Brennan first since Kikkan to win back-to-back World Cup races
Rosie Brennan
Only two U.S. cross-country skiers have won back-to-back World Cup races – and both of them are from Alaska.
Alaska Pacific University skier Rosie Brennan this weekend joined Anchorage icon Kikkan Randall as the lone Americans to accomplish the feat.
Randall, an Alaska Sports Hall of Famer, was the first to do it during the 2011-2012 season.
Brennan, 32, recorded two victories in the Swiss Alps after winning the freestyle sprint Saturday and the 10-K freestyle Sunday.
“It’s wild,” Brennan told U.S. Ski & Snowboard. “I have never considered myself a sprinter, so to find myself on the podium in a sprint is something I honestly didn’t even dream of.”
Brennan had previously reached the podium three times in world cup competition, with two coming as part of relays. Prior to Saturday her best finish in a sprint world cup was 15th, which she did in a freestyle competition in 2017.
Now the 2018 Winter Olympian is the World Cup series leader across all three disciples: overall, sprint and distance.