Cross-Country - Men's Team Sprint Classic - 2014 Winter Olympics

Gold

Finland

 Iivo Niskanen

Iivo Niskanen (born January 12 1992) is a Finnish cross country skier. He won the gold medal in the men's team sprint at the 2014 Winter Olympics with Sami Jauhojärvi.

His sister Kerttu is also cross country skier, double silver medalist from the 2014 Winter Olympics.

 Sami Jauhojärvi

Sami Jauhojärvi (born 6 May 1981) is a Finnish cross country skier who has been competing since 2000. In the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games, he won the team sprint race with Iivo Niskanen. He was also finished fifth in the 4 x 10 km relay at Vancouver in 2010.

Jauhojärvi won his first medal at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec with a bronze in the team sprint with Ville Nousiainen, then added a second in the 4 x 10 km.

Jauhojärvi has won one World Cup race; in Trondheim 2009 he won the 50 km classic mass start competetition.

6th Place

USA

 Simi Hamilton

Simeon "Simi" Hamilton (born May 14, 1987) is an American cross country skier who has competed since 2000. Hamilton attended Middlebury College from 2005–2009, during which time he competed for its ski team, individually earning several All-American NCAA Championship results. It was announced on 29 January 2010 that Hamilton qualified for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Hamilton competed in the 15 kilometer freestyle, 1.5 kilometer classic sprint, and 4x10km relay races. He paced all Americans in the field in the 1.5 kilometer sprint by advancing to the medal rounds and finishing 29th of 96 competitors. In the relay, Hamilton pulled away from the Estonian skier in the anchor leg to secure a 13th place finish.

On December 31, 2013, Hamilton won Stage 3 of the 2013–14 FIS Tour de Ski, a 1.5 kilometer freestyle sprint. In doing so, he became the first American male to win a World Cup race since Bill Koch won the Sarajevo 30k in February 1983.

Erik Bjorsen

Erik Bjorsen grew up in Washington state’s Methow Valley. The active local community offered many opportunities for him in a variety of sports; however, with hard work he began to find some success as a young cross country skier.

He won 3 Junior National championships while skiing for the Pacific Northwest division, and began to post some of the best results at the World Junior Championships of any male American skier ever. Erik then skied for the University of Alaska Anchorage for one season, finishing second at the NCAA National Championships

Erik was named to the U.S. Ski Team in 2011 after his outstanding results at the Under-23 World Championships. He is the 2013 U.S. National Champion in the 15k, a SuperTour Champion, and represented the United States at the 2013 FIS World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

He currently lives and trains in Anchorage, Alaska at the Alaska Pacific University Ski Center. In addition his rigorous year-round training and competition schedule, Erik is a full-time student, studying business administration.

Erik enjoys sharing his fun, hardworking outlook on life with as many people as he can. He enjoys giving back, working with youngsters through the NANA Nordic program, camps and events in the Methow Valley, and other events around the country.

Erik is the youngest male member of the U.S. Ski Team’s Cross Country team, and has his sights set on making the 2014 U.S. Olympic Team.