Szklarska Poreba, Poland –Anchorage, Alaska’s Kikkan Randall skied to a career best classical technique distance event, finishing eighth in a 10k FIS Cross Country World Cup on Saturday in Szklarska Poreba. Thousands of Polish fans turned out to see national hero Justyna Kowalcyk win a day after Randall knocked her out in the quarterfinals of the sprint, and move into the World Cup lead. Johann Olson of Sweden won the men’s 15k.
“Today was a career best individual start classic race for me. This result confirmed that I am back in form after dealing with some illness the last two weeks,” Randall said. “The skiing conditions were super tricky but I think we made an excellent decision on ski choice. It was super tight with a couple skiers, we were within a second over most of the race. In the end I missed a couple places by just two seconds, but overall I am super happy with the result.”
Randall’s finish on Saturday secured her in fourth in the overall World Cup standings. Ida Sargent, of Orleans, Vt., earned a career best non-sprint World Cup on Saturday in 26th. Noah Hoffman, of Aspen, Colo., led the U.S. men in 31st, just missing the points.
The World Cup cross country skiing circuit takes a one-week break before resuming in March in Lahti, Finland.
“(I am) now looking forward to some training and sunshine in Davos, Switzerland over the next two weeks before the final period of World Cup,” Randall said.
OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS Cross Country World Cup
Szklarska Poreba, Poland – Feb. 18, 2012
Women’s 10k Classic:
| Rank | Bib | Name | Year | Nation | Time | FIS Points |
| 1 | 63 | KOWALCZYK Justyna | 1983 | POL | 28:43.9 | 0.00 |
| 2 | 65 | BJOERGEN Marit | 1980 | NOR | 29:20.0 | 16.75 |
| 3 | 61 | JOHAUG Therese | 1988 | NOR | 29:34.3 | 23.39 |
| 4 | 55 | SKOFTERUD Vibeke W | 1980 | NOR | 30:04.2 | 37.26 |
| 5 | 57 | KRISTOFFERSEN Marthe | 1989 | NOR | 30:22.9 | 45.94 |
| 6 | 43 | ISHIDA Masako | 1980 | JPN | 30:27.5 | 48.08 |
| 7 | 35 | FESSEL Nicole | 1983 | GER | 30:28.4 | 48.49 |
| 8 | 45 | RANDALL Kikkan | 1982 | USA | 30:29.9 | 49.19 |
| 9 | 33 | HAAG Anna | 1986 | SWE | 30:36.9 | 52.44 |
| 10 | 41 | STEIRA Kristin Stoermer | 1981 | NOR | 30:39.9 | 53.83 |
Men’s 15k Classic:
| Rank | Bib | Name | Year | Nation | Time | FIS Points |
| 1 | 54 | OLSSON Johan | 1980 | SWE | 38:48.2 | 0.00 |
| 2 | 72 | COLOGNA Dario | 1986 | SUI | 39:07.5 | 6.63 |
| 3 | 66 | LEGKOV Alexander | 1983 | RUS | 39:45.7 | 19.76 |
| 4 | 62 | CHERNOUSOV Ilia | 1986 | RUS | 39:47.7 | 20.44 |
| 5 | 52 | ROENNING Eldar | 1982 | NOR | 39:48.6 | 20.75 |
| 6 | 48 | POLTORANIN Alexey | 1987 | KAZ | 39:52.0 | 21.92 |
| 7 | 29 | TEICHMANN Axel | 1979 | GER | 40:03.4 | 25.84 |
| 8 | 23 | GOERING Franz | 1984 | GER | 40:10.1 | 28.14 |
| 9 | 40 | GAILLARD Jean Marc | 1980 | FRA | 40:15.2 | 29.89 |
| 10 | 31 | SUNDBY Martin Johnsrud | 1984 | NOR | 40:20.2 | 31.61 |