Cross-Country Skiing: Kings and Champions. World Ski Championships First World Ski Championships
Natalia Nepryaeva and Alexander Bolshunov will take part in the Toppidretsvek 2019 competition in Norway
Russians Alexander Bolshunov and Natalya Nepryaeva will take part in the Toppidretsvek 2019 roller ski competition, which will be held from 22 to 24 August in the Norwegian cities of Find, Aure and Trondheim. In total, the Russian team announced 15 people for the competition, according to the FIS official website. Norwegian superstars, including three-time Olympic and world champion and reigning World Cup winner Johannes Klabo, will also start the races.
Petter Eliassen joins the team with Auckland and Nygård
Two-time winner of the Ski Classics ski marathon series, Norwegian Petter Eliassen, on the eve of the 10th anniversary season, joined the team of the Oakland brothers - Tim Ragde Eyendom. In the past IX season, Ragde Eyendom lost the championship to the Koteng team, despite the victory in the men's competition of one of its members - Andreas Nygård. At the same time, Eyvind Moen Fjeld and both girls, Sophie Elebro and Kari Vihagen Eitnes, left the team. The latter will be replaced by Norwegians Emily Fleten and Thea Krokan Murud.
Skiclassics on Eurosport-2 on Thursday 9 May at 9.30 am
Watch the TV review of the Skiclassics marathon series in the 2018/19 season on May 9 on Eurosport-2 at 9.30 am (Moscow time). You can watch the program on the Eurosport Player at any time after the specified premiere date.
Technique, technique
In the previously published article (), due to its large volume, all technical points were not considered in detail. Therefore, now I propose to analyze only the actions of the swing leg when setting on the snow. For example, let's take a simultaneous two-step skating move in the ascent performed by Alexander Loginov and Johannes Boe.
Site partner news
On May 5, MASS SPORT celebrated 10 years in the sports goods market. The famous biathlete Yekaterina Yurlova-Perkht congratulated the company on the anniversary and held an autograph session with loyal fans at the MASS SPORT outfit center in St. Petersburg. Catherine answered questions from fans, shared her impressions with young athletes and gave autographs. The meeting took place in a warm and intimate atmosphere.
Trondheim is the only candidate to host the 2025 World Ski, Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships
May 1 is the deadline for applications to host the 2024 and 2025 FIS World Ski Championships. The only candidate for the championship in the so-called northern disciplines: cross-country skiing, ski jumping and ski nordic event was the Norwegian Trondheim. The last time the world championship in this city was held more than 20 years ago - in 1997.
Ida Ingemarsdotter announced her retirement
After 15 years in the World Cup, Swedish cross-country skier Ida Ingemarsdotter announced her retirement from her professional career. Ingemarsdotter started nine times at the Olympic Games, became the Olympic champion in the relay race and the bronze medalist in the team sprint at the Games in Sochi-2014. At the World Championships, she won gold in the team sprint in Holmenkollen-2011 and five silver medals, including one personal - in the sprint in Val di Fiemme-2013
Julia Belorukova and Nikita Stupak got married
Today, May 3, Russian skiers Nikita Stupak and Yulia Belorukova got married in Yekaterinburg. Nikita Stupak is the champion of Russia in cross-country skiing, his wife Yulia Belorukova is a member of the Russian national team, two-time bronze medalist of the Olympic Games, silver and bronze medalist of the World Championships, winner of the World Cup stages.
Johannes Klebo: "I need someone who is stronger than me, this is the main reason for moving to a remote group"
Norwegian skier Johannes Klebo shared his expectations of working in a distance group. “Probably, I could slowly but surely develop in the sprint group. But I need someone who is stronger than me, this is the main reason why I changed the team. I am now looking forward to the summer and fall interval training. The workload will get higher and I will soon see the difference, ”said Klabo.
The Norwegian Ski Union has announced the final squad for the 2019/20 cross-country skiing team. As previously reported, the national team will have three groups: women, men sprinters and men all-rounders. There will be three newcomers in the women's team, Johannes Klabo will move from the sprint team to the distance team, and, probably, the main surprise was the non-inclusion of Christine Schistad in the women's team, who brilliantly showed herself in the last season in sprint races.
