late into the night. The next day, they staged an incredible come-from-behind performance to take Olympic silver.
鈥淭he only reason we won a medal today is because of the lessons I learned from you in Alaska two summers ago,鈥� Saarinen told Bjornsen, according to a new book, 鈥淲orld Class: The Making of the U.S. Women鈥檚 Cross Country Ski Team,鈥� by Peggy Shinn.
The Swedes have also noticed.
鈥淭he American girls have always looked happy, positive, full of life 鈥� different from many other skiers and athletes in other disciplines,鈥� says Ole Morten Iversen, a Norwegian who started coaching the Swedish women two years ago and found the team dynamic needed improving. 鈥淲e want to be as good as the American girls regarding the team spirit.鈥�
The most obvious manifestation of that team spirit is Diggins鈥� tradition of painting her teammates鈥� cheeks with glitter and flags 鈥� a tradition that has spread to other teams, including the Swedes.
鈥淭he glitter, for me, is this promise to honor the little girl that just wants to go super-speed 鈥� it鈥檚 this reminder that I do this because I love it,鈥� says Diggins, the self-appointed team cheerleader who in 2016 became the first American woman to win a World Cup distance race. Now the strongest skier on the team, she has come within seconds of medaling at these Games in each of the first three races. 鈥淔or me it feels like 鈥� a privilege to help change the culture of skiing to Yes We Can.鈥�
Just as tough as racing
But what looks great from far away is not always as smooth as it seems.
In the fall of 2016, head women鈥檚 coach Matt Whitcomb had to confront a sobering realization. After prioritizing team-building above all else, he and the girls had unconsciously 鈥減opped it into neutral,鈥� and it was showing 鈥� in jealousy, lack of communication, and a general flatness.
So he called a meeting.
鈥淔or a team that is basically known first as being a team, before we鈥檙e known for being fast, this is the worst we鈥檝e done in a long time,鈥� he told them, acknowledging his part in letting things slip. 鈥淚s there anybody in the room who would disagree with that?鈥�
That prompted a cathartic confession session that left everyone 鈥� including Whitcomb 鈥� in tears.
鈥淲e are eight really, really competitive girls living together for five months in a hotel room. 鈥� That鈥檚 not always pretty or perfect,鈥� says Bjornsen. 鈥淵ou work just as hard at being a teammate as you do at racing. 鈥nd Matt plays a huge role in that.鈥澛�
After that meeting, Whitcomb reinstated an old rule to promote camaraderie: no cellphones at lunch and dinner. He has also helped the girls look ahead to potential challenges. And coming into these Olympics, with six girls who have skied on a medal-winning relay team, one of the biggest challenges they鈥檝e discussed is how to deal with not being named to that potentially historic relay on Saturday.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 get to actually go home with a medal if you鈥檙e not one of the four,鈥� says Liz Stephen, who has skied in every medal-winning relay and is a pillar of the team.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 been a goal the whole time, through all these relay medals 鈥� whoever is not on the team, this is a team medal. And I can be sure that I have had a role 鈥� and whoever is on that team 鈥� we鈥檝e had a role in creating the team that it is today.鈥�
