World Class: The Making of the U.S. Women's Cross-Country Ski Team, Paperback

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What makes a great team? Sports journalist Peggy Shinn answers this question in her enthralling account of the dramatic rise of the U. S. women's cross-country ski team, winners of eight medals at three world championships over the past five years. Shinn's story--based on dozens of interviews with athletes, coaches, parents, spouses, and friends--paints a vivid picture of the obstacles that America's female athletes must overcome not just to ski with the world's best, but to beat them. In a sport where U. S. women have toiled for decades, mostly in the middle or the back of the pack, the development of a world-class team attests to the heady combination of a transformational leader, a coach who connects with his athletes, the super-fast individual skiers who are also conscientious teammates--and a bit of good luck. This is the story of Kikkan Randall, Liz Stephen, Holly Brooks, Jessie Diggins, Ida Sargent, Sadie Bjornsen, Sophie Caldwell, Rosie Brennan, and coach Matt Whitcomb--and how they created the perfect team.