Maiken Caspersen Falla and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg emerged with Norway's first gold and silver in the same event of the Olympics on Tuesday, topping the podium in the women's freestyle sprint. Slovenia's Vesna Fabjan captured third, and Sophie Caldwell emerged in sixth for the U.S.
The notion of an athlete preferring distance races of a particular length is pretty familiar, but what about sprinting? The differences between a 0.8km and a 1.8km sprint course may not seem like much compared to the differences between a 15km and 30km race. But (while I’m not a physiology expert) it seems likely to [...] Related posts:
she proclaimed that she returned with her eye on the Crystal Globe, Majdic was a tad disappointing during distance racing in her final year, picking up a single medal, a bronze in the 5 k classic during the Kuusamo mini-tour. We know, it’s crazy that someone who won the Sprint Cup, finished 13th in the distance rankings, and sixth in the overall could be called ‘disappointing’, but that’s the standard her rabid fans, and she...
A commenter noted that it was interesting that Petra Majdic showed up as being “statistically significantly” better at longer distance races (as opposed to sprint races), although just barely. It turns out this is a good example of the statistical concept of leverage. Check out the following graph that compares skiers at each end of [...] Related posts:
High caliber Athlete Role Models in FIS disciplines at Innsbruck 2012 FIS is pleased to announce the FIS Athlete Role Models (ARMs) for the first edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games at Innsbruck from 13th-22nd January 2012. The involvement of the ARMs to mentor the young athletes attending the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) at the first summer edition in Singapore 2010 was one of the most appreciated features of this new Olympic event. Some...
Jean Marc Gaillard (FRA) edged out teammate Maurice Manificat at the line to win the second edition of the Tour de Barents, a four-stage mini-tour in the Barents region of northern Europe. On a unique “final climb” Gaillard teamed up with Manificat to catch overall leader Matti Heikkinen (FIN), who started the day with a 13 second lead in Rovaniemi, Finland on Sunday. Heikkinen started the freestyle race quickly, but was unable to hold off...
The North American elite racing season may be over, but there is still plenty of action to be found in Europe, including the second annual Tour de Barents, a four-stage mini-tour in the Barents region of northern Europe. While fields are not large – just 11 women and 35 men are contesting this year’s event – there is plenty of firepower. Petra Majdic (SLO) leads the women as she wraps up her farewell tour. Majdic...
Skarverennet in Norway, the unofficial international season finale, draws deep and competitive field of racers from both the biathlon and cross-country World Cup circuit. This year, it’s a pursuit: the men will chase the women for the overall title.
For the last time Petra Majdic (SLO) crossed the line, arms pumping madly, yelling with joy in what has become one of cross-country skiing’s most flamboyant and predictable celebrations. The tall Slovenian, who will retire at the end of the season, locked up her 20th career World Cup caliber victory skiing away from Norwegians Marit Bjoergen and Maiken Caspersen Falla right out of the gate. Kikkan Randall (USA), showing her fifth place qualification last weekend...
They arrived on foot, mostly—a three meter-wide river of fans snaking up from the nearest subway station, the cowbells around their necks clinking softly. By 12:30, with an hour still to go before the start of the freestyle sprint, the Norwegian faithful had already packed the stands at the Holmenkoll venue in Oslo—in anticipation of the first event of the 2011 World Ski Championships. Numbering 20,000, they were awaiting their country’s 100th World Championship gold,...
The crescendo of hype and excitement that has been building for the last few months in Norway will finally begin to crest on Thursday, as the 2011 World Ski Championships kick off in Oslo with a freestyle sprint. With the race comes North America’s best chance for a medal. Canadians Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey and the U.S.’s Andy Newell have all collected podiums in the discipline, and have legitimate medal hopes. But their female...
Cue the crowd and the rock music: Petra Majdic (SLO) has won another World Cup sprint race. After leading wire-to-wire in Sunday’s classic sprint final in Otepaa, Estonia, Majdic repeated a raucous celebration that is quickly becoming her trademark—taking her third win of the year with gusto over Sweden’s Hanna Brodin and Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla. Canada’s Dasha Gaiazova skied to eighth, her career-best finish in an individual World Cup, after coming from last in...
Kikkan Randall has now recorded three medals in five skate sprints. But if the enigmatic American sprint star is tired, she sure isn’t showing it, as she blasted to her first World Cup victory of the season Saturday, in a skate sprint in rainy Liberec, Czech Republic. Randall took advantage of fast skis, an advantageous situation, and a strong finishing kick to secure the win, crossing the line 0.5 seconds ahead of her closest competitor...
Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) became the first skier, male or female, to win back-to-back Tour de Ski titles when she staggered across the finish line at the top of the Alpe Cermis on Sunday morning. Starting with a lead of 2:08 over Marianna Longa (ITA), Kowalczyk was in no danger of being caught, but the big cushion did not make her complacent, especially with World Cup points and prize money available for the “Woman of the...
It’s all over but the climbing. Justyna Kowalczyk (POL), despite being pressed by Therese Johaug (NOR), all but ended the 2011 Tour de Ski, skiing to victory in the women’s 10km mass start classic, and winning every intermediate bonus sprint. Kowalczyk and Johaug shattered the field less than two kilometers in, opening a margin that would reach nearly a full minute by the end. The Pole should have no trouble defending her Tour title, now...
With her second sprint victory of the Tour, Petra Majdic (SLO) has again established herself as one of the top sprinters in the world. While it has taken some time for the tall Slovenian to round into top form, she is now clearly firing on all cylinders. In the 1.3km freestyle sprint in Toblach, Italy, Majdic won the qualification round, and led each of her heats from start to finish – the same strategy she...
During an amazing run spanning two seasons from 2008 to 2009, Petra Majdic (SLO) won 10 of 16 World Cup sprints, and finished on the podium two additional times. On an Obertsdorf sprint course, where she placed 15th at the 2005 World Championships 6 years ago, Majdic once again showed the form that has made her one of the greatest sprinters in World Cup history, leading the day from wire-to-wire. Majdic started by laying down...
Norwegian superstar Marit Bjoergen is sticking to her guns, and will not be racing the 2011 edition of the Tour de Ski. The winner of every single World Cup race this year, Bjoergen announced at the beginning of the season that she would follow the same plan that resulted in five medals at the 2010 Olympics. And that plan means no Tour de Ski. Since coming back from several down years thought to be caused...
With 100 meters to go in Sunday’s skate sprint in Davos, Kikkan Randall flew into the stadium in fourth place. A few strong strides brought her close to even with third, and second place even seemed to be within reach. Enter Justyna Kowalczyk—the wiry Pole with a reputation for provocative statements and questionable tactics. Just as Randall was about slide past, Kowalczyk made an aggressive move to her right, forcing the American to switch lanes...
After failing to win the Overall World Cup title last season, Norway’s Marit Bjoergen continues to make a statement on the World Cup in this season. On a cold Sunday with little glide and many tactics, Bjoergen picked up yet another win, crossing the line first in the 10 k skate pursuit in the ‘Ruka Triple’ in Kuusamo, Finland. While many other skiers moved up and down the rankings Sunday, Bjoergen was consistent, leading wire...