Waterville, Maine - Colby junior Maddie Hooker recently learned the news she will be joining the FIS World Cup circuit at the end of this month representing her home country of Australia. Hooker becomes the third Mule to make international waves in recent years.  Erin Bianco '21 continued competing post graduation and has represented the United States in 16 World Cup races over the last few years, and Jack Young '25 competed in 17 World Cup races while still a student at Colby, including the World Championships last winter. Both Bianco (training with the Bridger Ski Foundation) and Young (named to the US Ski Team this past summer) will be in Ruka, Finland for the World Cup opener when Hooker makes her international debut. 

"We are so excited for Maddie to have this opportunity," said Tracey Cote, head coach of Nordic Skiing. "She has made skiing at the highest level her goal since becoming involved in the sport, even moving from her home in Melbourne, Australia to the U.S and attending a ski academy. She's arguably the hardest worker I've ever coached with a laser focus on getting better.  She's been pushing our team all fall in training and it's incredible to see her hard work paying off as she got the early season results necessary to land her a spot to represent her country in Finland." 

The Ruka series begins on November 29th with the men's and women's 10km Classic, followed by a Classic Sprint on the 30th, and finishing December 1st with a 20km Freestyle.  Hooker plans to compete in all three.  Fans can follow along with the Federation of International Skiing (F.I.S) website.