Johannes Klebo and Jarl Rieiber took the start of "Bysprinten"
It is the end of April, but neither the warm summer weather nor the fresh foliage prevents ski lovers from continuing to follow the competition. Yesterday in Mousjoen, Norway, another start called "Bysprinten" took place. This is an urban sprint that traditionally involves many very strong skiers. Johannes Klebo, Erik Brunsdahl, Andrew Young and Andrew Musgrave, Marie Eide, as well as world biathlon champions Jarl Magnus Rieiber, Jorgen Grobak and Espen Björnstad entered the race this year.
Congratulations to Konstantin Ivanovich Kholostov on his 70th birthday!
The irreplaceable and irreplaceable "owner of the slopes" of one of the best specialized ski centers in Russia - TRUTH, which is in the Istra district of the Moscow region, celebrates the most respectable date. Konstantin Ivanovich Kholostov worked for half a century at the famous TRUE sports school, founded by his elder brother, Honored Coach of the USSR Alexei Ivanovich in the village of Golovino near Moscow.
Today, April 25, 2019, a meeting of the Presidium of the Russian Cross-Country Skiing Federation was held in Moscow, at which athletes were approved - candidates for the Russian national cross-country ski team for the 2019/2020 sports season. In total, the main team will have four groups: three mixed, led by Markus Kramer, Yuri Borodavko and Yegor Sorin, and one purely male - led by Oleg Perevozchikov. The junior team will have a traditional division into men and women.
The grandfather of Ekaterina Yurlova, Evgeny Paskarenko, died
On April 23, the funeral of Yevgeny Yuryevich Paskarenko, master of sports of the USSR in cross-country skiing, was held in St. Petersburg. Evgeny Yurievich is Ekaterina Yurlova's grandfather and, in general, an iconic person for amateur sports in Leningrad. In addition to raising two children, wonderful modest people Mikhail and Yurina - masters of sports in cross-country skiing and the parents of another grandson and granddaughter - Paskarenko did a lot for the amateur ski movement in Russia.
Sergey Ustyugov: "Vyalbe will be the first person we invite to the wedding"
The past season was not the most successful for one of the leaders of the Russian national team - at the very beginning, Sergei Ustyugov broke his finger, and missed the ending due to examination due to problems with gastroenterology and periosteum. But the 27-year-old athlete did not lose his presence of mind and recently made a marriage proposal to his beloved Elena Soboleva, a skier of the Russian national team.
World-class professionals and amateurs will talk today about peak fitness, seasonal training and, of course, relaxation.
Today, on Tuesday, April 23, at 20.00 Moscow time, on the SportBox portal, world-class professionals and amateurs will talk about peak form, seasonal training and, of course, rest! Interesting? Do not miss the live broadcast and prepare questions!
Rumford (cross-country skiing)
Engelberg (ski jumping)
Switzerland Switzerland
Medal statistics
| A place | Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Sum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Norway Norway | 126 | 98 | 100 | 324 |
| 2. | Finland Finland | 62 | 69 | 64 | 195 |
| 3. | Russia, Russia(including OK and USSR) | 60 | 55 | 52 | 167 |
| 4. | Sweden Sweden | 44 | 43 | 43 | 130 |
| 5. | Germany Germany(including the GDR) | 37 | 51 | 35 | 123 |
| 6. | Austria austria | 22 | 21 | 25 | 68 |
| 8. | Italy Italy | 10 | 20 | 23 | 53 |
| 8. | Czech Republic Czech Republic(including Czechoslovakia) | 10 | 18 | 17 | 45 |
| 9. | Japan japan | 20 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| 10. | Poland Poland | 8 | 6 | 10 | 24 |
| 11. | USA USA | 7 | 3 | 4 | 14 |
| 12. | France France | 6 | 4 | 10 | 20 |
| 13. | Switzerland Switzerland | 4 | 5 | 7 | 16 |
| 14. | Estonia World Ski Championships | ||||
Excerpt from the World Ski Championships
“Unterkunft,” repeated Pierre.- Onterkoff, - said the captain and looked at Pierre with laughing eyes for several seconds. - Les Allemands sont de fieres betes. N "est ce pas, monsieur Pierre? [What fools these Germans are. Isn't that so, Monsieur Pierre?] - he concluded.
