APU’s Rosie Brennan finishes World Cup season in 4th; teammate Hailey Swirbul announces retirement from World Cup racing

Rosie Brennan of the United States, left, competes during the Women 30 km Mass Start Classic competition at the Nordic World Championships in Planica, Slovenia, Saturday, March 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

APU Nordic Center skier and U.S. Olympian Rosie Brennan finished the 2022-23 World Cup season in fourth place in the overall standings as the season wrapped up last weekend at the World Cup Finals in Lahti, Finland.

Despite the strong result, Brennan, who finished with 1,546 total points, had hoped to break into the top 3.

“It’s of course bittersweet to be fourth place,” Brennan said in audio released by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard team. “I’ve been there before and was hoping to notch it up but was unable to. It’s incredible to be fourth but it’s that bittersweet position. Hopefully I can do some reflection and figure out what to do better and come back stronger.”

She was fourth overall in 2021 as well and finished 14th last season. Brennan’s final race of the season was a 23rd-place finish in the 20K mass start classic race in Lahti.

“It’s been really cool to find a lot of good consistency this year and hopefully I can just build off that and find some stronger single results as well and I think that’ll help,” she said.

In other World Cup news, another APU skier and U.S. Olympian, Hailey Swirbul announced her retirement from World Cup racing following the conclusion of the 2022-23 season.

Alaska skier Hailey Swirbul of the United States competes in the the women's 7.5km + 7.5km skiathlon cross-country skiing competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (Nathaniel Herz / ADN)

“With the end of my World Cup career on the horizon, it is so easy to see how much I appreciate this team,” Swirbul said in a story on the U.S. Ski and Snowboard team’s site. “It wouldn’t be possible for me to have been on the World Cup and chase some big dreams without the support of the U.S. Ski Team, and I will forever be grateful for that.”

Swirbul, 24, was a member of the 2022 U.S. Olympic team and earlier this year dominated at the U.S. national championships, winning four titles.

[APU’s Swirbul and Anchorage’s Jager add to their national cross-country ski championship totals]

Swirbul competed with the Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club, then left for college in 2016, skiing for the University of Alaska Anchorage team in 2016-17 and 2017-18.

“Hailey has been a force of nature since she burst on the scene as a U20 and started making history for the USA with two individual medals at the World Junior Championships,” U.S. Cross Country Program Director Chris Grover said.

She finished 51st in the overall Cup standings this year and had her best season in 2021, when she finished 23rd.