February 2002 News Updates
February 25 - 28 Updates
February 19 - 24 Updates
February 14 - 18 Updates
February 13 Updates: 2002 Olympics - Day Five
February 12 Updates: 2002 Olympics - Day Four
February 11 Updates: 2002 Olympics - Day Three
February 10 Updates: 2002 Olympics - Day Two
February 9 Updates: 2002 Olympics - Day One
February 8 Update
February 7 Update
February 5 Update
February 4 Update
February 1 Update
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February 13 Update
2002 Winter Olympics: Complete 4th Day Five Report...Biathlon 10/7.5km Sprints
Bjoerndalen Makes It Two For Two In MenÕs 10km Biathlon
Norwegian Ole Einar Bjoerndalen claimed his second biathlon gold medal of the 2002 Winter Olympics beating another one of the oh-so-deep German team to do so. But, just to make things really scary, Bjoerndalen didnÕt depend on his skis as much as he did in MondayÕs 20km. In todayÕs race, the Norwegian ski and shoot demon decided heÕd go ahead and shoot clean (one prone and one standing in between three quick ski loops) AND ski one of the fastest times of the day...with a final time was 24:51.3. The combination proved too much for a determined Sven Fischer of Germany who seemed to benefit from his early start position (number 10, Big B started 81). Fischer finished 28.9 seconds behind Bjoerndalen on the final results with one penalty that tacked on a 150 penalty loop to his final ski round. In a major upset, AustriaÕs Wolfgang Perner came in third with a perfect day on the range and solid skiing. Perner was 53.1 seconds out.
BjoerndalenÕs victory was especially significant in that he was the defending Olympic Sprint Champion having claimed the title in Nagano four years ago. ŅBefore the start I was a little bit afraid because I had such a late start number. I was going OK on the skis but I knew it was most important for me to shoot well and I shot clean. Not many races like this in your life. It was a perfect race for me like the one I had in Nagano. I tried a lot and very well. I like to do this, it is my profession right now but for me it is a hobby. I have fun doing this and that helps me do well.Ó Asked about what he thought about taking part in the 30km XC race on Saturday Bjoerndalen said, ŅThe 30km was a strange competition for me and the format wasnÕt optimal for my abilities. IÕm not 100% sure that it will be that last XC race I will do this season but I learned a lot doing it.Ó
Bjoerndalen has appeared unstoppable in these Olympics thus far, are more gold medals in his future? ŅI donÕt know how well the next race will go but IÕll do what I can. A third gold is an awful lot to ask. I now have two golds so, for me at this point, it is not as important to win the gold now as to have the perfect race. If others beat me by doing better on a given day thatÕs OK as long as I do my best.Ó
Silver medalist Fischer: ŅIn general I had a great feeling going into this race, I like the early spot because I like racing early. I made a mistake with the standing but I had Ricco Gross (German teammate finishing in 4th) to pace off. In the finish I wasnÕt sure I had a medal but I had a good feeling about the race. I did make a mistake which IÕm not very happy about but I gave my best and thatÕs what IÕm happy about.
Asked about the difference between SLC 2002 and his first Olympics four years ago Fischer said, ÓIn Nagano I had to learn what it is really like to be an athlete in the Olympic Games. In Nagano my preparations were not very good and the conditions werenÕt very good...soft snow. But in biathlon you can find a comeback very quickly, after my 20km this year I knew I had made a mistake which I wasnÕt very happy about but I knew I had another chance today and thatÕs what I focused on. Today I had a good race. Biathletes know that you can make a mistake and come back...thatÕs what happened for me today.Ó
For bronze medalist Perner, the Schladming/Ramsau (Dachstein glacier area) native was all smiles...ŅIt was a big surprise for me to win the bronze, my shooting hasnÕt gone that well this year and the 20km on Monday wasnÕt good. But I had great skis and today it all came together. Me and my teammates all shot well and we all had great skis...that seemed to make the difference.Ó
For the U.S., Jeremy Teela again led the way with a solid 20th place effort. Jay Hakkinen came in 26th and Lawton Redman finished 54th.
ÓMy skiing was excellent today unlike the other race. Unfortunately my shooting was the same,Ó said Teela in the finish chute. The young Alaskan shot clean on the prone round but missed two shots on the standing round to effectively end any hopes of a really big result. ŅThis is my favorite race and I had hopes for improving on MondayÕs result but you just canÕt miss targets in this sport and hope to do well. I came into the range hard the second time skiing with FranceÕs (Raphael) Poiree who started behind me. I might have pushed it a little too hard and been a little bit too excited but when youÕve got something going like that it is hard to control yourself.Ó On an interesting note, TeelaÕs shadow of Poiree, one of the pre-race favorites, extended to the range as well as Poiree also missed two on standing to take him out of the medal picture. Poiree, who ended up ninth, is one of the most successful biathletes ever but he has yet to claim an individual Olympic medal.
Asked about what he thought about tying the best ever American biathlon finish on Monday Teela said, ŅYeah, it was nice but if IÕm not going to get a medal IÕd have rather at least beaten the best finish. Unfortunately my shooting was there either. ThatÕs the nature of the sport. YouÕve got to shoot and ski well to win in biathlon.Ó
Other comments...