- Eh bien, encore une bouteille de ce Bordeau Moscovite, n "est ce pas? Morel, va nous chauffer encore une pelilo bouteille. Morel! [Well, another bottle of this Moscow Bordeaux, isn't it? Morel will warm us up another bottle. Morel !] - the captain shouted cheerfully.
Morel brought candles and a bottle of wine. The captain looked at Pierre in the light, and he was apparently struck by the upset face of his interlocutor. Rambal, with sincere chagrin and sympathy in his face, went up to Pierre and bent over him.
- Eh bien, nous sommes tristes, [What is it, are we sad?] - he said, touching Pierre's hand. - Vous aurai je fait de la peine? Non, vrai, avez vous quelque chose contre moi, he asked. - Peut etre rapport a la situation? [Maybe I upset you? No, really, don't you have anything against me? Perhaps regarding the position?]
Pierre did not answer, but looked affectionately into the Frenchman's eyes. This expression of sympathy pleased him.
- Parole d "honneur, sans parler de ce que je vous dois, j" ai de l "amitie pour vous. Puis je faire quelque chose pour vous? Disposez de moi. C" est a la vie et a la mort. C "est la main sur le c? Ur que je vous le dis, [Honestly, not to mention what I owe you, I feel friendship for you. Can't I do something for you? Have me. This is for life and death. I tell you this, putting my hand on my heart,] - he said, hitting his chest.
“Merci,” said Pierre. The captain looked intently at Pierre in the same way he looked when he learned the name of the shelter in German, and his face suddenly brightened.
- Ah! dans ce cas je bois a notre amitie! [And, in that case, I drink to your friendship!] - he shouted cheerfully, pouring two glasses of wine. Pierre took the poured glass and drank it. Rambal drank his own, shook Pierre's hand once more, and leaned his elbows on the table in a pensive melancholy pose.
“Oui, mon cher ami, voila les caprices de la fortune,” he began. - Qui m "aurait dit que je serai soldat et capitaine de dragons au service de Bonaparte, comme nous l" appellions jadis. Et cependant me voila a Moscou avec lui. Il faut vous dire, mon cher, "he continued in the sad, measured voice of a man who is about to tell a long story," que notre nom est l "un des plus anciens de la France. [Yes, my friend, here is the wheel of fortune. Who said I wish I would be a soldier and captain of dragoons in the service of Bonaparte, as we used to call him. But here I am in Moscow with him. I must tell you, my dear ... that our name is one of the most ancient in France.]
And with a light and naive frankness of a Frenchman, the captain told Pierre the story of his ancestors, his childhood, adolescence and maturity, all his related, property, family relations. “Ma pauvre mere ['My poor mother.'] Played, of course, an important role in this story.
- Mais tout ca ce n "est que la mise en scene de la vie, le fond c" est l "amour? L" amour! N "est ce pas, monsieur; Pierre?" He said, brightening up. "Encore un verre. [But all this is just an introduction to life, its essence is love. Love! Isn't that so, Monsieur Pierre? Another glass." ]
Pierre drank again and poured himself a third.
- Oh! les femmes, les femmes! [O! women, women!] - and the captain, looking at Pierre with oily eyes, began to talk about love and about his love affairs. There were a lot of them, which was easy to believe, looking at the smug, handsome face of the officer and the enthusiastic animation with which he spoke about women. Despite the fact that all the love stories of Rambal had that character of filth, in which the French see the exceptional charm and poetry of love, the captain told his stories with such sincere conviction that he alone experienced and knew all the charms of love, and described women so temptingly that Pierre listened to him with curiosity.
It was obvious that l "amour, which the Frenchman loved so much, was neither that lower and simple kind of love that Pierre once felt for his wife, nor that romantic love inflated by himself that he felt for Natasha (both kinds of this love Rambal equally despised - one was l "amour des charretiers, the other l" amour des nigauds) [the love of the cabbies, the other is the more evil love.]; l "amour, which the Frenchman worshiped, consisted mainly of an unnatural relationship to a woman and a combination of ugliness, which gave the main charm to the feeling.
