All of the YHS Nordic team is quite familiar with the name Sophia Laukli, whether we are analyzing her form during her World Cup win, racing on her skis, or hearing stories from “back in the day”. Sophia graduated from Yarmouth in 2018, months after winning the Class B State Nordic Pursuit by nearly two minutes and leading the Yarmouth girls to a team victory. After skiing at Middlebury for two years, Sophia transferred to the University of Utah to ski more competitively. In 2022, she qualified for the Beijing Winter Olympics where she had her first Olympic start as a 21-year-old and finished 15th in the 30k freestyle. Perhaps more impressively, this January she became the the youngest American to win an individual cross-country World Cup race and the first to win the “Final Climb” of the Tour de Ski race in Val di Fiemme, Italy. The “Final Climb” is a 10k skate race (think ice skating) up a literal mountain, with uphill gradients reaching as much as 28% at one point. (For comparison, the average gradient of Mt. Katahdin is 19%)
Sophia graciously agreed to answer some interview questions reflecting on her time at YHS and her goals for the future. Although Sophia found it hard to choose one “standout” memory from her time skiing at Yarmouth, she noted that “something that will never be matched is racing at State Champs with the team every year.” She explained that “[she] has yet to have as much fun on a racing circuit and championship than at States.” Admittedly, she agrees, “that is quite the claim to make, but something that I totally took for granted during high school was how team-oriented racing was. It was always about trying to get the best results out of everyone to get the overall team result, and that made racing so much more fun. That team hype and dynamic is something I have not found so prominent on the professional racing circuit, so it’s definitely something I miss.” It could do us all good to soak in the unique team atmosphere of high school sports as the winter season wraps up. You heard from an Olympian everyone, there is nothing else in life quite like this!
As far as her goals for the future, Sophia says she’s “mostly just set on continuing to race the World Cup circuit and improving results there, but also for sure have eyes set on the next Olympics in 2026. It’s pretty surreal to think about because back in high school and just a couple years ago, I never would have thought I would actually be competing professionally in skiing and make it to this level. That has made goal setting a lot more fun because I just keep surprising myself, and basically just take it year by year without planning too much out or setting crazy high expectations. It is more about taking it as comes and a bit of a “wing it” mentality. I feel pretty lucky that I can have this approach of minimal pressure and just see where things go. With that being said, having these big jumps in results makes me pretty excited to see what I can actually do both on World Cup and at the next Olympics.” The Nordic team has proudly been tracking Sophia’s progress the past couple of years, and we know she will continue to do great things in the future!
Sophia’s legacy has continued to live on at the core of the Yarmouth Nordic team. Although the team has had its fair share of athletes go on to do great things (including six World Cup skiers by assistant coach Bob Morse’s estimation), Sophia has left an imprint that won’t be leaving any time soon. This season she donated a dozen pairs of extremely fast skis, and many on the girl's team have had the opportunity to race on them, weaving her successes into ours in a small way.
“Sometimes I look down at the tips of my skis, see her name, and push a little harder,” a teammate told me after a particularly grueling classic race.
Next week, Sophia will be competing in the 2024 Minneapolis World Cup on February 18th, the first World Cup held on U.S. soil in 23 years. Our assistant coach Morse will be there, and the rest of our team will be sending her good vibes. We hope you will join us!
Sophia Laukli competing as a Clipper in 2018 & after her first World Cup victory this January