Hakkinen: ŅI felt really tired at the end. Really tough out there. I knew to do well today that I had to go all out from the beginning but I didnÕt feel like I had everything going for me today on my skis. I left only one target but even that was too much given how I was skiing.Ó
Redman: ŅIt didnÕt go that badly. I left one and one with shooting which hurt. I skied a little bit conservative on my first lap which was a good plan but I missed one prone which I wish I hadnÕt done.Ó Asked about the pressure of the Olympic scene and the relatively huge crowds that are watching the biathlon events here in the U.S....ÓThe funny thing is that I felt more pressure at the Olympic Trials cause there you are out of the picture if it doesnÕt happen. The crowds here are amazing especially since biathlon is such a low profile sport in the U.S.. We ski in front of bigger crowds in Europe quite often but we never, ever see a fraction of this kind of crowd at any North American races we do. ItÕs really fun and hopefully this whole thing will be a shot in the arm for biathlon in the U.S..Ó
At the end of the menÕs press conference xcskiworld.com asked both Bjoerndalen and Fischer if they enjoyed coming to North America to compete and if they would like to see an annual World Cup event take place on this side of the Atlantic. Just like the European XC skiers that have been asked the same question, both athletes were unequivocal in their support for North American-hosted international competitions.
Bjoerndalen: ŅOver here you have some really good tracks and good organization. I donÕt have any problems coming over here to race every year. There is only one problem organizationally and that is which time in the season to have competitions here. It is very difficult to schedule with all the World Cups and other major events. I would hope we could come here in the early part of the season or late in the season when it might be easier to schedule and the snow in Europe might not be as good. I do think it is very important to expand the sport around the world and not just have all the races in Europe all the time.Ó
Fischer agreed...ÓI agree with Ole Einar. It is great to come here and it would be very good for the sport if we could do every year. The scheduling is the biggest problem. The World Cup final perhaps could be in the US but you need to have all the teams take part for it to be a good competition and have real meaning for the athletes and the teams. It is also very important that the competition have good organization and it has to be a World Cup to provide support and make sure all the teams are here.Ó
German Goes 1-2 In WomenÕs 7.5km Biathlon
Using the same early start position as her silver medal winning countryman Sven Fischer, German Kati Wilhelm shot clean and skied like a champion to take the womenÕs Olympic 7.5km ŅSprintÓ Biathlon. Wilhelm won in a time of 20:41.4 over German teammate Uschi ŅTurboÓ Disl (+15.6 seconds) who missed one shot standing but had wicked fast skiing splits. Both skiers had to wait nearly as long as their race efforts to find out whether theyÕd be on the podium...but in the end it was worth the wait as no one could match Bronze went once again to SwedenÕs Magdalena Forsberg (+39 seconds) who won a mini-battle over the final 2km loop with MondayÕs silver medalist Liv Grete Poiree. Both Forsberg and Poiree missed one standing target but Forsberg had the better pace in the final XC sprint and grabbed bronze by 3.7 seconds.
Wilhelm (sporting some of that wild dark red hair Bente Skari has) said afterwards...ÓIt was wonderful to shoot without any mistakes in such an important competition and IÕm very happy about that. I trained a lot this past year on shooting because IÕve had problems there, especially when it came to the prone position. The last couple days in training IÕve had some really good shots and I thought I could have a good race if I could keep it up. I didnÕt expect to be Olympic champion, I hoped to be a medalist but this is the best. There was a lot more pressure this year than last year when I was an unknown (the 25 year old burst onto the international stage as the surprise 2001 World champion in the 7.5km Sprint). I wanted to start early because I wanted to make my competition nervous with a good result. The wait for the result wasnÕt bad because I was kept so busy with media. The pursuit on Saturday IÕm not too worried about it. I now have my gold and no one can take that away from me.Ó
For Disl the silver was her 7th Olympic medal (all time biathlon medal winner) yet still leaves her without an individual gold...ÓIÕm very happy with silver, I had one penalty lap today so I didnÕt count on even getting silver. At the finish at first I was disappointed because I thought this would be it for getting a medal. But then I heard I was second and then I just had to wait for the final results. Just like Kati IÕm not thinking too much about the pursuit, IÕm happy with my medal.Ó Asked about celebrating GermanyÕs double medal day and second consecutive gold the 32 year old veteran replied, ŅWe still have two competitions left but our last competition is on the 18th and we donÕt go home until the 26th so I imagine weÕll have plenty of time to celebrate then.Ó (smiles)
Bronze medalist Forsberg: ŅLike Uschi I thought my medal chances were over when I had a miss but I had a good final lap and at the finish I collapsed with the effort to be ahead of Liv Grete. IÕm very happy with the result, a bronze is wonderful with me.Ó
Team USA had a rough going on Wednesday with Kara Salmela coming in 49th (1 and 2 misses), Andrea Nahrgang 50th (1 and 0), and Rachel Steer 60th (2 and 1). SteerÕs finish was notable because it squeaked her into the last spot for SaturdayÕs pursuit (top 60 qualify out of the results from todayÕs race).
Steer afterwards was clearly bummed with her day, ŅWell IÕm pretty disappointed. When I missed two shots on prone that was discouraging. I honestly donÕt know why I had the misses. They all felt like good shots. I also didnÕt feel all that sharp skiing which is odd. I know I have a hard time recovering so Monday might have still been in my legs. I took it really easy yesterday but for some reason I still was feeling the fatigue. Every race you learn something but this one might take me a little longer to figure out what that is.Ó
10:00am MST - Broken record time...clear skies, cold temps (7F at 9am, predicted temp at race time in the mid-20s), 70% humidity, slight valley inversion, perfectly prepared tracks and stadium. Another big crowd piling in. Basically a Nordic Skier's paradise.
