Athlete of the Week Murphy Kimball: From World Cup history to Alaska state champion in span of just 2 weeks

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - West Anchorage senior Murphy Kimball wasn’t able to ski with his teammates for much of this season.

He was busy making history.

While his teammates were busy winning the Region IV Cross Country Relay Championships on Feb. 10, Kimball was skiing internationally.

“Shout out Murphy Kimball, he just raced the World Cup!” Eagles senior Cole Flowers said.

That day, Kimball toed the starting line of a World Cup freestyle sprint race in Canmore, Alberta.

The Alaskan made history the moment he crossed the finish line, as he is believed to be the youngest American male to compete in a World Cup race at just 17 years, 6 months and 25 days, according to his coaches.

“Seeing people you see on TV for the first time [in person], like, ‘Oh, they’re real,” Kimball said of competing in the World Cup.

Competing against the best sprint skiers in the world, including Olympic medalists, Kimball placed 41st overall in his debut, just a few ticks off from making the Top 30 and advancing to the finals.

“It is kind of crazy, like, beating them, racing them, being so close to the best in the world in the World Cup, it is kind of unreal thinking about it and looking at the results,” Kimball said.

That 30th and final spot went to Anchorage’s Gus Schumacher, the World Cup champion, whose ski trails Kimball hopes to follow one day.

“Gus is probably my biggest inspiration,” Kimball said. “Every day he is doing something crazy and I want to be as good as him — better even.”

Meanwhile back in Alaska just a few weeks later, Kimball had unfinished business.

”I am ready for state, I know we can win, and I hope it happens,” he said ahead of the race.

Kimball’s prediction was right on the money.

After rejoining his West teammates, Kimball skied the fastest leg in the four-person relay Saturday to lead the Eagles to the top of the podium as state champions.

“When Blake tagged me I just started to hammer, I knew it was only 3K so I just made the skis work,” he said. “I thought I heard them behind me so I got scared in the middle so I started hammering the rest [of the way], but it was funny because they weren’t,” Kimball said.

Kimball is better known for his sprints, which is what he competed in at the World Cup.

”He has grown up so much the last two years catching his strength to his body weight,” Arctic Winter Stars coach Jan Buron said. “I think in the next two years he could be one of the most dangerous guys on the sprints. He has all the skills, he knows how to classic, he knows how to skate, he can carry a good, high speed.”

However, over the weekend, he became a distance state champion. In his final individual ski race at West Anchorage, Kimball edged Vebjorn Flagstad by 0.1 seconds in a photo finish in the 7.5-kilometer classic race.

“Him making World Cup was so cool and he is such a good sprinter,” Flagstad said of Kimball. “I am really happy he got me in the final, being a senior, getting the state victory, pretty happy about that.”

Proving there is no ceiling to Murphy Kimball.

“I want to make the A-Team of the U.S. Ski team, I want to win some big races, get on the World Cup for an extended period of time,” Kimball said of his long-term goals. “But there is lots of steps to get there, and everyone’s path looks different, so we’ll see what happens with my path.”

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