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Zach Ketterson of Bloomington grew up skiing on the trails at Theodore Wirth Regional Park. Most of the time I felt like he was the only one there. On Saturday, Kettersson raced to a different tune as the accustomed calm was drowned out by the roar of local fans and chants of his name.
For the first time in more than 20 years, the FIS Cross Country World Cup was held in the United States. In addition to hosting the world’s top skiers, Wirth Park also attracts just under 20,000 spectators who line the course around every 1,304-metre curve, cheering and applauding the athletes as they race toward the finish line. Ta.
Flags of several countries were flying. The cowbell rang. Fans held placards and wore shirts emblazoned with the faces of their favorite skiers. One man climbed a tall tree in the start/finish area to get a better view of the competition. Ketterson, along with other American racers, watched the 43rd World Cup and was struck by how many people turned out to cheer on the athletes from his hometown.
“I would say it exceeded every expectation I ever had,” Ketterson said. “I go to the loudest, most attended races, like Holmenkollen, for example, where there are a lot of fans, and I’ve never had so many fans cheering me on like this. They’re like, ‘Zack! Zack! Zack!’ Then when it was announced that I was from Bloomington, the crowd just screamed, I mean, that’s why you ski. ”
Ketterson reached the quarterfinals of Saturday’s sprint freestyle event, falling just 1.23 seconds short of advancing to the semifinals. He was one of four American men to make it past the qualifying round, finishing 21st overall.
In the men’s sprint final, Norway’s Johannes Hosfrod Klaibo made his move in the final corner and beat Italy’s Federico Pellegrino by 0.27 seconds. Kleibo is a two-time Olympic champion in the individual sprint event, a three-time world champion, and has won the last four sprint races on the World Cup circuit. Third place went to Norway’s Havard Solas Taugboll.
Despite the lack of American men or women on the podium, it was still a very successful day for Kettersson and his teammates. In addition to putting on a spectacle in front of an energetic and enthusiastic crowd, they were able to demonstrate to competitors that Minneapolis is a hot spot for cross-country ski fans and make the case for a future World Cup return. is completed. Wednesday’s snowstorm created perfect conditions for an unforgettable event, as Ketterson said.
“A few weeks ago I was talking to a reporter about how bad the snow was, and then we got a miraculous 6 inches of snow and it was just amazing,” Ketterson said. “I really enjoyed hearing people from Europe rave about how great it is, and coming from here is one of the proudest things I’ve ever experienced. ”
Other Minnesotans
In addition to Afton’s Jessie Diggins, who finished fourth, four other Minnesota women competed Saturday, but none of them advanced beyond the qualifying round. Ely’s Erin Bianco finished 37th, just over three seconds out of the top 30 spot to advance to the quarterfinals. Plymouth’s Alaina Sonnesin was not far behind her, coming in 44th place. Renee Anderson (Golden Valley) and Margie Freed (Apple Valley) rounded out the group in 48th and 50th place out of 61 women who competed in the event.
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