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Norwegian Camp Defensive About Missing 2001 Pre-Olympics?
Many thanks to Inge Scheve for providing this translated article by JOSTEIN OVERVIK that originally appeared in the Norwegian VG News. Note that the article appeared before Tuesday's classic races but many of the same issues continue to swirl considering "only" one Norwegian male managed to get on the podium in an event Norwegian coaches thought they could sweep.
NorwayÕs cross-country head coach Pl Gunnar Mikkelsplass disregarded Johann Mhlegg's claims after the 30km that the Scandinavian teams had perhaps made a mistake not coming to the Pre-Olympics last season. For his part, Mikkelsplass said sitting out the 2001 Pre-Olympics explains nothing in terms of the disappointing results in the 30K. But Norwegian cross-country queen Bente Skari disagrees.
Mhlegg won the 30K at the 2001 Pre-Olympics in Soldier Hollow and repeated with a gold medal in SaturdayÕs Olympic 30K. The German-Spanish machine is completely sold on that itÕs all due to having been there and done that Š "knowing the course is everything if you want gold", he says.
ŅThat point has been made because Elofsson dropped out so thoroughly. We may be over that argument as early as Tuesday,Ó says Mikkelsplass, who is obviously a little upset about the claims one day prior to the 15 K classic race. Unfortunately for Mikkelsplass, Tuesday did little to quiet the issue.
Mikkelsplass argues that Elofsson collapsed due to overtraining and wrong choice of tactics, not because he raced his first Soldier Hollow event on Saturday. "Mhlegg is wrong,Ó Mikkelsplass claims. ŅWe have been here for fall training and know very well what it feels like to race at 1800 meters above sea level.Ó
Bente Skari, who along with sprint specialist Trond Einar Elden is the only Norwegian who raced in the 2001 Pre-Olympics has a different opinion.
ÓIÕm glad IÕve been here before,Ó says Skari. ŅWhat happened Saturday could be a coincidence, but maybe I have a tiny advantage. IÕve experienced the lactic acid buildup and the thin air,Ó she explains. ŅElfossonÕs collapse is simply stating the fact. He has played with his competitors the entire season. Here in Soldier Hollow he has to be careful.Ó
Pl Gunnar Mikkelsplass claims that the Norwegian menÕs team was in full control before TuesdayÕs 15km classic. National team leader Sindre Bergan supports Mikkelsplass and says that Johann Mhlegg is off the wall. Bergan recalls the gold winner disregarding Elofsson already before SaturdayÕs race.
ŅThis is just off the wall,Ó Bergan says. ŅThat kind of comment prior to an event is unbelievable. MhleggÕs speed scares me, but I am not concerned about not being prepared for the altitude here at the Olympic venues.Ó
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What Happened To Doping 18?
We've gotten some questions both here at Soldier Hollow and via email about the big noise being made before the Olympics by the IOC and WADA about additional XC skiers that would be suspended following positive doping tests. Well, the news is that there isn't any news. Nothing, nada, zero, zilch. Best that we can piece together, 18 XC athletes had positive A samples in random tests from December and January (the very same round of tests that temporarily had Kristina Smigun on the fence...later cleared to compete in a controversial process well documented earlier in this month's updates...and the same round that put Russian Natalia Baranova on the sidelines after a confirmed positive EPO test.
With all the Olympic action going on we don't have time to outline what we have heard behind the scenes but after the Games are over expect a complete update on the "missing 17"...and what it may mean for the future of XC around the world.
2002 Winter Olympics: 4th Day Four Report...15/10km XC Classic Races
Estonia Goes 1-3, Veerpalu Takes Gold In MenÕs 15km Classic
EstoniaÕs Andrus Veerpalu proved his 2001 World Championship in the 30km classic was no fluke as he sliced and diced the nails-tough Soldier Hollow 15km course and won the Olympic 15km classic by 36 seconds over Norwegian Frode Estil. VeerpaluÕs countryman Jaak Mae continued the hit parade for the little nation wedged in between Finland and Russia with a third place effort (+43.4).
Veerpalu gained control of the race at the halfway point, taking over from early leader Anders Aukland who came in fourth, 17 seconds behind Mae. Two considerable pre-race contenders, Per Elofsson and Erling Jevne (Vegard UlvangÕs pick to win just before the start) finished 5th and 6th with Elofsson actually in the medals at the halfway point but fading in the tough last hills.
In a continental 180 degrees from the womenÕs race, in the menÕs 15km it was the U.S. men who whipped out the big stick and made some noise. A whole heck of a lot of noise. John Bauer, ripping off his signature Euro-beat tempo, blasted to a 12th place finish...less than 7 seconds out of 9th. Bauer's effort was the best American Olympic finish since Bill Koch's silver medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics. You might want to read that sentence again folks. That adds up to THE BEST U.S. OLYMPIC RACE IN 26 YEARS!. Perhaps even more incredible for U.S. race fans, Patrick Weaver (getting a surprise start just a couple days ago when originally penciled in for just the 50km) pulled off his biggest international race since his 7th place in the 1995 World University Games, coming in an amazing 16th...another one of the best U.S. Olympic results ever. And...young Kris Freeman skied tough throughout to log an ultra-ultra-solid 22nd. Rounding out the North American effort, Lars Flora came in 54th and Canadian Donald Farley finished 46th.
