SOLDIER HOLLOW -- Colorado's Carl Swenson won Saturday's 50-kilometer U.S. Cross Country Championship race by a foot, while Alaskan Nina Kemppel cruised to an easy victory by a half-mile in the women's 30-kilometer race.
Swenson, a 1994 Winter Olympian, edged Marcus Nash in the 31-mile race by 0.2 seconds and Justin Wadsworth by 0.5 seconds. Swenson won with a time of 1 hour, 59 minutes and 55 seconds."All three of us had a good sprint," said Wadsworth, a two-time Olympian and U.S. champion. "We've all been training with each other for 10 years. I knew it would come down to one of us."
Swenson said his strategy was to pace himself. He took the lead in the last downhill turn.
"I had to maintain the lead to the finish," Swenson said.
Nash, another two-time Olympian and six-time U.S. champion, said his goal was to draft in behind Swenson in the long downhill glide, but Wadsworth cut him off.
"I told Justin, 'Don't cut me off,' " said Nash. Then again, he added, with a shrug, "I would have done the same thing."
Saturday's race drew about 200 spectators, the largest crowd in the week-long Chevy Truck U.S. Cross Country Championships. The men's 50K and women's 30K were the final and premier event. It required endurance and pacing. The men skiers race around a 16.7K loop three times, while the women race twice around a 15K loop.
Nash called it an "effortless" 50K at Soldier Hollow, the new Olympic venue outside Midway. The rolling terrain has enough downhill to allow skiers to catch their breath.
Kemppel appeared barely winded when she cruised to an easy 2 minute victory over Katerina Hanusova, a Czech skier for Colorado University. Kemppel nabbed her fourth gold medal of the tournament with a time of 1:25:03.3. Sarah Konrad of Laramie, Wyo., finished third.
"I felt really strong," said Kemppel, a 9-time U.S. champion.
Although this is Kemppel's fourth U.S. title of the week, she twice finished second behind Canadian Beckie Scott. None of the Canadian women raced on Saturday, leaving Kemppel a bit disappointed. But Hanusova and she traded leads a handful of times early in the race.
Kempple even passed some of the men racers on the Olympic track. She joked about it. "I skied into a whole bunch of Dartmouth guys. I said, 'Come on, you're not going to let a woman beat you.' "
Local Nordic favorite Wendy Wagner finished the race 14th. A high fever left her tired for most of the race.
The Park City skier missed most of the championship because she awoke with a temperature of 104 degrees the second day of the five-race national meet.
"It was a real frustrating race," she said. "I was really looking forward to the national championships, being held so close to my hometown."
Saturday's race was one of the last for Swenson. He wants to take the rest of the ski season off to concentrate on bike racing.
He hopes to compete in the U.S. mountain bike team for the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney.
Skiers, in fact, described the men's race as a bike race, full of strategic drafting and lead changes.
In the men's race, there were a pack of five near the front who took turns leading. The final three broke away at the 40K mark.
Soldier Hollow drew rave reviews from athletes and spectators.
"This course, when it's fast like this is my kind of skiing," said Wadsworth.
"It really is rhythmic -- like a two-hour dance."
Showdown Leaderboard
Saturday's top five finishers in the men's 50K and women's 30K U.S. Cross Country Championships at Soldier Hollow.
Women's 30K
1. Nina Kemppel, Anchorage, Alaska 1:25:03.3
2. Katerina Hanusova, Czech Rep. 1:27:39.01
3. Sarah Konrad, Laramie, Wyo. 1:29:30
Men's 50K
1. Carl Swenson, Boulder, Colo. 1:59:55.0
2. Marcus Nash, Olympic Valley, Calif. 1:59:55.2
3. Justin Wadsworth, Bend, Ore. 1:59:55