Zak Gear West Blog— What will it take to make the Olympics

Hey, everyone. My name is Zak Ketterson and I am a professional cross country skier from Bloomington, Minnesota. I am currently racing as a member of Team Birkie, a ski team based in the Twin Cities. I also represent the United States in World Cup races in the winter. Gear West is one of my main sponsors, and I wear their logo proudly on my hat or headband during every race in the winter. It is a partnership that I am really proud of, as it is the shop where I purchased my first pair of race skis way back in 2013. This is the first installation in a series of blogs I will be writing about various topics related to my life as a World Cup skier. In this first blog, I am going to write a bit about the upcoming 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, Italy: what will it take to get there, what am I doing to prepare, and how do I feel about everything.

Racing in the Olympics is most likely goal number one on the list for every American professional skier next season, but there are only 7 or 8 spots on the men’s team. That means that while some skiers will meet that goal, there are many more who will be left off the team. I experienced this firsthand in 2022 during my first year as a professional skier, where I came pretty close to making the team but eventually fell short. Heading into next season, I feel much better about my chances and state of preparedness to achieve it this time around. My favorite event in the winter is the Classic Sprint, and that is one of the headline events in the 2026 Olympics. That means that I have a chance to qualify to race in my strongest event.

The season will begin for me at the end of November in Ruka, Finland. The weekend after that is in Trondheim Norway, with a third weekend following in Davos, Switzerland. Each weekend has three races, on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Ruka and Trondheim both have classic sprint races on the Saturdays, and that will be my biggest focus in terms of qualification for the Olympic team. If I manage to perform really well in those races, I can set myself up really well to be considered for the team. There are many other races, too. Historically, I have been a well-rounded skier between sprint and distance racing, so there is an opportunity for me to make the team via distance races as well. If I manage to perform well in both, it will definitely give me the best chance to make the team.

In terms of what I am doing to prepare, I have spent a lot of time in training this year focusing on honing my classic sprint abilities. One thing I have really focused on this year compared to other years is my double poling. I have done a ton of 2-3+ hour rollerski sessions where I am only double poling (uphills and all). I’ve also done some intervals, even uphill, where I am only double poling. Another area of focus for me has been to build my aerobic capacity as much as I can. I have put less emphasis on strength training, and replaced some of those sessions with interval training or endurance sessions. I have always been a naturally bigger and stronger skier, so I view this as a way to address an area that can be improved.

One of the most important things I want to discuss here, however, is how I feel about everything. I would be lying if I said I was not really nervous about the upcoming season.

Becoming an Olympian has been a goal of mine since I was a child, so for it to be just around the corner is definitely something I have had to come to terms with. The prevailing emotion is for sure excitement, but there is a healthy dose of pressure as well. I have had to remind myself at different points this summer that next year is like any other year, even if I have this really big goal. I think if the pressure becomes too all-consuming, it can make training really stressful because you feel like you have to be perfect all the time. Perfection is impossible in anything in our lives, but especially in sports. We can try to control things as much as possible, but things will still happen that aren’t a part of the plan. For that reason, I think that focusing on trying to do your best is much healthier than fixating on perfection. Every day, I ask myself, “What are the things I can do to make today the best it can be,” and then take it from there. Ironically, I think by stressing about perfection, we probably come out worse in the end. Basically, it’s important to take a deep breath, and not forget to have fun.

I am extremely grateful for Gear West’s help in this journey, and for the Midwest ski community as a whole for cheering me on. It’s not just becoming an Olympian that is meaningful to me, but rather doing it as the kid who fell in love with skiing in Bloomington, Minnesota. All those laps at Hyland, Wirth, and Elm Creek are still a part of me even when I race in the darkness of northern Finland. Even in the silence of an interval start race in the woods, I feel the support and belief of all of the people back home who believe in me and care about me.

Thank you so much for reading, and be sure to follow Gear West to catch my next blog!

Also, you can follow my journey on Instagram and YouTube @zaketterson. Peace out!