Sweden won both the women's and men's relays at the Olympics for the first time since 1972 and the men defended their 2010 title with a miraculous first leg from Lars Nelson and dominant performances from Daniel Richardsson, Johan Olsson, and Marcus Hellner, respectively.
The latest research used Norwegian and French World Cup skiers to look at how VO2Max and heart rate variability fluctuate over the course of one or several seasons. Plus, a new kind of "neurodoping" is now possible, using electrical currents or magnetic fields to make your brain better at everything.
Erik Bjornsen is putting in a block of training with friends in France in an attempt to increase his comfort with Europe, push his boundaries and get a little summer travel in. The USST and NNF athlete checks in on what has made is trip remarkable so far: 1. FRiendly people! Everyone here has been so nice. I have found that English isn’t as well known as other places in central Europe but that doesn’t...
Nordic sports are pretty egalitarian, as far as athletics go - but women are still confronted, constantly, with stereotypes about what is and is not appropriate or possible for them to do. In southern France, two researchers are focusing on what effects these stereotypes have on women's participation and performance in a wide range of sports, and explained their findings in an interview.
In late May, weeks after Nina Silitch finished her last race of the season, loads of her ski-mountaineering equipment still occupied more than half the space in her bedroom. Her husband, Michael, couldn’t understand why, after six months on the World Cup and international circuit, she wasn’t ready put it away. At 39, Silitch was coming off a career-best season in most respects – she became the first American to earn World Cup gold in...
As Vincent Vittoz’s career drew to a close in the late 2000’s, French skiing needed a breath of life – and it found it in a group of young racers led by Maurice Manificat. A several-time junior national champion and a member of the bronze-medal relay at 2005 World Junior Championships, Manificat stepped up to earn another bronze medal in the U23 30 k in 2008 and his first World Cup podium a year later....
A few other athletes that I was less familiar with are also retiring, according to FIS, beginning with France’s Emilie Vina. Naturally, I head over to Wikipedia and discover that apparently she’s a non-commissioned officer? Huh. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she were a biathlete, I suppose, but that’s not a combination you see [...] Related posts:
MONT SAINTE-ANNE, Québec — It all started with a little buzz about Québec hosting a World Cup. After the province’s native Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw struck gold in the team sprint at the 2011 World Championships in Olso, Norway, Cross Country Canada and the International Ski Federation got to talking. The World Cup should feature a few races in Canada, and why not consider bringing it to the eastern part of the country? Once...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – Right from the start of the 4 x 6 k relay here at World Championships, the German women made it clear that they were going to give their fans a show – and, most likely, the gold medal that they so vocally craved. Tina Bachmann, a lithe, six-foot-tall 25-year-old, put the field on notice when she turned in the fastest first-leg time, making up for the single spare round she used to...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – Going into today’s men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay, the field was wide open. France, with double gold medalist Martin Fourcade and silver medalist brother Simon Fourcade, was a prerace favorite. But last year’s top two teams, Norway and Russia, hadn’t dominated in the individual races, and neither had host country Germany. Meanwhile, Sweden’s Carl Johan Bergman had won two medals, and three Swedes had finished in the top ten. Slovenia and...
Vittoz Vittoz said au revoir to life as an athlete. The great French hope had his worst season since 2002, finishing (for him) a measly 23rd in the overall World Cup rankings. Vittoz had some good races – he finished fourth in the final climb in the Tour de Ski and third in the 20 k pursuit in Lahti – but he wasn’t his old medal-winning self. While the most famous Frenchman might have had...
I’m really sad that Vincent Vittoz retired, mainly because I really, really wanted him to win an Olympic medal. The French men are left with two guys who are pretty well established: These graphs show only their major international results (WC, WSC, etc.). Manificat’s stupendous win in 2010 is looking more and more like an [...] Related posts:
When Emmanuel Jonnier, a thirteen-year veteran of the French national team, announced his retirement earlier this month, it was picked up by every major news source in his home country. But even then, it was nothing compared to the coverage his teammate, Vincent Vittoz, got two weeks prior when he announced his own retirement – which had happened at about the same time that Roberto Gal, the team’s Italian head coach, also declared that he...