Minnesota Finlandia Ski Marathon to go on; Four Midwesterners named to U.S. Ski Team and head to Junior Worlds

The Minnesota Finlandia Ski Marathon, in its 31st year, will take place this Saturday in Bemidji, Minnesota, although low snow has required shortening race distances and containing the courses within the Buena Vista Ski area, the Bemidji Pioneer reports. The event will feature three 24K races and one 36K freestyle race rather than the usual 25K and 50K distances.

Lack of snow resulted in the cancelation of the Mora Vasalopet last weekend, leading the Pioneer to claim that the Minnesota Finlandia will be "the first race in the state to take place on natural snow."

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The U.S. Ski Team recently added 11 ski jumpers and Nordic combined athletes to it's roster, including upper Midwesterners Nita Englund, 19, of Iron Mountain, Mich. (women's ski jumping); Christian Friberg, 17, of Roseville, Minn., and Brian Wallace, 18, of Woodbury, Minn. (men's ski jumping); Adam Loomis, 19, of Eau Claire, Wis. (Nordic combined)

According to the Ski Channel, Englund and Wallace will be making her third appearances at the Junior World Ski Championship, which heads to Erzurum, Turkey, February 19-26.

"Christian Friberg and Brian Wallace are both on the USA Ski Jumping Team's development squad and leading the charge of our teenage generation of skiers bridging the gap to the national team and the international levels of competitions including FIS Cup and Continental Cup. Christian was an amazing 18th in his first Continental Cup and Brian scored FIS Cup points in Predazzo, Italy," said Men's Ski Jumping Coach Casey Colby.