Roundup: U.S. Nordic Skiers Faced A Quick Turnaround For Boulder Mountain Tour

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by Alex Abrams

Dani Aravich competes in the long distance biathlon race at the 2023 FIS Para Nordic World Championships. (Photo: Ralf Kuckuck)

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!

 

American Skiers Return To Sun Valley After Worlds

Lera Doederlein is already looking forward to returning to Idaho this time next year.

 

Doederlein, who made her Winter Paralympics debut in Beijing last March, was among several U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing team members who competed at the Boulder Mountain Tour on Feb. 4 in Sun Valley, Idaho.

 

“Such a fun time at the @bouldermountaintour for my 2nd year in a row!!” Doederlein wrote on Instagram. “Very happy with my results and was a beautiful day for such a cool community event. I already can’t wait for next year.” 



Dani Aravich, who was born and raised in Boise, Idaho, got the opportunity to return to her home state to take part in the event.

 

Only a few days earlier, the two-time Paralympian placed fifth in the biathlon sprint at the world championships in Östersund, Sweden. It was her first top-five finish at a world championships.

 

“Bouncing from Europe, to Idaho & soon Florida for skiing & work,” Aravich wrote on Instagram. “I'm trying to juggle it, with training, life, work, advocacy efforts. In my jet lag early hour wakeup, I'm reflecting on how lucky I am to do what I do all the things I get to do.” 



Gretsch Caps Off World Championships With New Milestone

To kick off 2023, Kendall Gretsch has added more medals to her growing collection.

 

In January, the three-time Paralympian earned seven medals in seven days at the world championships in Östersund. She won a gold in all but one of the six individual biathlon and cross-country skiing events she competed in at the world championships.

 

Gretsch is a two-sport star and a gold medalist in both Para Nordic and paratriathlon. She reached another milestone with her dominant performance in Östersund, winning her 20th career medal at a world championships.



Since her debut in 2014, Gretsch has earned 21 world championships medals in either Para Nordic and paratriathlon — 13 golds, seven silvers and a bronze.

 

Gretsch spoke to TeamUSA.org about how she has managed to transition from one sport to the next without getting much of a break during the year.

 

“There are different technical aspects of each sport that come easier than the other, but both require the same amount of training to be competitive at the top level,” Gretsch told TeamUSA.org. “As endurance sports, they both require long hours of training to be competitive.”

 

Masters Shares Prosthetic Assembly, Her New Book

Oksana Masters joked that it takes a little bit of work to become her.

 

Masters, the most decorated U.S. Winter Paralympian of all time, shared a short video on Instagram showing the different items she wears when she puts on her prosthetic legs. She added the comment, “Some assembly required.”



Masters’ bio on Instagram states she’s 5-foot-8-inches on those days when she wears her prosthetic legs, and 4-foot when she doesn’t.

 

The two-sport star and 17-time Paralympic medalist will soon be a published author. Her memoir, “The Hard Parts,” will be released on Feb. 21.

 

Masters posted a video on TikTok of her opening a box and getting her first look at her new book. Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” — which was released six years before Masters was born — is playing over the video.

 

“So I kind of did something…. I wrote a book!!!!” Masters wrote on TikTok.


@oksanamasters So I kind of did something…. I wrote a book!!!! THE HARD PARTS a memoir of courage and triumph coming 2.21.2023 . #booktok #fyp #author @scribnerbooks #iwroteabook #amputee #thehardparts #bookrecommendations ♬ Girls Just Want to Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper


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