Colorado University Athletics
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Persevering through Adversity, CU’s Knori is Completing Remarkable Journey
February 23, 2017 | Skiing
Battling an autoimmune disease and the loss of her father, Jesse Knori’s perseverance is leading to a rewarding career finish for the CU senior
BOULDER – For any college student, it might not seem like it during the process, but when graduation is rolling around there comes the realization of how fast the time went by.
Jesse Knori of the Colorado women's Nordic team is realizing that her time as a Buff competing with friends is nearing an end and the real world awaits. But there is much more about the journey of her career that makes her story and current standing unique.
When Knori was 12 she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that causes the body's immune system to mistakenly attack the joints. It affects everything from her spine and neck to her fingers, wrist, left elbow, knees and ankles.
"In a lot of ways I'm grateful for it," Knori said. "It brought me to skiing because I wasn't able to do the sports I was doing."
Growing up, Knori was big on swimming and volleyball and she was also a competitive figure skater for eight years. As she grew older she was no longer able to compete in those sports, given her condition. That led her to Nordic skiing.
Fighting through many painful days, and at the risk of causing damage to her body, Knori found that skiing had healing properties.
"A lot of it is understanding you can't do things people my age are doing anymore because they have both short-term and long-term consequences," Knori said. "Even now I'm kind of getting in trouble with possible long-term consequences just by pushing my joints a lot more, but I think mental health at some point takes precedence over that."
Knori no longer takes medication for her rheumatoid arthritis, which she says is good for her mentally because the effects from the medication where rough on her. Not taking her meds, however, makes the symptoms of the arthritis more drastic on her joints and body.
"Jesse is one of the toughest competitors you're likely to meet," head Nordic coach Bruce Cranmer said. "The physical toll that training and racing, combined with her rheumatoid arthritis takes, is hard to imagine. There are many races where we have to literally carry her from the finish line because she can't walk. She trains at the limit of what her body will allow and sometimes more. The strength and determination Jesse shows speaks volumes about her commitment to the team and CU."
Knori was unable to compete her freshman season when she fell ill – with her autoimmune disease, her body has a harder time battling illnesses.
Then the summer before her sophomore year, she was dealt an even tougher obstacle when her father died in a horse accident.
"I struggled a lot with understanding whether or not I could come back to school and I think being a part of a team here made it a lot easier to come back," Knori said. "My sophomore and junior years were really just huge motivators by his loss to appreciate the reason I fell in love with skiing and living and fulfilling every day."
Knori thinks of her father, Robert, quite often when she is racing, especially at venues the two frequented over the years.
"That was one of the coolest things about when we were at Soldier Hollow (Utah) back in January. That was the last time I had seen him at one of my races, was at that site," she said. "It kind of became this point every year when I went back there, all of my emotions would come back and I would have to reassess how to control things. This year it was hard, but also kind of bittersweet that I got to conclude my skiing career at a place that is so spectacular and then I ended up qualifying for World Championships at the same venue. So it was almost like I got one more chance to be a part of the same place that he had loved so much as well. He has definitely guided me through a lot of tough times out on the course."
Since racing at Soldier Hollow in early January, Knori's season has skyrocketed. She qualified for the U23 United States Ski Team and represented her country at the FIS Nordic U23 World Ski Championships held Jan. 31-Feb. 4 at the same Soldier Hollow Resort. There she had a 15th-place finish in the classic sprint race.
On the collegiate circuit, Knori has placed inside the top 10 in five of her seven races this year and she earned her first career win at the UAA Invitational on Feb. 11 by winning the 5K classic race.
Now, with the Buffs heading to the NCAA West Regionals this weekend in Beaver Creek and Minturn, Knori has a couple more goals in mind as her career – both as a skier and in school – nears its end.
"I think it would be an honor to represent CU at the NCAA Championships," Knori said. "We are definitely a pretty close group of girls right now and you can only take three (to the national championships), but it would be an honor to go to that in New Hampshire. I also think solidifying not necessarily what I want to do as a career, but find something that makes me happy and I can find my own niche as I graduate."
Knori, who is studying environmental design and architecture, has found that at CU she has been able to further her artistic and athletic mindsets.
"I think as a skier, you learn so much about your body and you learn what is good pain and what is bad pain," she said. "You can apply that to your life in general. College really helps you find passion in a lot of different places. I kind of went into the environmental design degree having no idea what I was getting myself into and then found out that I really enjoy landscape architecture."
