The days of the world championships of interval training may be numbered. That’s the moniker that some Europeans use for the team sprint, which appears on the schedule for every Olympics and World Championships—but rarely on the World Cup. According to U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) Nordic Director John Farra, the International Ski Federation (FIS) has convened a working group that will investigate the potential for doing away with the team sprint and replacing...
So much for Justyna Kowalczyk’s home-field advantage. For the first time in her career, the International Ski Federation (FIS) has scheduled World Cup races in Kowalczyk’s native Poland, in February of 2012. But if officials at FIS have their way, Kowalczyk, a notoriously poor descender, will have to successfully navigate five kilometers of technical downhill before she can step onto the podium there. According to FIS Cross-Country Race Director Jürg Capol, a federation committee discussed...
Nikolai Pankratov’s reported detainment at the Swiss border made waves in the cross-country skiing community when the news broke last week. But since then, there’s been barely a ripple of information to emerge from the International Ski Federation (FIS)—which, according to the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, is in charge of handling the case. What is known about Pankratov is this: according to multiple reports, the Russian cross-country skier was stopped at the Swiss border with intravenous...
Nikolai Pankratov’s fate will be decided by the International Ski Federation (FIS), FasterSkier learned Thursday. FIS officials have refused to acknowledge the existence of a case against the Russian cross-country skier, who reportedly was caught at the Swiss border last week with intravenous equipment and 22 vials of Actovegin, a suspicious—but not banned—drug. But in an e-mail to FasterSkier on Thursday, Russia Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) Deputy Director Igor Zagorskiy confirmed that Pankratov’s alleged violations fell...
Actovegin, the drug that Russian cross-country skier Nikolai Pankratov was allegedly caught with last week, is old news, according to experts in the field of anti-doping. But it was unlikely that Actovegin was the only substance Pankratov was using, says one admitted cheater. Few details emerged over the weekend about the case of Pankratov, who according to Russian news agency RIA Novosti was stopped at the Swiss border with intravenous equipment and 22 vials of...
This year’s annual International Ski Federation (FIS) Congress included the selection for the 2015 Nordic World Championships. Held in Turkey, the finalists included Sweden, Finland, Poland and Germany. Sweden was smart. They brought along some of their top athletes to be part of the presentation to bring Worlds to Falun. Nothing like hearing it straight from an athlete’s mouth. It definitely worked, because Sweden beat their key rivals to become the hosts for 2015. Key in that presentation was Olympic...
What do a GPS, a retired airline pilot, and a Norwegian guru named Hermod Bjorkestol have in common? All are key components of a plan to bring many of the U.S.’s biggest venues in line with International Ski Federation (FIS) standards. At its annual meetings in Turkey in early June, FIS made it clear to American officials that a longstanding exception would be revoked: starting in the winter of 2011-2012, all races held in the...
Cross Country Canada’s decision not to host the continent’s first-ever Tour de Ski-style stage race in February, 2012, came despite the recommendation of an independent feasibility study commissioned by the government of Alberta, documents obtained by FasterSkier show. The study, a preliminary version of which was delivered to Cross Country Canada (CCC), the International Ski Federation (FIS), and other stakeholders in early May, urged the organizations to “immediately proceed” with the planning necessary to host...
With no World Championships or Olympics scheduled for the winter of 2011-2012, some ski fans may be planning on going into hibernation for the year. But they better not buy their sleeping pills just yet. During its meetings in Turkey last week, the International Ski Federation (FIS) approved a proposal for a new kind of World Championships: one modeled on the Tour de Ski—the bicycle-style stage race that has taken hold and garnered big TV...
After seven Russian athletes were suspended in the past year for doping violations, the International Ski Federation (FIS) has voted to sanction the country’s national ski association, despite arguments that the program has already cleaned up its act. “The onus is on them to demonstrate their commitment to anti-doping,” FIS Secretary General Sarah Lewis wrote in an e-mail. At its council meetings in Turkey on Thursday, FIS levied a $154,000 fine against the Russian Ski...
After more than a half dozen doping cases among Russian skiers in the last two years, the International Ski Federation (FIS) will consider sanctions against the country at its upcoming meetings in Turkey next week. Under FIS rules, Russia’s athletes and coaches could be banned from participating in races, events scheduled in the country could be cancelled, or its officials could be stripped of voting rights at future meetings. In an e-mail to FasterSkier, FIS...