So the captain told the touching story of his love for one charming thirty-five-year-old marquise and at the same time for a lovely innocent, seventeen-year-old child, the daughter of a charming marquise. The struggle of generosity between mother and daughter, which ended with the mother, sacrificing herself, offered her daughter as wife to her lover, even now, although a long-gone memory, worried the captain. Then he told one episode in which the husband played the role of the lover, and he (the lover) the role of the husband, and several comic episodes from souvenirs d "Allemagne, where asile means Unterkunft, where les maris mangent de la choux croute and where les jeunes filles sont trop blondes. [memories of Germany, where husbands eat cabbage soup and where young girls are too blond.]
Finally, the last episode in Poland, still fresh in the memory of the captain, which he recounted with quick gestures and a flushed face, was that he saved the life of one Pole (in general, in the captain's stories, the episode of saving a life was constantly encountered) and this Pole entrusted him with his charming wife (Parisienne de c? ur [a Parisian at heart]), while he himself entered the French service. The captain was happy, the charming polka wanted to run with him; but, moved by generosity, the captain returned his wife to his husband, while saying to him: "Je vous ai sauve la vie et je sauve votre honneur!" [I saved your life and I save your honor!] After repeating these words, the captain rubbed his eyes and shook himself, as if driving away the weakness that had gripped him at this touching memory.
Listening to the captain's stories, as is often the case in the late evening hours and under the influence of wine, Pierre followed everything that the captain said, understood everything and at the same time followed a number of personal memories, suddenly for some reason presented to his imagination. When he listened to these stories of love, his own love for Natasha suddenly suddenly recalled to him, and, going over in his imagination the pictures of this love, he mentally compared them with the stories of Rambal. Following the story of the struggle between duty and love, Pierre saw before him all the slightest details of his last meeting with the object of his love at the Sukharev Tower. Then this meeting had no effect on him; he never even thought of her. But now it seemed to him that this meeting had something very significant and poetic.
“Pyotr Kirilich, come here, I found out,” he heard these words now, saw her eyes, a smile, a traveling cap, a stray strand of hair in front of him ... and something touching, touching seemed to him in all this.
Having finished his story about the charming polka, the captain turned to Pierre with a question whether he felt a similar feeling of self-sacrifice for love and envy of his lawful husband.
Aroused by this question, Pierre raised his head and felt the need to express the thoughts that occupied him; he began to explain how he understood love for a woman somewhat differently. He said that all his life he loved and loves only one woman and that this woman can never belong to him.
A year earlier, in the Swiss Chamonix, the 1st Winter Olympic Games took place. Then both ski distances, at 18 and 50 kilometers, were won by the Norwegian Torleif Heug, who, in fact, became the first "king of skis". Soon, these competitions were recognized as the first world championship in ski sports.
Later, two more representatives of the North European countries managed to win both races in the framework of the same championship: the Finn Matti Raivio in 1926 in Lahti and the Swede Johan Lindgren in 1927 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. At the same time, it should be noted that in those years the Norwegians, Finns and Swedes simply had no competitors on the track.
The Scandinavian era in cross-country skiing lasted until the 50s of the 20th century. It was then that representatives of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics joined the struggle for awards.
At the first world championship for Soviet athletes in 1954, the USSR national team won four gold medals out of eight possible. The first champion in the thirty, which replaced the 18 km race, was the Soviet skier Vladimir Kuzin. He also became the strongest at a distance of 50 kilometers. The admired Swedish King Gustav VI presented him with a cup with the inscription "To the King of Skis from the King of Sweden." Since then, a rider who won these distances in one World Championship or the Olympic Games is unofficially considered the "king of skis".
At the same competition, another change in the rules appeared - women entered the track along with men. At the next world championship, held in February 1962 in the Polish town of Zakopane, skier from the USSR Alevtina Kolchina climbed to the highest step of the podium three times, having won 7 gold medals in her career.
But the Scandinavians did not think to give up - Jermund Eggen became the hero of the 1966 world championship in Oslo, Norway. Everyone expected the Norwegian to repeat the record at the Olympics in Grenoble, but in France the Scandinavian was unsuccessful.
The Swedish ski track again became happy for Soviet athletes: at the 1974 World Championship in Swedish Falun, the skier from the Republic of Udmurtia Galina Kulakova managed to win three gold medals, and the USSR national team won the relay in the sixth world championship in a row!
