Olympics Recap - XC Skiing
I'd like to say that I've waited so long since my last posts on the World Cup cross-country skiing/biathlon scene because I needed a few hours of skiing on some gorgeous spring snow to get me in the mood to write, but actually it's been a combination of laziness and taking too much time to actually watch the Olympic coverage of the XC and biathlon races. NBC's coverage wasn't half bad, actually.
With the games now well and over, it's clear that they confirmed and furthered the ongoing transformation of the cross-country skiing world. Race start lists are becoming ever more diverse: Chinese racers placed well, positioning themselves for the 2007 world championships in Japan, and an Ethiopian skier became his country's first Winter Games competitor. The podium too is increasingly occupied by athletes from beyond the traditional Nordic powers.
All this is to the good of the sport, but the cross-country races in Pragelato were notable largely for who didn't perform up to snuff. Norway practically bombed out of the Games, capturing no golds and only four lesser medals. One of them, though, was the "the best silver ever" won by Frode Estil in the opening men's race, the 2x15km pursuit. A favorite in the race, Estil started it by falling at the start, breaking a pole and a ski and losing nearly a minute to the leaders, but then he recovered to ski his way back to the lead pack and sprint for home behind only Eugeny Dementiev (RUS).
Little did Norway know that Estil's medal was the country's premature high point of the Games. Behind Estil, Pietro Piller Cottrer took the bronze, kicking off what became a stunning performance by Italy. The first climaxes came in the men's and women's relays, midway through the games. The unheralded Italian women captured third, behind Russia and Germany (and ahead of a collapsing Norwegian team that finished only fifth). The next day, the men's team, on the strength of a phenomenal third leg by Cottrer and a heroic anchor leg by the sprinter Christian Zorzi, won an unexpected gold, demolishing Germany and Sweden (and the Norwegian men, who wound up fifth). The second climax for the Italians came on the last day of the Games in the men's 50km skating marathon. A brutally hilly course failed to thin a giant lead pack until the last kilometer, when the race dissolved into a frantic mass sprint. Italy's Giorgio di Centa won the gold, with Russian Dementiev sneaking in for silver and Austrian Mikhail Botvinov finishing in third; the top 10 finished within six seconds of first.
Italy's two gold and four total medals put ahead of Norway and some other XC powers. German athletes performed less well than their pre-Olympic form seemed to have suggested, taking no golds at all and only four medals in total. The German relay teams each took second, Tobias Angerer took third in the men's 15km classic race, and Claudia Kuenzel took second in the women's individual sprint, a race which saw young Canadian Chandra Crawford win handily after blazing through her heats - certainly the biggest upset of the Games.
Crawford's win was one of two medals collected by the Canadians, who had hoped for even more but had to have been pleased to capitalize in Italy on their pre-Christmas form. Theteam of Sara Renner and Beckie Scott finished second behind Sweden (and ahead of Finland) in their team sprint, an exciting race format staged for the first time at the Olympics. And in taking a total of five medals, Sweden proved it had emerged from its hibernation, thanks to its new Norwegian coaches (Inge Braten and Thomas Alsgaard) and its strength in the sprinting events. Bjorn Lind confirmed his status as the best male sprinter in the world, taking gold in both the individual race and in the men's team sprint event, in which he was paired with Thobias Fredriksson (third in the individual sprint). (Norway's men eked out a silver in the team sprint.) The Swedish women's sprint team of Anna Dahlberg and Lina Andersson also won gold. And surprisingly, the Swedish men won the bronze in the relay, finishing just behind the Germans.
Czechoslovakia, another "minor" nation, fared well, too, with Katerina Neumannova earning a silver in the women's pursuit, Lukas Bauer taking a hard-won silver in the men's 15km classic race, and Neumannova triumphing in what was perhaps the best race of the games, the 30km skate. Neumannova and Julia Tchepalova of Russia, the favorites, methodically used the Pragelato hills to shred a big pack, but then let unknown Justyna Kowalcyzk of Poland mount a surprising and brave breakaway with 2,000 meters to the line. Using her characteristically fast turnover to chase, Neumannova surged around the Pole for her first-ever gold (and a quick hug from her daughter); Tchepalova wound up second and Kowalcyzk third - giving Poland a rare Winter Games medal.
Tchepalova's silver was her only individual medal of the Games, but fittingly capped an excellent, if not dominant, seven-medal performance by Russia. More than anything, Russia showed its great strength in depth and breadth. The women's team won the relay, demonstrating their overall power, and Alena Sidko (individual sprint), Ivan Alypov and Vassili Rotchev (team sprint), and Evgenia Medvedeva (pursuit) all took bronzes. Young Evgeni Dementiev emerged as a rising star with his gold in the men's pursuit and silver in the 50km. With medals across the full range of distances and techniques, Russia demonstrated its readiness to supplant Norway as the best cross-country nation.
