After a tumultuous year, Rosie Brennan is competing on her own terms with Olympic goals

Rosie Brennan has spent more than a decade on the cross-country World Cup, but the past year was among her most difficult. The Anchorage-based APU skier and two-time Olympian began experiencing unexplained symptoms in late 2024—soreness, inflammation, and poor recovery—that sapped her performances and left her future uncertain.

After underperforming in early World Cup starts, Brennan returned to Anchorage and publicly shared her struggles in January 2025. Doctors now suspect post-viral complications, but it took months of appointments to assemble a medical team that could help. She briefly returned to Europe aiming for the Trondheim 2025 World Championships and the Holmenkollen World Cup, but ended her season in March.

With APU head coach Erik Flora, Brennan took April–May off and then rebuilt from the ground up. Traditional heavy lifting and standard high-intensity intervals triggered inflammation, so they switched to a tailored plan: no weights, race-pace “micro-intervals” capped at under a minute, and careful monitoring of training logs to identify and avoid triggers. Camps on Eagle Glacier near Girdwood helped implement the new approach.

Progress was uneven—after promising early-summer blocks, Brennan regressed in August—but a strong September reignited her Olympic push. She traveled back to Europe in November and opened the new season in Ruka, Finland, placing 24th in a 10 km classic interval start and 15th in the sprint.

Brennan, who turns 37 on December 2, says the mental toll has been heavier than the physical, but she remains motivated to finish her career on her own terms. The Olympic qualification window runs into mid-January; her plan is to race selectively, prioritize recovery, and, if possible, insert a focused training block before the Games. Flora praises her consistency and perseverance, noting that her willingness to adapt keeps her competitive and inspired by the goal of a third Olympic appearance.