In 1982, the world skiing championship returned to Norway. In Oslo, on the home track, Berit Eunli was able to repeat the result of Kulakova.
Since 1985, the World Ski Championships, including ski jumping and Nordic combined, have been held every two years by the FIS decision. Another innovation of the mid-80s was the rule that allows racing to be skated.
One of the first who was able to quickly master the new method of skiing was the Swede Gundé Svan: at the World Championships in Seefeld, Austria in 1985, he conquered both royal distances. Three more gold medals went to the Swede, who won four Olympic gold medals and seven world championship gold medals in his career in 1989 in Lahti, Finland.
The great skier ended his career in 1991, but even then a new hero appeared on the pistes. Norwegian Bjorn Daly became Olympic champion eight times and world champion nine times. Twice from Falun-1993 and Trondheim-1997, the legendary athlete brought three gold medals each.
An impressive result in the Italian Val di Fiemme in the winter of 1991 was shown by the Russian woman Elena Vyalbe In the two highest standard medals won in Lahti, she added three gold medals and one silver, losing only to her compatriot Lyubov Egorova by 30 km skating.
One of those who competed with Daly in the 90s was the former Soviet skier, competing for Kazakhstan, Vladimir Smirnov. The 1994 Olympic champion in the marathon at the World Championships in Thunder Bay, Canada, climbed three times to the highest step of the podium.
The second heroine of the 1995 World Championship was Russian Larisa Lazutina. The future five-time Olympic champion and Hero of the Russian Federation brought four gold medals from faraway Canada.
This seemingly eternal record was beaten by her compatriot Elena Vyalbe. In Trondheim, Norway, in February 1997, she managed to win five out of five medals of the highest standard. This record cannot be repeated - it can only be surpassed.
Two years later, in the Austrian Ramsau, Finn Mika Mullyula's finest hour came.
Olympic champion Nagano becomes the "king of ski", winning all the individual races except the pursuit. At the next World Championships, held in Lahti, Finland, Myllyula found himself at the center of a doping scandal: six of Finland's top athletes were caught doping.
That world championship was the first in the career of the Norwegian Marit Bjorgen. Within two years, the talented skier will win the sprint in Val di Fiemme. The 2005 World Championship in Obersdorf, Germany, brought her three gold medals, one of which was especially valuable: the Norwegian national team had not won a relay in such competitions since 1982.
Marit, like the entire Norwegian women's team, failed the Olympics in Turin. The hope to win back was in Sapporo, but the Finnish Virpi Kuitunen, who returned to the big sport after the 2001 doping scandal, shone on the Japanese track. She brought the national team of her country 3 gold and bronze medals, which allowed the Finnish national team to take second place in the overall team classification.
The 2009 World Cup has returned to Europe: in the Czech Liberec there was no equal to the Finnish woman Anna Kaisa Saarinen. To Sapporo's gold in the relay, the athlete who made her World Cup debut in 1998 added three gold medals.
The new "ski king" is the Norwegian Petter Nortug. In addition to gold at the thirty and fifty kopecks, the Norwegian national team, with his participation, became the strongest in the relay.
The 24-year-old was seen as the main gold miner for the Norwegian ski team at the Vancouver Olympics. The ski community was betting on whether Northour could become the "king of skis" in the Olympic tournament. In skiathlon, Norgut did not get into the top ten, but at the distance of the 50-kilometer race he had no equal. The athlete won another gold medal in the team sprint. His initiative was supported by Marit Bjorgen, who won three gold medals in Canada.
At the 2011 World Championships, held in the homeland of Northug and Bjoergen, the Norwegian once again made the whole skiing world applaud himself - his piggy bank was replenished with three golds. Thanks to his phenomenal finish, the athlete, who became a national hero, easily dealt with his rivals at distances of 30 and 50 kilometers and in the relay, thus, for the first time in history, becoming a two-time holder of the title "King of Ski". Marit Bjorgen went even further, winning four gold medals out of six.
If the title of "queen of ski" were awarded to women, then Marit Bjorgen would have received such a title in 2013. At the World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy, in addition to skiathlon and marathon, she managed to win a sprint. As well as in Oslo, the Norwegian national team finished first in the relay. Petter Nortug this time limited himself to two gold medals.
