From JNQ's to the World Cup, Johnny Hagenbuch's last 4 years

Johnny Hagenbuch tells the story of how regional racing became something much, much bigger. Good luck at World Junior Championships and World Cup Finals!!

Johnny racing for home town club Sun Valley

“My name is Johnny Hagenbuch. I’m 18 years old, and I’ve been skiing in the Intermountain Division for six years. I live in Sun Valley, Idaho, and for years my winters have been filled with regional competitions at Junior National Qualifiers. Most recently, in the past three years, my participation has extended to national-level competitions and even some international events. My passion for competition really began at my first and most memorable Junior National Championships in 2016 in Cable, Wisconsin. Despite the fact that the skiing conditions were decidedly less-than-optimal, my week in the Midwest remains as one of my fondest skiing memories. Maybe it was just because of the novelty of it all or the fact that I was in the Eighth Grade, but Cable was an absolute blast. 

My experiences at my first JNs inspired me to begin training year-round, and things began to really take off from there. My first international trip was to Vuokatti, Finland in 2018 as a member of the six-man male team for the U18 Nations Cup, colloquially known as “Scando,” which is a championship event for skiers hailing from the Scandinavian countries. This past year, the 2019 season, I qualified to represent the United States at the World Junior Ski Championships that were held in Lahti, Finland. I had the great opportunity to return to the cold and dark climate of central Finland and compete in two distance races and the 4 x 5-kilometer relay. My experiences over the years at various JNQs and JNs had prepared me to ski my third leg in the relay, and our team was victorious for the first time in US skiing history, just beating out Russia for the gold medal. It was a really special moment - one that I probably won’t ever forget.

Winning relay team, WJC 2019

Towards the end of the 2019 season, I also had the great opportunity to watch the World Cup Finals on the Plaines d’Abraham in Quebec City, Quebec, and I also competed in the junior race following the conclusion of the World Cup. I finished off my season at Super Tour Finals in Presque Isle, Maine, and I was named to the 2020 US Ski Team as one of 11 total men on the team. It was a great honor, and it brings me great pride to represent the United States again at World Junior Championships in Oberwiesenthal, Germany during the first week of March this year. Hopefully, if things go as planned, I will be concluding my season this year by making my World Cup debut in the World Cup Finals in Canmore, Alberta in late March.”