Through all of the tough times, Knori always tried to remember to have fun with school and the sport. For all of those around her, it has been a joy to see where she is at today.
Jesse Knori of the Colorado women's Nordic team is realizing that her time as a Buff competing with friends is nearing an end and the real world awaits. But there is much more about the journey of her career that makes her story and current standing unique.
When Knori was 12 she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that causes the body's immune system to mistakenly attack the joints. It affects everything from her spine and neck to her fingers, wrist, left elbow, knees and ankles.
"In a lot of ways I'm grateful for it," Knori said. "It brought me to skiing because I wasn't able to do the sports I was doing."
Growing up, Knori was big on swimming and volleyball and she was also a competitive figure skater for eight years. As she grew older she was no longer able to compete in those sports, given her condition. That led her to Nordic skiing.
Fighting through many painful days, and at the risk of causing damage to her body, Knori found that skiing had healing properties.
"A lot of it is understanding you can't do things people my age are doing anymore because they have both short-term and long-term consequences," Knori said. "Even now I'm kind of getting in trouble with possible long-term consequences just by pushing my joints a lot more, but I think mental health at some point takes precedence over that."
Knori no longer takes medication for her rheumatoid arthritis, which she says is good for her mentally because the effects from the medication where rough on her. Not taking her meds, however, makes the symptoms of the arthritis more drastic on her joints and body.
"Jesse is one of the toughest competitors you're likely to meet," head Nordic coach Bruce Cranmer said. "The physical toll that training and racing, combined with her rheumatoid arthritis takes, is hard to imagine. There are many races where we have to literally carry her from the finish line because she can't walk. She trains at the limit of what her body will allow and sometimes more. The strength and determination Jesse shows speaks volumes about her commitment to the team and CU."
Knori was unable to compete her freshman season when she fell ill – with her autoimmune disease, her body has a harder time battling illnesses.
Then the summer before her sophomore year, she was dealt an even tougher obstacle when her father died in a horse accident.
"I struggled a lot with understanding whether or not I could come back to school and I think being a part of a team here made it a lot easier to come back," Knori said. "My sophomore and junior years were really just huge motivators by his loss to appreciate the reason I fell in love with skiing and living and fulfilling every day."
Knori thinks of her father, Robert, quite often when she is racing, especially at venues the two frequented over the years.
"That was one of the coolest things about when we were at Soldier Hollow (Utah) back in January. That was the last time I had seen him at one of my races, was at that site," she said. "It kind of became this point every year when I went back there, all of my emotions would come back and I would have to reassess how to control things. This year it was hard, but also kind of bittersweet that I got to conclude my skiing career at a place that is so spectacular and then I ended up qualifying for World Championships at the same venue. So it was almost like I got one more chance to be a part of the same place that he had loved so much as well. He has definitely guided me through a lot of tough times out on the course."
Since racing at Soldier Hollow in early January, Knori's season has skyrocketed. She qualified for the U23 United States Ski Team and represented her country at the FIS Nordic U23 World Ski Championships held Jan. 31-Feb. 4 at the same Soldier Hollow Resort. There she had a 15th-place finish in the classic sprint race.
On the collegiate circuit, Knori has placed inside the top 10 in five of her seven races this year and she earned her first career win at the UAA Invitational on Feb. 11 by winning the 5K classic race.
Now, with the Buffs heading to the NCAA West Regionals this weekend in Beaver Creek and Minturn, Knori has a couple more goals in mind as her career – both as a skier and in school – nears its end.
"I think it would be an honor to represent CU at the NCAA Championships," Knori said. "We are definitely a pretty close group of girls right now and you can only take three (to the national championships), but it would be an honor to go to that in New Hampshire. I also think solidifying not necessarily what I want to do as a career, but find something that makes me happy and I can find my own niche as I graduate."
Knori, who is studying environmental design and architecture, has found that at CU she has been able to further her artistic and athletic mindsets.
"I think as a skier, you learn so much about your body and you learn what is good pain and what is bad pain," she said. "You can apply that to your life in general. College really helps you find passion in a lot of different places. I kind of went into the environmental design degree having no idea what I was getting myself into and then found out that I really enjoy landscape architecture."
Through all of the tough times, Knori always tried to remember to have fun with school and the sport. For all of those around her, it has been a joy to see where she is at today.
Players Mentioned
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