Nordic: Aaron Pike’s Busy Summer Brought Him To Historic Track Nationals
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by Alex Abrams
Every other week we scour the web for the latest going on in the world of U.S. Para Nordic skiing. Here’s what you missed!
Aaron Pike Finishes Third at USATF Outdoor and Para National Championships
Aaron Pike went from training on his sit ski to competing in his racing chair.
Pike is a seven-time Paralympian in Nordic skiing and track and field. In late July, he was among a group of athletes who took part in a training camp that U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing held inside an underground ski tunnel in Torsby, Sweden.
Pike returned in time to compete in the first-ever combined USATF Outdoor and Para National Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on July 31. He finished third in the men’s 5,000-meter T54 race after posting a time of 11 minutes, 4.98 seconds.
His time was only two seconds behind defending Paralympic champion Daniel Romanchuk, who won the 5,000 meters at 11:02.92. Read more about the Para National Championships here.
Pike enjoyed his time at Hayward Field, a legendary track located on the University of Oregon’s campus. He shared a video on Instagram of himself touring the venue.
“Some things just go together like strawberries and ice cream or peanut butter and jelly or in this case @nike and Hayward Field!” Pike wrote on Instagram.
Ty Wiberg Prepares For Winter Paralympics — And College Graduation
Ty Wiberg could soon become a Paralympian and a college graduate in the same year.
Wiberg, who’s a member of the U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing development team, is scheduled to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in community health from Montana State in May. He also hopes to make his Paralympic debut at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games in March, two months before his graduation.
“Ideally, I’m going to work through the winter and just kind of put my head down and grind through school and skiing and just try and finish it out strong,” Wiberg told USParaNordic.org.
Like Pike, Wiberg participated in the training camp inside the underground ski tunnel in Torsby. It gave him an opportunity to get on snow after spending this offseason doing dryland training with fellow sit skiers Nicole Zaino and Michael Kneeland in Bozeman, Montana.
Zaino and Kneeland are also members of the development team with Wiberg. They’ve been able to motivate each other during their offseason training.
Jack Berry, a standing skier who’s also on the development team, offered a glimpse into what a typical day during the training camp at the ski tunnel looked like for the athletes.
Nicole Zaino Has Training Mishap
Zaino had to smile after having a minor mishap during a recent workout — one of the tires on her mountain board went flat.
“My intensity workout turned into an impromptu pit stop challenge today after my mountain board had a flat tire,” Zaino wrote on Instagram. “… Note to self: always double-check that the spare tube actually makes it into the car.”
Zaino was able to get her tire fixed and resume her training thanks to help from a friend. She shared in another Instagram post that she sometimes needs to resort to doing laps around neighborhoods when she can’t get on “pretty trails” to train.
Dani Aravich Continues Training On “Funny Lookin Rollerblades”
Dani Aravich has been busy training this offseason, and she’s already looking forward to the start of the upcoming Para Nordic skiing season this winter.
The two-time Paralympian posted on Instagram a video of herself training on roller skis. In the video, she races around a corner on her roller skis and pushes herself as she climbs uphill.
“Another summer of ‘those are some funny lookin rollerblades,’” Aravich wrote on Instagram.
Aravich, who’s a member of the U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing national team, is preparing to compete at Milano Cortina in March. She recently shared more about her offseason training program ahead of the next Winter Paralympics with Paralympics.org.
“I’m realistically still somewhat of a newcomer... I (barely) started in the sport before Beijing (2022 Paralympics), so I’m in a different place than a lot of my competitors who grew up doing it, who have a lot more experience,” Aravich told Paralympics.org. “I’ve always been feeling like I’m not out there enough or confident enough to make some big claim in the sport.”
She made it clear that racing is on her mind. She also shared a photo of herself skiing uphill during a race when snow was blowing heavily onto the course.
Alex Abrams has written about Olympic and Paralympic sports for more than 15 years, including as a reporter for major newspapers in Florida, Arkansas and Oklahoma. He is a freelance contributor to USParaNordic.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