The Olympics in Sochi for the current king and queen of cross-country skiing developed in different ways: Marit repeated the result of the games in Vancouver, and Northug was not lucky - he twice stopped one step away from the podium.
The 2015 World Championship brought the Norwegian team 9 out of 12 gold medals. Three times the national anthem sounded in honor of Teresa Johaug.
In Falun, everyone saw the old Northug. He climbed to the highest step of the podium four times, bringing the number of his world titles to 13.
The Norwegian athlete became the fourth athlete in the history of cross-country skiing to win more than 10 gold medals at the world championships. According to this indicator, the athlete shares first place with Elena Vyalbe and Marit Bjorgen, 11 medals of the highest standard in the collection of Larisa Lazutina. Neither the "best skier of the 20th century" Bjorn Daly, the six-time Olympic champion Lyubov Egorova, or the five-time Olympic champion Thomas Alsgård, or the four-time Olympic gold medalists Raisa Smetanina, Galina Kulakova, Thomas Egorova, and Sv.
The title of "King of Ski" was awarded to five athletes and only one athlete managed to win this honorary title in the framework of the Olympics: in 1980 he was the representative of the Soviet Union Nikolai Zimyatov. All other skiers scored their victories at the world championships. Zimyatov, like Gundé Svan, have long finished their careers, Vladimir Kuzin and Mika Mullyula are no longer alive.
At the world championship starting in February next year in Finnish Lahti, only one holder of this unofficial title - Petter Nortug, will go on the piste. Time will tell whether he will be able to become the three-time "king of skis" and surpass Elena Vyalbe's record for the number of gold medals, but one thing is clear - with his victories, the skier from Mosvik made a significant contribution to the collection of the Norwegian national team. At fifty world championships, the national team of this country won more than 120 gold medals, beating the closest competitor almost twice.
Cross-country skiing is one of the most spectacular winter sports events. There is almost always unpredictability and uncertainty right up to the finish line. But the audience cannot demonstrate the required volume. But live broadcasts on TV are watched by a large number of sports fans. At the time of the World Ski Championships, a specific city is selected across the planet, where great athletes can compete for the title of the best. The 2019 championship was no exception, where there were several competitors at once. But still, the world organization chose only one, which became Seefeld in Austria, but more on that later and in more detail.
Carrying out history
In 2013, from February 20 to March 3, the Italian city of Val di Fiemme hosted ski athletes seeking to win the title of world champion. This city has organized the competition for the third time. At that time, for the first time in the program, there were mixed confrontations between the ski jumping teams. As a result, Norway stopped at the top of the podium in the medal standings with an incredible lead from the second line represented by France and Russia, which, with two gold medals and three bronze medals, took third place in the overall standings.
From February 18 to March 1, 2015, the 50th World Ski Championships was held in Falun, Sweden. It is worth noting that this city is almost one of the record holders in terms of the number of World Championships, since a sports event was organized in it for the fifth time at that time. True, the last time it was in 1993. There was also no equal to the Norwegian squad, where Nortug and Bjergen played an important role. Following them in the medal standings were Germany and Sweden, respectively.
In 2017, the honor of hosting the world skiing championship was given to the city of Lahti in Finland. The opening took place on February 22nd, and the last day was on March 5th. Many people like this city in terms of organization and track, since the World Cup is being held in it for the seventh time. But the number of fans was very small, about 180 thousand. The first place in the overall standings in medals was again held by Norway. But now the German squad came very close to them. The third line was assigned to Russia, which won 2 gold medals and 4 silver medals.
City selection
The Congress of the International Ski Federation, which took place in Barcelona, Spain from June 1 to June 6, 2014, decided to determine as the winner of the right to host the World Championship in 2019 from 19 February to 3 March Austrian Seefeld. This decision was approved by the FIS Council. This is the second time they have been granted this right. For the first time such an event happened back in 1985.
The main competitors were the German Oberstdorf, Kazakhstani Almaty and Slovenian Planica. In the first round of voting, Oberstdorf made his way to the first place with a margin of 2 points from the next place, Austria (8 to 6). Planica is on the third line. Consequently, the city of Kazakhstan was immediately eliminated from the drawing without receiving a single vote at all.
