Kids, adults and members of the U.S. cross-country ski team gathered Wednesday night at the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Center of Excellence. Everyone shared in eats, drinks and conversation as the team gears up toward another World Cup season. These fans got the opportunity to meet Jessie Diggins, Rosie Brennan, Ben Ogden and Gus Schumacher. Diggins won the overall women’s Cup last year, and Brennan is a Park City native. The four fielded questions toward the end of the evening from U.S. Ski and Snowboard communications manager Leann Bentley. The first Cup of the 2024-25 season comes in Ruka, Finland. There will be 12 this season, taking the four and others all across Europe. There is no U.S. Cup this season. “It’s great to have them in town,” said Sophie Goldschmidt, U.S. Ski and Snowboard CEO. “They’re coming off an amazing season, the best cross country season we’ve had in history.”The U.S. finished fourth in the Nations Cup last year, the combined national results. Goldschmidt lauded Park City for the town’s support of the organization, its athletes and youth development across winter sports. She added that U.S. Ski and Snowboard will continue doing everything in their power to keep the ball rolling with the cross-country team. Goldschmidt said she’d like to see the athletes on hand achieve all their wildest dreams. U.S. Ski and Snowboard Chief of Sport Anouk Patty followed Goldschmidt, touching upon some of the team’s 2023-24 accomplishments and the organization’s strong culture. Patty credited the fact that many cross-country and other skiers have been around each other for many years competing and are now such great teammates. The organization hopes to see many of the kids that were in attendance following in team members’ footsteps. “We have two big seasons coming up, so we’re really excited for what’s to come,” said Patty. “We look at where we’re at and building a team. It’s really important that we have depth.”Parkite Rosie Brennan explains what it is like to compete in long-distance events and what it takes to cross the finish line. Credit: Clayton Steward/Park Record“The culture of this team is unlike any other team that we have, and I think that many other countries have,” Patty said.Brennan finished last season seventh in the world, her third-best season in a decade on the team. Schumacher finished 15th, winning the Minneapolis 10k event — a magical moment on home snow. Ogden finished 32nd, despite missing the final chunk of the season due to injury. All four of the speaking athletes and the team will look to improve upon their results this year. They touched upon their skill sets and motivations and answered some more fun questions from the younger audience such as what their favorite foods are. Two-time Paris Olympic medalist Grant Fisher also offered a few words of wisdom, stopping by to grab a bite to eat and listen to his fellow winter Olympians, following a workout at the center. “Usually we do define success as gold medals and Olympics (results), and the really shiny pieces of hardware, but for me it’s the things that you can ultimately control,” said Diggins on her career. “You can actually control who you are as a teammate, how you show up for your team and when you get back to the sport. So, for me, success looks like helping grow the sport.”The 33 year old has been atop the sport for the last four years. She has a gold medal in the team relay event from the 2018 Games. 2024-25 is a pivotal winter for the group, with the 2026 Games coming right around the corner. “It was really crazy,” said Schumacher on his Minneapolis win last year. “To have a World Cup back on U.S. soil for the first time in 20-ish years was already more than we could have asked for that season. … It was kind of hard to believe but so cool. The experience with all my best friends and family there was such a deep moment of fun and joy.”Schumacher is entering his fifth year on the circuit at just 24 years old. He talked about how making Beijing 2022 with teammates whom he considers his very best friends as one of his favorite memories in cross-country. Schumacher resides in Anchorage, Alaska, now, where he trains. “I’ve definitely seen a few different rounds of the team, but I think that is what’s really cool is that each group is unique,” said Brennan, the team’s elder statesman at age 35. “There are things that we have been able to carry and pass down as we’ve gone. … One of the greatest motivators to continue my career past when a lot of my peers did was feeling an immense amount of responsibility to pass the team’s way of being a teammate on the younger generation.”Gus Schumacker answers a question on Wednesday at the Center of Excellence. Credit: Clayton Steward/Park RecordBrennan had five podiums last year, tied for her most ever. She and Diggins talked about how they love the painful aspects of the sport. It often takes the skiers a minute or two to even get off the ground after they cross the finish line. Ogden was putting smiles on the entire room full of people Wednesday, describing how he isn’t quite sure how he mastered his unique form. He instructed kids to follow in his footsteps and simply try hard and not stretch. Diggins followed Ogden’s comments by sharing she also doesn’t have the best form, but she does have a unique ability to withstand the suffering required to be great in the sport. Diggins said she doesn’t want to retire with any regrets in the sport, which fuels her effort. Ogden’s efforts have also pushed him to an Olympic Games (2022) and last year’s FIS U23 Rookie of the Year Award. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard team shared that all the cross-country races this winter will be available for livestream on Ski and Snowboard Live. The organization’s freestyle team will kick off the 2024-25 Cup action with a big air event in Chur, Switzerland, Friday. For up-to-the-minute Cup results all winter, check out the FIS’ website: fis-ski.com.The post U.S. cross-country ski team readies for their upcoming season appeared first on Park Record.