Idaho’s Samantha Smith is returning from Europe with a silver medal after racing in the Junior Nordic World Championships in Slovenia.
Smith finished just 1.07 seconds behind the winner, Gina Del Rio of Andorra in the in the U20 women’s skate sprint.
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“I’m super excited about today’s race,” said Smith. “I was not thrilled with my qualifier. I knew I made some mistakes that cost me some time, but I was really happy with how the heats went. It was a competitive field and congrats to all the other racers on an awesome day! Hopefully, I’ll be able to carry some of this momentum into 20k and 10k classic!”
Smith is a senior at Boise High who trains with the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation. She qualified and raced in the World Junior Championships last year but was unable to secure a medal, making this year’s placement an even sweeter victory.
Smith now races alongside the U.S. Junior World Championships team in the 20k on Wednesday, Feb. 7.