At the post-race press conference the reactions of the top three almost led one to believe that the order was mixed up. Estil clearly was pumped about his race and gave off a vibe as his he was the gold medalist for the day whereas Veerpalu and Mae had an almost laid back attitude. Appearances weren't the whole story however.
"This was a great result and I have a super feeling right now. It was a dream come true for certain. After I won Worlds last year I made a goal of a gold medal here and I've achieved that goal. I was glad I could race my own race and didn't have the race dictated to me. I was a little behind early but between 7-8kms I made a strong move and that proved enough to win." After being congratulated by the Estonian Prime Minister, Veerpalu was asked about how much a 1-3 finish would mean to his country, "It is a big deal for our country but we also had a Junior World medal this year so there is hope for the future. It is a great day though for us."
Bronze medalist Mae agreed: "It is incredible that we both had such good races. An amazing day for Estonia. As for my race, my start was good and I was near the top the entire time. On the last two uphills I was working very hard which was my tactical plan and I think that put me on the podium. I can honestly say it was a perfect race for me. Only thing I donÕt like is that I was too far behind Andrus.(smiles) My feelings right now? It is quite difficult to say...IÕm very happy. On the last two uphills my team told me I had a chance for a medal I wasnÕt sure because sometimes you canÕt believe what you hear. When I got to the finish I knew it was true. A dream come true."
For the clearly stoked Estil, everything about Tuesday was all smiles. "I think this was my best race this season...and what a day to have that! I tried to not to start too fast and not use too much power. I was leading at the first 2km and felt then that I could have a chance cause I was not too tired from the start. I began to think I could have a really good race. In the middle part Veerpalu was skiing really fast so at the end I had to concentrate on silver. I knew I didnÕt have a chance against Veerpalu once he got up by over a half minute. I felt I had an almost perfect race myself so I have to be satisfied with silver. Last year at the World Championships in the 30km classic I also took the silver but even at 29 IÕm getting better every year and I hope to fight for gold in the future. I'll ski the pursuit and I hope to ski 50km. WeÕll see who will ski the relay for Norway since we have so many strong classic skiers. I have to concentrate for now on the pursuit, hopefully I can have a good classic race and fight for a good place in the pursuit. I'm not that good in skating but maybe I can lay behind some of the other guys and I think IÕm strong in the finish and if I can be in there, maybe I can do something.
Asked if he thought beforehand that he could be the Norwegian that could collect hardware with a murderer's row of Team Norge talent in the race, Estil smiled and said: "I am surprised a bit, to be honest, that I was the best of the team. Erling, Aukland, and Odd Bjorn are so strong and Anders has skied so fast all season that I thought one of them would be better. But I was the one that had the day that won silver today. I think in the 50km you will likely see one of the others do very well. Erling in particular is very strong in the 50km." And about Norwegian preparation for the Games..."I think we prepared extremely well for this Olympics. We trained several weeks at altitude and came over here 2-3 weeks ago. At altitude you have to use much more discipline than when you are lower. At normal altitude it is always full speed at the beginning of the uphills but here you have to ski under control so that you can ski strong all the way."
A class act, Estil repeated his comments from the 2001 World Championships where he said it was good to see other countries besides Norway win gold in major races. "I still think it is good for international skiing that Estonia wins even though I am the one with silver. Norway has dominated the sport for the last ten years. The victory for Spain in the 30km and now Estonia doing so well today were great. Both very good results for the sport. I think that for Norway, we will have a chance for gold in the relay and 50km but it is nice to see others do well also."
Back to the U.S. men...what promised to be a great opportunity for big results in the menÕs race turned into one of the most successful Olympic days in U.S. XC history. A ten skier deep red group, plus several of the big names not quite on their game, meant a North American skier getting it on could really post something big. The buzz at the Bozeman U.S. Nationals was Ņif he can keep it upÓ regarding John Bauer...and from the looks of Tuesday afternoon, ŅBauÓ indeed looks like can. Many veteran coaches and athletes have noted that theyÕve seen amazing things out of the Minnesota native before, but, but, but...something always seemed to happen to take Bauer out of the mix in the biggest events. Not today grasshopper.
Bauer at the finish: "What a way to start! I thought coming here that a top fifteen in this race was something I was capable of and that if I could do that IÕd be skiing great. The atmosphere was incredible. I could hear my name so often and everyone was cheering so hard for all the Americans that it felt like a local race...except that it was the Olympics (smiles).Ó Asked about why the older guys seemed to be leading the way for the U.S. (Bauer turned 33 on February 6th, and Weaver is 32), Bauer replied: ŅI think we are just about right for the results we are having. This is a sport for Ōold peopleÕ (smiles) and we are just displaying our experience and all the years of work. I also think our being in the mix is great for the younger guys and that means it is great for the U.S..Ó
Weaver also was rightfully as estactic as the quite Oregon-via-Massachusetts veteran gets in the finish area. ŅI had a fantastic day. No way around it. I skied smooth from the start and when I got to the final kilometers...I just got chills from feeling the crowd pull me in. It was incredible.Ó Did the results by himself and Bauer, both skiers not on the U.S. Ski Team the last several years, have any particularly meaning? "Hopefully it tells everyone not to give up on us 'old guys' (smiles). Actually, I think that any one of several guys could have done what we did today. Justin when he is healthy, Kris, Andrew. We've just got a group of guys that can ski fast on a given day and today I happened to be lucky enough that I was one of those guys." Was the rowdy crowd (estimated at 8000 people) pushing him beyond his best operating zone?: ŅNo, it was awfully tempting to show off on those first couple hills considering how many people were rooting for us but I was able to keep it just under control enough early and towards the end you just feed off that energy. I canÕt describe how incredible it is to feel that here in the USA and to race so well in a home Olympics. Incredible!Ó
Freeman: "I had a solid day. Not spectacular but solid. Good skis, good skiing, good body. Skied the whole way by myself which was tough but it was a solid day. I'm looking for even better things for myself in the pursuit and we'll see after that."