The second round in terms of the number of points scored has not changed. A German city was listed among the leaders. With only three votes, Slovenian Planica departed. The third round was decisive and the opinion of the Congress participants changed somewhat. Oberstdorf again received 8 votes. But all the rest have moved behind Austria. Consequently, the lead is 1 point and Seefeld is the unexpected winner.
The main reason that played a decisive role in the choice of the Austrian city is the long period of not accepting the World Cup under the auspices of the FIS.
Criticism along the tracks
Immediately after the Austrian city was selected as the venue for the 2019 World Ski Championships, he received a lot of criticism. The main focus was on the quality of the tracks, which leaves much to be desired. This is the opinion of the Norwegian skier Martin Jonsrud Sundby. He finished third in the 15 km freestyle mass start at the 2018 World Cup in that city.
“As far as I know, we will use these tracks at the 2019 World Cup. Now it's 2018, and this is a modern approach - they want a massive finish, and that the tension is maintained throughout the entire distance.
Personally, I would prefer a good climb followed by a descent, and then I would see who will be the fastest. For myself, this season I found a start where I can walk at a pace all the time - this is a marathon in Holmenkollen. And the rest of the races will be the same as the mass start in Seefeld, ”said Sundby.
Competition regulations
Events at the 2019 World Ski Championships are no different from those previously held. All disciplines remain identical, including:
- Sprint among men and women. In addition, a sprint will be held between all participating teams, which will receive the right to compete for the title of the best on the planet.
- Women's and men's skiathlon.
- Mass start for the participants of the 2019 World Championship. For women, the distance is set at 30 km, for men a little more - 50 km.
- Individual race. The distance for men is 15 km, and for women it is slightly less - 10 km.
- Relay race of national teams. A total of 4 participants from each team are allowed. Women will need to ski 5 kilometers each, while men have twice that distance - 10 km.
As for the last discipline, here the national teams of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia are most often among the leaders.
Women's pedestal contenders
When it comes to the favorites of the 2019 World Cup in skiing, here you should first consider men and women, but strictly separately.
Now many can breathe a sigh of pleasure, since Marit Bjorgen ended her career. Instead, you can find a large number of contenders for the leader in cross-country skiing, which we will meet at the 2019 World Championships. Among them, Heidi Veng, Kirsa Parmasconi, Stina Nilsson and some others have excellent chances.
If you take a separate discipline, like skiathlon, here the undisputed leader is Charlotte Calla. Last season, she did not find any competitors. It is unlikely that there will be enough time for the athletes to prepare thoroughly in order to surpass her. With a normal outcome, only she is able to pick up several medals in the piggy bank.
The women's relay cannot single out the Norwegian national team as a contender for gold medals, which from year to year takes more and more first places. Experts are inclined to believe that the USA or Sweden have more chances of leadership in this discipline.
Male favorites
It is very difficult to name a specific person in men's cross-country skiing, since there are several athletes at once. Much attention is paid to Martin Jonsrud Sundby. It is he who most often finds himself on the pedestal. But he fails many starts, unexpectedly for the fans. Many amateurs are fraught with doubts about whether he will be able to get together for the 2019 World Ski Championships.
Ustyugov, Kolonya, Iversen, Niskanen can be named as his main competitors. In the year of the World Cup, Alex Harvey will end his career, who will try to surprise the fans. Klabo stands out in a separate category, who was able to move from a talented junior to a full-fledged professional athlete. He can prove himself in the sprint and relay of the national team.
The 2019 World Ski Championships will be one of the most spectacular competitions in winter sports. This tournament is uncompromising and unpredictable, and the best athletes on the planet demonstrate their fighting spirit on the way to winning prestigious trophies. Today, the competition presented cannot boast of a huge audience, such as matches or races. Nevertheless, the broadcasts of the event, which will be shown in Russia by the Eurosport2 TV channel, will gather tens of thousands of ski fans on the screens.
Where will it take place?
The 2019 World Ski Championships will take place in Seefeld, Austria from 20 February to 3 March. The city will host this competition for the second time in history (the first was held in 1985). Initially, the following applications claimed to host the world championship:
- Oberstdorf (Germany);
- Planica (Slovenia);
- Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan).
