SHADOWS OF BEIJING

Though the experience wasn’t what any of us expected, we’re so proud she was representing us.

INTERVIEW BY SIONA HENZE

Sophia Laukli started skiing when she was two and competed in her rst race at three. Now, at 22, the Yarmouth High School graduate has numerous World Cup races, an NCAA title (Individual Champion, Women’s 15K Freestyle) for the University of Utah, and the 2022 Winter Olympics under her belt.

How did you get hooked on cross-country skiing? Because my dad’s from Norway, we went there a ton, and I skied a lot in Norway growing up.

When did you start getting serious about it? I did my junior year abroad at a ski school in Switzerland. Let me roller ski nine months of the year— it’s super fun!

What’s your training regimen like? e summer’s when I do the most. I average 20 hours, and some weeks are closer to 30. I love really long 4–5 hour runs in the cool mountains. I dread sprint sessions or skiing on at terrain.

How and when did you fnd out you were going to the Olympics? e Nordic skiing quali cations are di erent from any other sport. You have Olympic trials for running, etc., but our entire season is helping us qualify, so I kind of knew when I had solidi ed a spot.

Did you have any standout races leading up to the Olympics? e very last stage of the Tour de Ski. It was a climb up this alpine ski slope in Italy, and I came in h.

Didn’t you beat Olympic gold medalist Jessie Diggins in that race?

Yeah, that was my best race of the year. Jessie was not stoked, but she did a good job hiding it.

What was it like to be in the Olympics? It was honestly not that fun as an alternate. I only ended up racing on the very last day in the 30km, so I was there for three weeks in a cube in China, and it was freezing with terrible food.

What kinds of food were available? ey had very authentic Chinese food, like octopus and fried mystery meats, which is not what you want to be eating before a race. ey also had boiled chicken and rice, so that’s what I ended up eating. We also had a lot of camping meals that the U.S. nutritionists brought.

What were COVID protocols like? e country was completely shut down. ere wasn’t a single car on the road, and in the [Olympic] village there were hundreds of workers in hazmat suits keeping the place pristine. ey had spray bottles everywhere, spraying the air inside and spraying the outside air.

Did you meet many athletes from other teams? You’d see other athletes, but with COVID you couldn’t really interact. You get pins for your country, so a really big thing is to trade pins with the other teams and see who can get the most pins.

How was your Olympic debut in the 30km

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786 INTERVALE RD~BETHEL, ME 207-824-3880 www.cartersxcski.com Mass Start Freestyle? I thought [the race] was going to be canceled because the weather was atrocious. I wanted so badly to do well and prove myself, because my con dence was dampened every time they chose other people to race. It ended up going very well, but it was just a brutal race, because it was so windy and cold. I wore three layers on top and bottom, and four hats. It was so windy that you were skiing through snow dri s. ere was a tiny little sign that marked the lap lane and the nish lane, and when I was coming up the hill, a massive gust of wind blew snow over the sign, and I hammered right by it and took the wrong lane. Two girls passed me, and there were a solid 15 girls on the verge of passing me—I barely held them o . After the race, we went to the closing ceremony, which was cool, because we didn’t go to the opening ceremony. Why not? ere were a lot of COVID-stressed people, so it was a Nordic team decision. ere were three who had been to the Olympics before, but the other twelve

There were of us who hadn’t were pretty upset that we hundreds of workers in weren’t allowed to go to the opening ceremony—that’s one of the hazmat suits…spraying most iconic parts! the air inside Olympics 2026? and outside. Oh yeah, that’ll be more fun in Italy. Does your fuency in Norwegian and French come in handy while competing internationally? It’s great to hear the Norwegians talking shit, because they don’t necessarily know that I know what they’re saying. I can hear them complaining, taking it for granted that the American won’t understand. n

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