If Russia's medal total was the biggest of any country's, Estonia's haul was the best on a per-capita basis. The tiny Baltic nation celebrated its first women's gold ever on the first day of the games, when Kristina Smigun outsprinted Neumannova for first place in the 2x10km pursuit. Russian Evgenia Medvedeva finished well back in third. A few days later, Estonia took both golds in the middle-distance classic races which have historically been all but the property of the Scandinavian powers. First, Smigun won the 10km classic race by more than 20 seconds over Norway's Marit Bjorgen and Hilde Pedersen. Then Andrus Veerpalu defended the 15km title he won at Salt Lake City in 2002 by more 10 seconds over Bauer and Angerer. Unbelievably, that meant that no Scandinavian man won a medal in that event, overturning XC skiing's traditional order.
Unlike the 2002 Games, which were blackened by numerous doping scandals that ultimately stripped several athletes of medals, the Torino Games were almost unmarred. A police raid on the Austrian XC/biathlon team turned up some unseemly material and ruined the men's relay team's chance at racing well, but ultimately did not translate into any positive tests.
On the positive side, the Games capitalized well on the new and spectator-friendly race formats, including mass starts in the pursuits and marathons (the men's 50km was heavily attended by the rabid Italian fans), the individual and team sprints, which take place on a short track that can be readily seen from the stadium, and of course the marquee event, the relays. If the formats have one flaw, it is that the skating technique is privileged over the older and more elegant classical technique. Both the pursuits and the relays are structured so that the classical legs come first, which ultimately turns both races into a contest for skaters. In both events, the FIS would do well to frequently alter the leg order. In the pursuit, for instance, weak skaters (see: many Norwegians) could make up time in the second, classic leg of the pursuit and vie for the win. In a relay with alternating skate-classic-skate-classic legs, a country with strong classical specialists like Estonia could, similarly, be in the running right up to the end, rather than essentially giving up when the skating legs start. Making such a change would maximize the chance that the best skiers, and not just the best skaters, would win the race.
The intensity of the Games left many skiers drained, but when the games ended, all of the overall World Cup titles were still - at least technically - up for grabs, with the women's overall an especially hot race.
With the games now well and over, it's clear that they confirmed and furthered the ongoing transformation of the cross-country skiing world. Race start lists are becoming ever more diverse: Chinese racers placed well, positioning themselves for the 2007 world championships in Japan, and an Ethiopian skier became his country's first Winter Games competitor. The podium too is increasingly occupied by athletes from beyond the traditional Nordic powers.
All this is to the good of the sport, but the cross-country races in Pragelato were notable largely for who didn't perform up to snuff. Norway practically bombed out of the Games, capturing no golds and only four lesser medals. One of them, though, was the "the best silver ever" won by Frode Estil in the opening men's race, the 2x15km pursuit. A favorite in the race, Estil started it by falling at the start, breaking a pole and a ski and losing nearly a minute to the leaders, but then he recovered to ski his way back to the lead pack and sprint for home behind only Eugeny Dementiev (RUS).
Little did Norway know that Estil's medal was the country's premature high point of the Games. Behind Estil, Pietro Piller Cottrer took the bronze, kicking off what became a stunning performance by Italy. The first climaxes came in the men's and women's relays, midway through the games. The unheralded Italian women captured third, behind Russia and Germany (and ahead of a collapsing Norwegian team that finished only fifth). The next day, the men's team, on the strength of a phenomenal third leg by Cottrer and a heroic anchor leg by the sprinter Christian Zorzi, won an unexpected gold, demolishing Germany and Sweden (and the Norwegian men, who wound up fifth). The second climax for the Italians came on the last day of the Games in the men's 50km skating marathon. A brutally hilly course failed to thin a giant lead pack until the last kilometer, when the race dissolved into a frantic mass sprint. Italy's Giorgio di Centa won the gold, with Russian Dementiev sneaking in for silver and Austrian Mikhail Botvinov finishing in third; the top 10 finished within six seconds of first.
Italy's two gold and four total medals put ahead of Norway and some other XC powers. German athletes performed less well than their pre-Olympic form seemed to have suggested, taking no golds at all and only four medals in total. The German relay teams each took second, Tobias Angerer took third in the men's 15km classic race, and Claudia Kuenzel took second in the women's individual sprint, a race which saw young Canadian Chandra Crawford win handily after blazing through her heats - certainly the biggest upset of the Games.