Flora: "Not bad considering I only found out I was racing two days ago and I haven't done a classic workout since the U.S. National 50km. It really wasn't that big a deal jumping in this. Almost helped that I was so relaxed. Felt like just any other race...actually better than the 30km skate where I was really focusing on doing well."
Skari Comes From Behind To Win WomenÕs 10km Classic
Norwegian Bente Skari trailed a Russian blockade of the Olympic 10km classic podium up until the final kilometer but managed to get to the top of the standings were it mattered most this morning...the finish line. Sitting in 4th all the way until the halfway point, Skari started to get the stride and glide mojo humming in the final kmÕs to overtake three Russians...Larissa Lazutina, then Julie Tchepalova, and finally race leader Olga Danilova. After a muscle-fest up HermodÕs Hill, Skari unloaded, unleashed, and undid the Mother Russia trio with a finish surge that will not soon be forgotten. Starting behind all four of the powerhouse Russians (Ljubov Egorova finished 7th), Skari had splits the entire way and knew the battle to the line was going to be as tight as tight can be. Skari won in 28:50, a scant 2.5 seconds up on Danilova who finished just 1.8 seconds ahead of Tchepalova. Because of SkariÕs amazing finish roll, Lazutina shifted down to fourth. WeÕve said it before and weÕll say it again, you just donÕt dare to sneeze in this type of race.
Ah but it gets better folks, the Mapleleaf is flying high today as the Canadian womenÕs team served notice they will not be denied at their adopted home course (letÕs just call Soldier Hollow, ŅCanmore SouthÓ and be done with it shall we?). Beckie Scott did what many observers thought sheÕd do and ripped off a fantastic top 10 finish...coming in 6th, just 3.4 seconds behind Italian Stephania Belmondo in 5th. How significant was ScottÕs finish? Only the best ever Canadian Olympic result in an XC race and one of the very best ever by any non-European. Gid-ee-up. Anddddd...Canadian Sara Renner opened a can of proverbial whoop-ass nailing down 15th. Anddddd...Canadian Milaine Theriault added to the hit parade with a very, very solid 25th place effort. Jaime Fortier was 47th.
The U.S. gals had a tougher time with Wendy Wagner leading the way in 38th, Nina Kemppel started hard and went under in the first half, coming in 40th. Tessa Benoit finished 54th and Aelin Peterson 55th to round out the U.S. contingent
At the post-race press conference, the gold medalist showed off her dark red and black dyed hair-do and was just as happy to talk about "the do" than winning an Olympic gold medal..."IÕm not sure what the next color will be. My hairdresser thought it would be a good idea." About the race Skari said: "I was a little worried when I heard I was 14-15 seconds down at the 2km point because I thought I was having a really good race up to that point. So for awhile I thought I was racing for silver. Then later, on last long uphill (Hermod's Hill) I was still 8 seconds down to Olga and then 4 seconds down entering the stadium. I thought there was a little bit of a chance for gold at that point so I really pushed it to the finish and lucky enough it worked out for me."
Asked about her feelings at winning her first individual Olympic gold medal Skari said:" I think it is great to have a gold. It is my first gold and both Olga and Julia have one so today was my day. I was well prepared for this Olympics and it was great to see everything pay off." When a reporter asked what Skari would tell her father (FIS XC Committee Chair Odd Martinsen, who won an Olympic relay medal but no individual medal)..."IÕll tell him IÕm a lot better than him!" (laughs)
And the rest of the Games for the Queen of Classic? "Today was my biggest chance for a gold medal. I'll ski the pursuit, relay, and 30km but today was my best chance. I never thought about starting 15km cause my skating hasnÕt gone that well so it wasnÕt even an option. I think all the Russians and some of the Italians will be tough in the pursuit...it'll be really tough to get a medal. I hope my skating is a little better and we'll see." What will she need in the classic portion to win? "I need a minute lead." (laughs).
The Russian silver and bronze medalists weren't ready to go out and knock down the doors of Park City's finest pubs but they weren't in the dumps afterwards either. Danilova said: "I was thinking that I was doing fine as I went along but I knew all the strongest skiers were behind me so I had to keep pushing it. When I was told that I was leading by 15 seconds for me it didnÕt mean that much because Bente has come back from bigger deficits in the past...up to 20 seconds I think. Even before the race I was almost certain that Bente was going to win but of course there was a glimmer of hope and when I was ahead it was more than a glimmer. But when she crossed the finish line I knew that she was still the strongest. IÕm still hopeful that in the 30km that I can win a classic race against Bente. I was hoping luck would be on my side which means gold, I wasnÕt thinking about silver or bronze...but I'm happy to have a medal."
