Ski elite

PALMER — When Kate Fitzgerald moved to Alaska from Texas, she entered a new world, a world she’d soon explore on a pair of cross country skis.

Fitzgerald was in the eighth grade when her family moved. From Texas, the 2006 Palmer High School graduate had little connection with snow and winter sports, nor an idea that each would become central to her life. Now, thanks to the motivation of a former high school coach and her rapid acceleration, the late-blossoming Fitzgerald has become a star in her sport.

Late last month, Fitzgerald stunned the Nordic skiing world by winning the 10-kilometer freestyle at the SuperTour in West Yellowstone, Mont.

“I knew I was having a real good race, but definitely didn’t think it was quite that good,” Fitzgerald said recently of her win in a race that includes some of the top athletes in Nordic skiing, such as Olympian and Anchorage resident Holly Brooks.

Fitzgerald, who admittedly took an unusual path to the top of her sport, now trains with Nordic skiing’s elite athletes, such as Brooks, as a part of the Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center.

Fitzgerald calls herself “a late bloomer” in the sport. She didn’t start competing until she attended Palmer High and the motivation of one of her former coaches, Darin Markwardt, inspired her to aggressively pursue improvement in the sport. Fitzgerald first entered the Anchorage-based APU junior program as a high school athlete.

“My junior year I started commuting a couple of days a week,” Fitzgerald said. “I’d drive down there and train.”

Fitzgerald said she’d reached a point where she was ready for more.

“I was really getting into skiing, but there was only so much you could do on the high school team,” Fitzgerald said. “Coach Darin had a lot of experience, but it was just him coaching. I just wanted to get more from somebody else.”

Once Fitzgerald entered the program, she steadily began to improve.

Even though she didn’t get the early start of some of her peers, she continually benefited from the program, which includes many of the nation’s best.

Surrounded by that talent and expertise, Fitzgerald has been able to reach elite status herself.

“It’s pretty big to have somebody who understands the technique,” Fitzgerald said. “You really make huge strides that way, knowing the technique, and the whole time learning how to train to be a good skier.”

Fitzgerald said the design of the APU program also allows skiers at different ages and levels to enter and fit in.

“I just started skiing in high school so I always felt like I was catching up a little bit,” Fitzgerald said. “But it allows to you develop as a skier.”

Since her win in late November, Fitzgerald has enjoyed continued success. She has three top-5 finishes and placed seventh in another race. She has not placed outside of the top 17 this season.

With her recent success, Fitzgerald has skied her way into a world of potential. She’s already thinking about what may be ahead of her in the future.

“Definitely the Olympics have been on my mind for sure,” she said. “Who knows? I’m taking it a step at a time.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.