Crawford's win was one of two medals collected by the Canadians, who had hoped for even more but had to have been pleased to capitalize in Italy on their pre-Christmas form. Theteam of Sara Renner and Beckie Scott finished second behind Sweden (and ahead of Finland) in their team sprint, an exciting race format staged for the first time at the Olympics. And in taking a total of five medals, Sweden proved it had emerged from its hibernation, thanks to its new Norwegian coaches (Inge Braten and Thomas Alsgaard) and its strength in the sprinting events. Bjorn Lind confirmed his status as the best male sprinter in the world, taking gold in both the individual race and in the men's team sprint event, in which he was paired with Thobias Fredriksson (third in the individual sprint). (Norway's men eked out a silver in the team sprint.) The Swedish women's sprint team of Anna Dahlberg and Lina Andersson also won gold. And surprisingly, the Swedish men won the bronze in the relay, finishing just behind the Germans.
Czechoslovakia, another "minor" nation, fared well, too, with Katerina Neumannova earning a silver in the women's pursuit, Lukas Bauer taking a hard-won silver in the men's 15km classic race, and Neumannova triumphing in what was perhaps the best race of the games, the 30km skate. Neumannova and Julia Tchepalova of Russia, the favorites, methodically used the Pragelato hills to shred a big pack, but then let unknown Justyna Kowalcyzk of Poland mount a surprising and brave breakaway with 2,000 meters to the line. Using her characteristically fast turnover to chase, Neumannova surged around the Pole for her first-ever gold (and a quick hug from her daughter); Tchepalova wound up second and Kowalcyzk third - giving Poland a rare Winter Games medal.
Tchepalova's silver was her only individual medal of the Games, but fittingly capped an excellent, if not dominant, seven-medal performance by Russia. More than anything, Russia showed its great strength in depth and breadth. The women's team won the relay, demonstrating their overall power, and Alena Sidko (individual sprint), Ivan Alypov and Vassili Rotchev (team sprint), and Evgenia Medvedeva (pursuit) all took bronzes. Young Evgeni Dementiev emerged as a rising star with his gold in the men's pursuit and silver in the 50km. With medals across the full range of distances and techniques, Russia demonstrated its readiness to supplant Norway as the best cross-country nation.
If Russia's medal total was the biggest of any country's, Estonia's haul was the best on a per-capita basis. The tiny Baltic nation celebrated its first women's gold ever on the first day of the games, when Kristina Smigun outsprinted Neumannova for first place in the 2x10km pursuit. Russian Evgenia Medvedeva finished well back in third. A few days later, Estonia took both golds in the middle-distance classic races which have historically been all but the property of the Scandinavian powers. First, Smigun won the 10km classic race by more than 20 seconds over Norway's Marit Bjorgen and Hilde Pedersen. Then Andrus Veerpalu defended the 15km title he won at Salt Lake City in 2002 by more 10 seconds over Bauer and Angerer. Unbelievably, that meant that no Scandinavian man won a medal in that event, overturning XC skiing's traditional order.
Unlike the 2002 Games, which were blackened by numerous doping scandals that ultimately stripped several athletes of medals, the Torino Games were almost unmarred. A police raid on the Austrian XC/biathlon team turned up some unseemly material and ruined the men's relay team's chance at racing well, but ultimately did not translate into any positive tests.
On the positive side, the Games capitalized well on the new and spectator-friendly race formats, including mass starts in the pursuits and marathons (the men's 50km was heavily attended by the rabid Italian fans), the individual and team sprints, which take place on a short track that can be readily seen from the stadium, and of course the marquee event, the relays. If the formats have one flaw, it is that the skating technique is privileged over the older and more elegant classical technique. Both the pursuits and the relays are structured so that the classical legs come first, which ultimately turns both races into a contest for skaters. In both events, the FIS would do well to frequently alter the leg order. In the pursuit, for instance, weak skaters (see: many Norwegians) could make up time in the second, classic leg of the pursuit and vie for the win. In a relay with alternating skate-classic-skate-classic legs, a country with strong classical specialists like Estonia could, similarly, be in the running right up to the end, rather than essentially giving up when the skating legs start. Making such a change would maximize the chance that the best skiers, and not just the best skaters, would win the race.
The intensity of the Games left many skiers drained, but when the games ended, all of the overall World Cup titles were still - at least technically - up for grabs, with the women's overall an especially hot race.
posted by Christopher Tassava at Tuesday, March 14, 2006
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