Tchepalova was asked if she was surprised to have a medal in classic when she is considered stronger in skating..."Yes, I think I surprised many people including myself. I consider this my own personal victory to get a medal. I thought that I needed to compete as many times as possible to make sure that IÕm in top form for the relay. Before the race a person from one of the companies wished me all the best. I told him that for me it is actually it is a training session today. Now IÕm surprised by my own words." Revenge for being outside podium in 15km? "For that race I was not quite in my best form and the mass start was a bit of a disadvantage for me but things have gone as they should and you just need to be patient. I have a medal now."
For Canadian Scott it was impossible to wipe the smile off her face..."I felt really, really good. In fact I kept telling myself to hold back, hold back, hold back early on because I could see Bente right ahead of me and I knew I didn't want to put myself under trying too hard, too early. I needed to keep it under control until the 3.5km point and then I could start to push it. I did that and then I felt great on the last hill so I just pushed it into the finish. I think the chest bump with Sara in the mix zone said it all (laughs). I am really happy with this, how could I not be?"
Canadian Coach Dave Wood beamed in the finish not only about Scott's performance but the efforts of the other Canadian gals as well..."Oh this was super. Really super. Sara had a fantastic day, just fantastic. I also thought Milaine skied really well since that's her best ever major result and she hasn't been up to her best form of late. About Beckie? Well, the result says it all."
Renner and Theriault were clearly pleased with their results, Renner actually in a bit of shock with her top 15 effort..."I felt great but I died at the top of the last big hill and it was all I could do to get in. It's amazing to have that good of a result right out of the gate here."
A more subdued U.S. women's contingent still kept a positive spin on the day.
Wagner: "Even with the crowds and the fact this is the Olympics I kept my focus pretty well. I just didn't have everything going today. I got caught in the last two hills which actually helped push me but holy cow did whoever it was push me cause I was hurting really bad towards the end. I'm psyched for the pursuit and every one of my skate races has been getting better and better of late so I think something good can happen."
Kemppel: "I felt ready and I felt really strong coming out of the gate but I got to around the 3 or 4km point and I said to myself 'oh boy, I think you just over-stepped your bounds'. I had to really dial it back at that point and it cost me. We haven't skied the 10km course as much as some of the other courses here and that was a bummer but mainly I just think it wasn't my day. My form is coming along, maybe not as quick as I'd like but it's coming. I need to get away from Soldier Hollow for awhile and do some of the other things. Go touring with my parents. That kind of stuff. Then I think I can have a good pursuit and go into the second week really positive."
Final Word: The full impact of today's races for the North American scene probably won't sink in for some time but suffice it to say that today was a B-I-G day. We're sure that most of the thousands checking out the races had no clue how important these results are in the scheme of things. Scott, Renner, Theriault, Bauer, Weaver, and Freeman were flying with the best and one has to hope more is on the way for this crew and their teammates. We'll see you tomorrow for the Biathlon 10/7.5km "sprints", first race start at 11am MST.
Pre-Race Report
At 8am the temperature was a brisk 9F with yet another valley inversion underway. Humidity up in the high 80s. Lots of squeeking snow out there!
No big overnight news to report. The Canadian camp says that top guns Beckie Scott and Sara Renner are anxious to get it going.
2002 Winter Olympics: Complete Day Three Report...
Eight North American women are part of the 61 skier field for tomorrow's women's 10km classic interval start race. Canadian Beckie Scott headlines the North American list drawing bib 55 sandwiched in between pre-race favorite number 54 Bente Skari of Norway and (gotta love the irony here folks), number 56 Kristina Smigun of Estonia. The remainder of the Canadian women's crew includes Sara Renner (39), Milaine Theriault (23), and Jaime Fortier (4). For the U.S., Nina Kemppel will start 36th, Wendy Wagner 32nd, Aelin Peterson 19th, and Tessa Benoit 8th.
The women's field contains 18 red group skiers with 4 Russians and 4 Norwegians amongst those top 18 ranked contenders. Any result in the top 30 is a quality, quality, effort in other words.
For the men, the U.S. line-up has John Bauer starting 54th (a great draw only three spots from the Red Group), Kris Freeman 41st, Patrick Weaver 30th (getting the nod over the still-ailing Justin Wadsworth), and Lars Flora (6). Only 10 Red Group men will start on Tuesday but that ten is a handful including four Norwegians (Jevne, Aukland, Estil, Hjelmeset) that are all capable of winning. Sweden's Per Elofsson will try to rebound from a drop in the 30km freestyle starting in the next-to-last spot.
The women start at 9am MST with the men kicking off at noon. One lap courses (and man are they bruisers) for both men and women.
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2002 Winter Olympics: Complete Day Three Report...Biathlon 20/15km Individual
(10am MST) - Another day of perfect weather and another first day of competition for a Nordic discipline here at Soldier Hollow...this time it is the run-and-gunners turn with a loaded (sorry, couldn't resist) field ready to take on the serpentine biathlon courses and four shooting stops.
(4:30pm MST) - xcskiworld.com would like to thank Glenn Jobe (1980 U.S. Olympic Biathlete) for helping provide an expertÕs take on todayÕs action.
