Only eight credits away from her degree, one U student will put off the robes of graduation to put on a U.S. Ski Team uniform and compete in the Winter Olympic Games.
U senior, Kristina Joder, took only 5 credit hours Fall Semester to concentrate on training. She spent Winter Break preparing for the preliminary races in hopes that she would qualify for the Olympic Team. On Dec. 29, she competed in the Gold Cup and the first week of January, she competed in U.S. Nationals. And then all of the training paid off.
On Jan. 19, Joder was told she made the 2002 U.S. Cross Country Ski Team.
“At first I didn’t think I was in contention, but after a good race in the Gold Cup and another in the U.S. Nationals, I placed high enough to get a chance to compete in the Games,” Joder said. “I was really excited when I found out.”
She now describes herself as nervous, excited and curious.
“Overall it is going to a pretty amazing experience,” she said.
On Feb. 19, Joder will compete in the cross-country sprint race, which is 1.5 kilometers long.
“When I called home to tell my parents, my mom couldn’t really talk she was kind of crying. My dad kept his cool, but he was really excited,” Joder said. Joder said her parents are really supportive of her skiing.
In fact, in December Joder’s family came to Salt Lake City to spend the holidays together so she would not break her training pattern so close to the important race dates.
As one of eight women on the cross country team, Joder will ski the same course she has skied for the past four years.
“I think it is a big advantage to know the course and know everything about the area,” Joder said.
Added to the advantage of the hometown crowd Joder hopes to finish in the top half of her race.
“Being at the U has helped me out a lot,” she said.
She credits the U ski team coach Kevin Sweeney for his assistance in making it this far.
“Sweeney has been a great help to me and has supported me more than any coach has ever supported me before,” Joder said. “He’s just a really great coach.”
During her time at the U, Joder qualified for the NCAAs every year she competed. As a junior in 2000, Joder skied to All-American status, was named second team all conference and was Utah’s 2000 Toril Forland Women’s Outstanding Skier Award winner. Joder crossed the finish line in fifth at the NCAA Championships in 2000 and was 10th in the U.S. Cross Country National Championships the same year.
As a senior, Joder ended with-out All-American status, turning in a 25th place in the women’s 5K Classical and an 11th place in the women’s 15K Free Technique.
On Feb. 9, Joder will increase the level of intensity of her training. Adding more running intervals, recovering and upper-intensity sprints. She has been exercising six days a week for months.
Joder plans to complete her degree in parks, recreation and tourism this summer after she completes an internship.
“I’m really excited to see how it all turns out,” Joder said.