Kikkan Randall facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kikkan Randall
Kikkan Randall after winning the Stockholm Royal Palace Sprint in March 2013
Country	United States
Born	(1982-12-31) December 31, 1982 (age 42) Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Height	5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Ski club	APU Ski Team
World Cup career
Seasons	14 – (2001, 2005–2015, 2017–2018)
Individual wins	13
Team wins	1
Indiv. podiums	29
Team podiums	5
Indiv. starts	214
Team starts	19
Overall titles	0 – (3rd in 2013)
Discipline titles	3 – (3 SP, 2012, 2013, 2014)
Medal record Women's cross-country skiing Representing  United States Olympic Games Gold 2018 Pyeongchang Team sprint World Championships Gold 2013 Val di Fiemme Team sprint Silver 2009 Liberec Individual sprint Bronze 2017 Lahti Individual sprint

Kikkan Randall (born December 31, 1982) is an American Olympic champion in cross-country skiing. She has won many awards and made history for the United States in her sport. Kikkan has earned 17 U.S. National titles. She has also stood on the podium 29 times in World Cup races.

Kikkan competed in five Winter Olympic Games. She achieved the highest finish for an American woman at the World Championships, coming in second in the Sprint in Liberec in 2009. She was the first American female cross-country skier to finish in the top ten in a World Cup event. She was also the first to win a World Cup race and to win a World Cup title for a specific skiing style.

In 2009, she won a silver medal in the individual sprint at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec. This made her the first American woman to win a medal in cross-country skiing at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. In 2013, she and Jessie Diggins won the first-ever American gold medal at the World Championships in the team sprint. They also won the United States' first cross-country skiing gold medal at the Winter Olympics. This historic win happened in the women's team sprint at Pyeongchang in 2018.

Early Life and Skiing Beginnings

Kikkan Randall's parents, Ronn and Deborah, met at a ski resort. Her unique name, Kikkan, was a mix of names her parents liked. Her father wanted to name her Kikki, after famous skier Kiki Cutter. Her mother preferred Meghan.

Kikkan started skiing very young, just after her first birthday. She also has family who were Olympic cross-country skiers, her aunt Betsy Haines and uncle Chris Haines.

Kikkan moved to Anchorage, Alaska, with her parents when she was young. She first dreamed of being an alpine skier and running for a top college team. She was a fast runner in elementary school. Kikkan wanted to attend East High School, where she won 10 state titles. Seven of these were in track and three in cross-country running. She was known as the fastest girl on skis in Alaska. Kikkan started cross-country skiing in 1998. Her track coach suggested it to help her stay fit during winter.

Kikkan's Skiing Career

Starting Out in Skiing

After high school, Kikkan stayed in Anchorage, Alaska. She began college and trained with the Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center. In 2001, she placed sixth in the sprint at the Junior World Championships. This was the best result ever for an American woman at that time.

Kikkan made her first Olympic appearance at age 19. This was at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. She finished 44th in the individual sprint. In 2006, she won national titles in three different races in Utah. At the 2005 World Championships in Germany, she finished 30th in the individual sprint.

Making History: 2006-2011

At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Kikkan finished ninth in the Olympic Sprint. This was the best Olympic result for an American woman in cross-country skiing at that time. Soon after, she placed fifth in a World Cup sprint.

On January 21, 2007, she won a bronze medal in a sprint race in Russia. This was the best World Cup result ever for an American woman. Later that year, she achieved her first World Cup win. This was the first time an American female skier had won a World Cup race since women's competitions began in 1978.

In February 2009, Kikkan won a silver medal at the Nordic Skiing World Championship. She was the first American to win a World Championship medal since 1982. In 2010, she competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics. She helped the U.S. team achieve its best finish, sixth, in the team sprint. Her best individual finish was eighth in the individual sprint. In the 2010-11 season, she finished third in the Sprint World Cup standings.

Winning World Cup Titles: 2011-2014

Kikkan Randall became the first American woman to win a World Cup title for a specific skiing style. She topped the season's Sprint standings in 2012. She won World Cup freestyle sprints in Germany and Switzerland that season. She also finished fifth in the overall World Cup standings.

In the 2012-13 season, Kikkan won four World Cup freestyle sprint events. These wins were in Canada, Switzerland, Russia, and Finland. She also won a short freestyle race in Germany. She teamed up with Jessie Diggins to win a team freestyle sprint in Canada. Kikkan finished first in the final World Cup sprint standings. She also placed third in the overall standings, which was the highest ever for a U.S. woman at that time. With Jessie Diggins, she won the first-ever team sprint gold medal for U.S. women at the World Ski Championships.

Kikkan qualified for the U.S. Olympic team for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. She was expected to win the USA's first cross-country skiing medal since 1976. However, she narrowly missed advancing in the sprint quarterfinals. She later shared that a back injury from training might have affected her performance. Despite this, Kikkan topped the overall World Cup sprint standings for a third time. She won World Cup freestyle sprint events in Czech Republic, Poland, and Finland.

Later Career and Olympic Gold: 2014-2018

In 2015, Kikkan placed third in a freestyle sprint in Finland. In October 2015, Kikkan announced she was expecting her first child. She took a break from competing in the 2015-16 season. She returned to competition in 2016-17, focusing on the 2017 World Championships and the 2018 Winter Olympics.

After returning, Kikkan steadily improved her performance. In January 2017, she finished fifth in a World Cup Sprint in Sweden. At the 2017 World Nordic Ski Championships in Finland, Kikkan won the bronze medal in the freestyle sprint. She passed another skier in the final meters to secure third place.

In December 2017, Kikkan achieved her first World Cup podium finish in almost three years. She finished third in a sprint in Switzerland.

The highlight of her career came at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Kikkan and Jessie Diggins made history by winning the gold medal in the women's team sprint. This was the first time American cross-country skiers had won an Olympic gold medal.

Cross-country Skiing Results

All results are from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games Medals

• 1 medal – (1 gold)

World Championships Medals

• 3 medals – (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)

Other Achievements and Personal Life

In 2009, Kikkan was chosen to be part of the International Ski Federation's Athletes Commission. She served on this group for eight years. In 2018, she was elected to the International Olympic Committee's Athletes Commission.

Kikkan also won the Mount Marathon Race in 2011. Her mother and aunt had also won this race before her. In 2011, Kikkan Randall was inducted into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame.

Kikkan was married to former Canadian ski racer Jeff Ellis. They have a son named Breck, who was born in April 2016.

In April 2008, Kikkan was diagnosed with a genetic blood clotting condition called Factor V Leiden. This condition affects how her blood clots.

Kikkan balanced her studies at Alaska Pacific University with her skiing training. She trained with the APU Nordic Ski Center program.

In April 2018, Kikkan was diagnosed with breast cancer. She shared this news in July of that year. She returned to Anchorage for chemotherapy treatment.

See also

In Spanish: Kikkan Randall para niños