In the final vote, FIS (International Ski Federation) officials gave preference to Seefeld. Oberstdorf, who had previously been in the lead for three rounds, lost only 1 vote. A relatively long period of time played in favor of the Austrian application, during which the country did not host large-scale competitions under the auspices of the FIS.
What races will include?
The World Ski Championship will divide the stages of the 2018-2019 Cross-Country Skiing World Cup into two parts. The Cup schedule will be approved only in May, but it is already known that there are no races on the territory of Russia (the doping scandal caused by the "McLaren report" affects). The 2019 World Cup Final will take place in Quebec, Canada, where the sport is hugely popular.
As for the regulations of the World Ski Championships, they remained unchanged. Viewers are still waiting for such disciplines as:
- sprint (female and male);
- skiathlon (female and male);
- mass start, women, 30 km;
- mass start, men, 50 km;
- team sprint (female and male);
- individual race for women 10 km;
- individual race for men 15 km.
The team relay races for women 4 x 5 km and 4 x 10 km for men deserve special attention. The best representatives from the FIS countries compete in this sport. The most acute struggle is unfolding between representatives of Norway, Finland, Sweden, USA, Canada and Russia.
Favorites of the women's tournament
After leaving the big sport, Marit Bjorgen, the title of queen of cross-country skiing remained vacant. Several athletes at once are able to show good results at the upcoming World Cup. Among them:
- Christa Parmakoski;
- Heidi Veng;
- Stina Nilsson;
- Maiken Kaspersen Falla et al.
We should also talk about Charlotte Calla. It is the Swede who at the moment looks most preferable to her rivals, especially in her favorite discipline, skiathlon. In skating during the previous season, Charlotte had no competitors, and they are unlikely to appear within a year. All this suggests that the Swede will take at least one gold medal at the World Championships.
There is a lot of talk about the return of skiing prima Theresa Johaug. The Norwegian looked good at the World Cup stages, but health problems and a decline in physical fitness forced her to temporarily suspend her career. As a result, the Norwegian missed the Olympics in Pyeongchang, but got a chance to fully prepare for the upcoming season. If Teresa manages to gain the optimal condition for the World Cup, then she will surely win several medals.
In the women's relay races, Norway no longer looks like an unconditional favorite. The presence of at least two weak stages does not guarantee the team even getting into the top three, although the Norwegians have good chances for bronze. In terms of sports potential, the ski racers of Sweden and the United States look good. According to experts, it is they who will fight among themselves for the first place in the protocol.
Favorites of the men's tournament
In men's cross-country skiing, several athletes are nominated for medals at the 2019 World Championships. First of all, this should include Martin Jonsrud Sundby, who has dominated the World Cup for several seasons. Starts of the planetary championship, however, like the Olympics, he regularly fails. Whether Sundby will be able to concentrate on the upcoming tournament remains a mystery to all fans of this sport.
Among other contenders for the medals of the competition, we note:
- Alexa Harvey (retires in 2019)
- Dario Cologne;
- Sergey Ustyugov;
- Emil Iversen;
- Ivo Niskanen;
- Markus Hellner;
- Maurice Monific;
- Alexey Poltoranin, etc.
Russia's main hope in cross-country skiing (besides Sergei Ustyugov) is Alexander Bolshunov. The favorite discipline of an athlete is sprint, so only in it you can count on a pedestal. However, the competition in the sprint increases every year, so Bolshunov will have to demonstrate all his skill and will to win to win the World Championship medal.
Separately, it is necessary to highlight the figure of Johannes Klabo. A few years ago, the Norwegian was perceived as a talented junior who could compete with eminent leaders. Now many people call Klabo the king, who has staked out the title of athlete number 1 in cross-country skiing for many years. The Norwegian can prove his uniqueness directly at the 2019 World Championships. He has good chances for medals both in the sprint and in the team relay, where Norway also plays a dominant role.
Thus, the World Ski Championships will start on February 20, 2019 in Seefeld, Austria. The tournament program includes several spectacular disciplines in which the best athletes will compete for medals. Fans will experience the heat of emotions, the struggle of nerves, overtaking and falling. Don't miss out on the performances of some of the world's best skiers as they strive to write their names in the history of world sports.
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