The equipment exchange in the newest version of the pursuit races (currently called double pursuit or skiathlom)is very simple. The rules for the race only require that the skiers change skis at the halfway point in the race. In practical terms here at the World Championship, most of the top athletes ski the first part (classical part) using their classical skis, classical poles and a newly made combination boot. Nearly all boot manufacturers now make...
World Cup report First, let me tell you a little about myself to give you some perspective on this article. I've always been a big sports fan when it comes to traditional American sports- basketball, football and hockey especially. While I started x-c skiing over 15 years ago, much of it was in the Midwest where I did a lot of “shuffleskiing in state parks mainly to get outside and away. It's only been in...
From USSkiTeam.com VAL DI FIEMME, Italy (March 1) &emdash; Two-time Olympian Carl Swenson (Boulder, CO), the top skater on the U.S. Ski Team, put an exclamation point Saturday on the team's performance at the 2003 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships as he finished fifth in the 50-km freestyle race behind surprise gold medalist Martin Koukal of the Czech Republic with Swedes filling the next three places. NBC will broadcast coverage from the World Championships Sunday...
Today, on the last day of the 2003 Nordic World Ski Championship, we can appreciate yet more proof that US Nordic skiing is moving closer to the best in the sport. Yesterday, Johhny Spillane was able to outsprint the Nordic Combined favorites for the first ever Nordic World Championship Gold Medal, and today Carl Swenson was in the medal hunt the entire 50 km race. In the Nordic Combined 7.5 km “Sprint” race, Johnny skied...
Not many americans have been able to watch the World Chamionships, and those actually at the race might not get to see the entire race since they are out on the course. So I wrote up a summary of what I saw on TV. Of all the exciting relays of the past decade, the men's 4x10km relay today at the World Championships in Val di Fiemme Italy probably tops them all. The story of the...
Johnny Spillane finished a modest 24th in his first nordic combined sprint event at Val di Fiemme earlier this week, but he made history today. After sitting in fourth place following the ski jumping portion of the competition, Spillane skied himself into the lead. Four kilometers into the 7.5 kilometer race, the 22 year-old Spillane made contact with German skiers Ronny Ackermann and Georg Hettich and Austrian skier Felix Gottwald. He told reporters he was...
News items from the World Championships From VG.no: Thomas Alsgaard has been selected as one of four Norwegians who will ski the 50 km, but he is uncertain that he will race. After two tremendous performances during these championships, both of which netted him gold medals, Thomas admits that he is tired and his top form may be gone. Unless he feels that his body is capable of fighting for a medal in the event,...
VAL DI FIEMME, Italy (Feb. 26) — Sweden's Thobias Fredriksson and Marit Bjoergen of Norway captured the 1.5-km freestyle sprint titles Wednesday night at the 2003 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships as Norway picked up four more cross country medals. No American qualified for the finals (top 16) during the afternoon qualifying round, which was run in 50-degree heat at Lago di Tesero. Andrew Newell finished 31st, Torin Koos 32nd, Carl Swenson 38th, Lars Flora...
As some of you might know, the official website of the 2003 Nordic World Championships has a page that posts live results during the races. You open up a page with the start list on it, then you can select any checkpoint along the course, such as 1.6K, 6.4K , etc to see live results at that point once the racers come through. As a North American fan, this is as close as we can...
Yesterday’s competition at the Nordic World Championship, the 4 x 5-km Women’s Relay, did not include an American team. It would be appropriate to hope that with the improvements of the men’s team and results this year, the American women will also soon step up to the same level. In last month’s National Championship in Rumford, Maine, we saw that the quantity of skiers is as high as for any nation participating here in Val...
Norway built a lead on the two classic legs of today's World Championship Relay, but in the end it was Germany who came home victorious. Germany's Kuenzel skied a great third leg to build a lead after Hilde G. Pedersen fell for Norway, allowing both Germany and Finland to pass. Evi Sachenbacher controlled the race for Germany on her achor leg, while Skofterud (NOR) and Manninen (FIN) battled for silver. In the final kilometer, Manninen...
The US Men are now officially back in the World elite in Cross-Country skiing. In todays phenomenally exiting double pursuit race (perhaps called Skiathlom next year)both Carl Swenson and Kris Freeman was in the lead group the entire race to the end. The race started out with a field on 86 skiers in a mass-start format. The entire 3.3km classical course had 4 tracks, and Carl and Kris were able to ski up from their...
It’s official! Today, Feb. 23 2003, marks the first day that the United States is once again a major player in international cross-country skiing. It has taken many years for the US to rebound from the days when Bill Koach and the Putney crew dominated the world cup scene, but the bridge between Scandinavian countries and us has finally been crossed. Several events have led up to this success in American XC skiing, including last...
This event was held for the first time ever at a World Championship today at Val Di Fiemme. The organizer used two different 2.5 km competition courses, one groomed for the classical technique part and one for the free technique part. The 71 competitors skied through the stadium several times, and after 5 km stopped to switch skis and poles (from classical to skating). The mass-start format again looked great on TV and for the...
On another beautiful day in Val Di Fiemme, Kris Freeman made the day almost perfect for anyone supporting Cross-Country skiing in the US. The race started at bit later than normal, but as scheduled at 11:45 am. The Red Group nations coaches had asked the Jury (a small group of officials managing the technical aspects of the competition) the day before to move the seeded group (Red Group) up – and the individual start race...
Day 2 summary – Mens 30 km mass-start The perfect weather and snow conditions in Val Di Fiemme continous, and Wednesdays Mens 30 km mass-start event became one of the all-time best for the sport and TV audience here in Europe. The race was held on a 7.5 km loop, followed continously with TV cameras placed around the course. The large field started to spread out early, but the lead group was never less than...
VAL DI FIEMME, Italy (Feb. 19) — Three Norwegians, led by Olympic and former World Cup champion Thomas Alsgaard, ganged up Wednesday on Estonian Andrus Veerpalu in the last two kilometers of the mass-start 30-km classic race at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, re-took the lead and went on to sweep the medals. Justin Freeman (Andover, NH) was top American in 42nd place. With temperatures in the mid-teens — and warming throughout the race,...
The 2003 Nordic World Ski Championship started today in Val Di Fiemme, Italy, with the womens 15 km classical technique mass-start race. The story is again about blood values, even though I would like to first focus on the athletes and the event. Mass Start of the Women's 15K. Photo from www.valdifiemme2003.com The weather and skiing conditions are first class. Although the only snow at the venue is man-made, the skiing is perfect. The courses...
From usskiteam.com: VALDIDENTRO, Italy (Feb. 16) — The first Under-23 Championships for cross country skiers concluded Sunday and 30-km gold medalist Kris Freeman (Andover, NH) came close to another medal before being passed and finishing fourth in the duathlon, the so-called double pursuiot with the men skiing a mass-start 7.5-km classic race that led into a 7.5-km skate race. Russians won both men's and women's races. Sergei Novikov took the title in 38:16.1 with Italy's...
ASIAGO, Italy — Friday – Sprint Relay Carl Swenson (Boulder, CO) had the fastest time on each of the first two laps Friday in a World Cup two-man, 10-lap, freestyle relay but Germany-2 and Italy wound up duking it out for the win with Cristian Zorzi edging German Tobias Angerer by three-tenths of a second for the win. Swenson and Dave Chamberlain (Bethel, ME) finished 11th as each skier went five times around a 1.4-km...