For the first time since 2019, Julia Kern has returned to the individual World Cup podium. Competing under the lights at the Tallinn City Sprint in Estonia, she delivered a long-awaited top-three finish. Ben Ogden also had a strong showing, finishing seventh for Team USA.
The 2024-25 season has been a breakthrough for Kern, particularly with her silver medal in the team sprint at the World Championships. However, an individual podium had remained just out of reach until now. With only four races left in the season, she delivered an impressive performance on Tallinn’s fast-paced urban course.
“A podium possibility is something I have been chasing for the past five years since my first one,” Kern said. “I never stopped believing I had it in me, but there were times it felt far away—especially early this season when my sprinting just wasn’t clicking. Given my injury-ridden fall, it wasn’t surprising, but I knew my fitness was there with strong distance races. So, I worked really hard with the coaches and strength coach before World Champs to get my sprinting gears back.”
This podium finish has been years in the making for Kern, who has faced injuries and early-season struggles. Despite those setbacks, she never lost faith. She credited her team’s wax technicians for their expertise and support, which were crucial given the race’s limited course access and neutral waxing rules.
“The staff did an amazing job with ski testing and strategy,” Kern said. “They cheered so loudly around the course that I had no choice but to push into another gear. I’m so grateful for their belief in me, especially this season when I had to be patient and trust my form would come around.”
Beyond sprinting, Kern has had a standout season, achieving a career-best sixth place in the 20k skate in Falun, Sweden, and finishing fifth in the individual sprint at World Championships. She also teamed up with Jessie Diggins to win silver in the team sprint, marking her second career World Championships medal after earning bronze in 2023.
Other top American performances included Ogden in seventh, while Gus Schumacher, Jack Young, and Sammy Smith also advanced to the sprint rounds, finishing 16th, 19th, and 27th, respectively. The women’s podium featured Switzerland’s Nadine Faehnrich in first and Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist in second. On the men’s side, Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo returned to the top spot, followed by teammate Harald Oestberg Amundsen in second and France’s Jules Chappaz in third.
Now, the U.S. team is quickly shifting gears for the final World Cup weekend in Lahti, Finland. Jessie Diggins enters the event as the FIS Cross Country Overall Crystal Globe winner for the third time in her career—an incredible feat, as she remains the only non-European to ever win the prestigious title.
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