GermanyÕs Henkel Wins 15km Biathlon By One Pull Of The Trigger
On a picture postcard morning, a 24 year old German shot like a champion, skied like a champion and after all was said and done...became an Olympic champion by the margin of a single pull of the trigger. GermanyÕs Andrea Henkel cleaned 19 of 20 targets and rolled to a ski time of 46:29 (one minute added on for the one miss) to win the womenÕs 15km individual biathlon by a mere 7.9 seconds over NorwayÕs Liv Grete Poiree (who also hit 19 of 20). But the real story of the day was the fact that World Cup leader Magdalena Forsberg all but had the gold in her pocket coming into her final standing station. Forsberg missed 2 of the final 5 shots adding a full two minutes to her ski time (one minute per miss). Up to that final station Forsberg was perfect on the day which meant, based on extremely fast fast skiing and range times, she actually could give Henkel and Poiree one miss... but not two. Forsberg second miss meant the 6 time World Champion (but never Olympic medalist) slid from gold to bronze (ending up 39 seconds behind at the finish), and left Henkel and Poiree to battle it out with the edge at the line going to Henkel.
As ForsbergÕs story shows, one of the beauties of elite biathlon is that you have to combine excellence both on the trails and on the range to win. Like Forsberg, early race leader Uschi Disl (Germany) had a tough time in the final shooting stations ending up with 4 penalties and +2:14 on ski time otherwise sheÕd almost certainly have played a role in the final outcome. Similarly Russian Olga Pyleva missed two shots on the day and would have/could have/should have but ended up fourth (+44.9 seconds back).
The U.S. women were led by Rachel Steer in 31st, Kristina Sabasteanski was 55th and Kara Salmela 59th. Steer said afterwards that she was Ņfairly pleasedÓ with the day but that she would have loved to have had her two misses back. ŅOne of those shots was just a flat out bad shot so that was frustrating. I thought I was skiing pretty well and I had great skis. Hopefully I can put everything together in one of the races coming up.Ó
Afterwards gold medalist Henkel reacted to her victory, ŅIÕm very proud and glad it went so well. I wanted to shoot well and relax early on. I was annoyed with the one mistake but overall it was a very good race.Ó How does it feel to win a gold medal in her first Olympics? ŅI just tried to do it like any other competition and not think of it like an Olympics. Even now I think it is somewhat strange.
In a nice family moment, AndreaÕs older sister Manuela Henkel, second in last JanuaryÕs pre-Olympics XC sprint here, was in the finish area to hug and celebrate with sister. Asked about her calm demeanor at the post-race press conference, Henkel said: ŅAfter I crossed finish line the tears flowed so after I crossed that line I certainly wasnÕt that cool. I was looking at scoreboard and I was ranked number one but there were still a lot of people out there. Then all of a sudden IÕm being picked up and carried around by my teammates.Ó
Silver medalist Poiree, one half of a very successful husband-wife biathlon duo (husband Raphael would finish 10th in the 20km), said: ŅIÕm very happy with silver. I was a little bit tired while skiing and had some problems in the beginning of the race. Andrea is a very good skier so to finish second to her I should not be disappointed. I feel I won the silver and did not lose the gold.Ó Asked if she found it hard being in the same sport as her husband and both being so competitive? ŅWe are almost always together which is nice and after we are done training we talk about other things and not just biathlon...like normal people (smiles and laughs). He was very happy for me after the race. He said to me we are already one medal and perhaps he can go for another.Ó
For the pre-race favority Forsberg, nothing could shake her happiness with finally getting an Olympic medal, even her own critical misses at the end: ŅI think I did very well except for the two shots I missed. IÕm very happy and satisfied. I feel I had a really good race and IÕm happy with that. The Olympics are not yet over with so I still have a chance for a gold but IÕm very happy with finally getting an Olympic medal.Ó Asked about an ever-so-slight pause after her first miss that broke up what, up til then, had been perfect shooting rhythm Forsberg said, ŅMy legs were shaking so bad from the effort in the skiing that I had to pause, the shaking probably played a role in the first miss also. It happens sometimes and thatÕs just part of the sport.Ó
The medalists were also asked by the U.S. press about how the Soldier Hollow crowd (Ed: it was really hard to guess the numbers due to the compact area for spectating...maybe 7,000 or so?) compared to European races where biathlon is outrating not only XC but also hockey, downhill, etc. as the number one televised winter sport.
Poiree: ŅI could hear people everywhere, the range, on the course, everywhere. It was a good atmosphere and it is an amazing venue.Ó
Henkel: ŅReally great to have that many spectators here in the United States, it was very good.Ó
Forsberg: ŅYes, very good. It was interesting also because in Europe they mainly yell after every hit in the range. But here they screamed all the time, in the range, on the course, all the time! It was great to see that kind of enthusiasm.Ó
Notable note: Exactly 10 years ago to the day, the first Olympic womenÕs biathlon race was held in Albertville, France. With women's bobsled now in place, anyone want to take bets on when Nordic Combined and Jumping are going to have a women's field? Parents take note...better start getting those little girls over to the jump hill!
