Rosie Brennan: Persistence pays off ahead of Beijing 2022

Rosie Brennan overcame illness and injury to regain her place on Team USA for Beijing 2022.

The cross-country skier was dropped after she finished 58th in the 7.5km+7.5km skiathlon at PyeongChang 2018, her first Winter Olympic Games. She felt exhausted throughout the event, something she described as "like an out-of-body experience."

Months later, she discovered the cause of her intense fatigue when she was diagnosed with mononucleosis.

To compound matters, she was was cut from the national team for a second time, the first being in 2015 following a series of injuries.

She considered retiring but chose to continue, driven by perseverance and a conviction there were still goals to achieve.

She told USA Today: "I've just always come back to this underlying feeling that I had more to give, that I hadn't met my potential and that I really was excited to take on that challenge.

"And I think anytime you face a hardship it's a learning experience."

Persistence paid off. She was selected to represent her nation at Beijing 2022 and finished 14th in the 7.5km+7.5km skiathlon in her first race.

That was followed by the sprint free where she was fourth, one place behind her USA teammate Jessie Diggins.

On Thursday (10 Feb) Brennan takes on the 10km classic and there may be a team outing with Diggins.

Brennan's resilience was recognised by her fellow Olympians when she was honoured with the Inga Award, renamed the Gold Rush Award.

The award was named after the Norwegian mother of Prince Haakon, son of the Norwegian king, who was smuggled to safety by two Birkebeiner warriors at the start of the 13th century.

The U.S. Nordic Olympic Women selected Brennan as the first recipient in 2019 after she worked her way back on to the national