Kikkan Randall is the top placed American woman cross-country skier of ALL TIME, placing ninth in the 1.2km freestyle sprint at this year's Olympic Ggames. She is also an APU student and trains with the APU Nordic Ski Team under the guidance of Head Coach Jim Galanes, a three-time Olympian.

Describe your feelings about participating in the 2006 Olympic Winter Games and your phenomenal finish in the 1.2km freestyle sprint?

Kikkan Randall: Competing in the Olympic Games is a tremendous opportunity. It is a much bigger event then anything I do every four years. I was very excited to be competing in my second Olympics were I would be chasing after my goal of being in the top 20. On the day of the sprint I skied the best race I've ever have. Everything came together and I surprised even myself in reaching the top 10. The race gave me immense confidence and will keep me motivated to work even harder to make it to the next level.

Did you have any family members with you in Torino?

KR: My Mom, Dad and younger sister Kalli, were over in Italy to cheer me on. Their support has helped me get to where I am today and it was very special to be able to share my accomplishment with them. My younger brother Tanner was rooting from home, as well as many extended family members.

Kikkan, now that you are back from the Olympics as well as the 2006 World Cup Races in Borlange, Sweden where you finished FIFTH in the sprint (the Best US women's World Cup result of the modern era), where do you go from here?!

KR: May 1st the new training year started. I've got a lot of work to do to make up a few more places so that I can be a medal contender in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. I will continue to train here in Anchorage as part of the APU Nordic Ski Center as well as being a member of the US National Team. I will be looking to increase my training load, improve my speed, and race regularly on the World Cup circuit. My goal is to win an Olympic medal.

What are your plans to finish you education here at APU? What is it like being a student and a world-class athlete, and how do you manage to balance the two?

KR: I am about two-thirds of the way through my undergraduate degree in Business Administration. I am working toward the completion of my degree, with a goal of graduating in the spring of 2008.

Being a student and a world-class athlete, all at once, is challenging. Training twice a day and then recovering from training does not leave much time for other pursuits. Thankfully, the staff at APU have been very supportive, and help make my schedule flexible enough to fit in around training. I have to work hard but I enjoy the opportunity to be a student-athlete.

How did you earn the nickname Kikkanimal?

KR: When I was in high school I was always pushing the envelope in practice. I always wanted to do one more interval and I was very competitive in the races. My teammates started calling me Kikkanimal, because they had never seen such a wild creature with so much energy and tenacity. The name stuck and I'm proud to be one of a kind!