My Name Is Bjoern...Ole Einar Bjoerndalen...And I Am A Stud Duck
Try this the next time you are skiing with your buddies. Spot them a couple minutes over 20km and see what happens. Oh yeah, better yet, why donÕt you putting something big on the line. Like, perhaps, an Olympic gold medal? NorwayÕs version of the Nordic utility player did just that in the menÕs Biathlon Individual 20km on Saturday afternoon as Ole Einar Bjoerndalen claimed the gold medal over GermanyÕs Frank Luck and RussiaÕs Victor Maigourov. Bjoerndalen missed one prone target and one standing target and still managed to hold off a perfect day on the range by the two time Olympic gold medalist and 18 time World Champion medalist Luck. Bjoerndalen won in a sizzling ski time of 49:03 with Luck ending up 36 seconds behind after 2 minutes were added to BjoerndalenÕs time for the penalties. Maigorov was third to Luck by the thinnest of margins...just 1.2 seconds behind Luck. To cap it off, Maigorov only had one miss on the day adding to the list of "might have beens".
As with the womenÕs race, the final results did little to tell the wacky moving and shaking going on in the biathlon Olympic openers. LetÕs start with the fact that Bjoerndalen raced a wicked hard 30km just 48 hours ago against the guys that donÕt have to lug around rifles on their backs (coming in a stellar 6th by the way...not too shabby). Then consider that BjoerndalenÕs countryman Frode Andresen had the race in the bag...not just in the bag, the guy had the race gift wrapped with a bow and then in that same bag. Then the final shooting station hit and everyone found out why they call it bi-athlon. Known as perhaps a rare match to Bjoerndalen in skiing speed, Andresen isnÕt as well known for his shooting. The fact that he had gone clean up to the final standing station was a surprise that had the raucous Norwegian contingent going nuts anticipating perhaps both Andresen and Bjoerndalen in the medals. But three misses in AndresonÕs final five shots took the wind right out of those sails.
Beyond the heavy hitters, American Jeremy Teela had a just plain peachy day skiing to 14th place and a tie for the best ever American biathlon performance. Continuing the wild and wacky, Teela almost decided not to race on Monday citing fatique and a hope to save himself for other competitions over the next two week. Americans Jay Hakkinen (26th with 3 misses but a very solid ski time just 17 seconds behind Teela) and Dan Campbell (76th with 6 misses) rounded out the U.S. effort.
Afterwards Hakkinen said: ŅIÕve been using one exact rhythm of shooting that has been working really well for me. I knew exactly how I wanted to shoot but when I got to the standing (all three of his misses were standing) I kind of choked a little. It was a solid day all the way around except for those standing stations. IÕm looking forward to the 10km cause thatÕs where I usually do better.Ó
Asked about the noisy, several thousand strong crowd, ŅOh this was great. IÕm not used to hearing this much noise in America, my ears actually hurt from all the noise. The crowd just made you surge on the XC part but the big advantage to being at home in the range is familarity. There really are no excuses cause I had great skis, great support, just need to shoot a little better.Ó
At the medalists press conference all eyes turned to the Bjoerndalen who said he wasnÕt worried after his second miss in the range. ŅAfter the 2nd miss I didnÕt think or worry very much because I knew with good skiing I had a chance to make 1 or 2 mistakes and still win. It was actually after I had finished and when Frode was shooting that my pulse was higher than in the race. It was bad luck for him to miss those shots on the last standing round but really good for me. That sounds bad but in that situation you canÕt control your feelings. Frode is my friend and I feel bad for him, but still, you think about yourself at that moment. It might not seem like fair play but but itÕs honest.
Asked about his energy levels after the 30km on Saturday Bjoerndalen continued his Joe-cool theme...ÓI tried not to worry too much about the 30km but IÕm happy the race wasnÕt yesterday because I was tired then. Today I feld really good. I think a ŅnormalÓ 30km with an interval start would have been harder because I would have had to go all out from start to finish. The way Saturday went after Muehlegg took off, there was lots of stop and go with the pace. It was also good for my head to get a race in before this one. I felt pretty relaxed today and that certainly helped.Ó And will he race one of the skate legs on the XC relay? ŅIÕve got three tough biathlon competitions and the XC relay is really hard to add so, at this point, I donÕt think IÕll do that.Ó
Most North Americans arenÕt familiar with the name and face of silver medalist Frank Luck but this dude is synonomous with big-time biathlon. Proof positive? A career total of 54 World Cup podium finishes. The only guy to shoot clean for the day in the top four, Luck didnÕt need any luck for a repeat of his Lillehammer Olympic 20km silver. ŅIn the beginning of the race I knew it was going to be very tight and that it would be a tough battle to get a medal. I was a little bit afraid that I started too fast. I tried to focus on not overdoing it when I was skinig. That was the reason I had no problem skiing fast after teh final shooting stage. On the last part before reaching finish line I knew I had to go for it all and then on the scoreboard I had silver.Ó
Unlike Bjoerndalen and Luck, the bronze medalist didnÕt have expectations of hardware coming into the day. Maigourov said: I wasnÕt thinking about any of the medals. My only goal was to do a good job shooting and except for one mistake it worked. Even as I was finishing I still didnÕt have medals on my mind because I knew there were many strong competitors still behind me. I know without that miss I would have been golden, and certainly gold is better is bronze, but my feelings today are that today, for me, bronze is the best.Ó
Commentary: Gadzooks batman that was cool. That pretty much sums it up. If any reader hasnÕt been at an international biathlon competition before (and most of you have not we'll wager), you have absolutely no idea how spectacularly wonderful and chaotic this sport is at the highest levels. Picture a three ring circus with a killer ski race and thousands of people making tons of noise one second and holding their breath the next. Unlike a typical XC race where everything unfolds over a fairly long period of time, an entire biathlon competition can spin 180 degrees with one missed target. It's goofy and it's no wonder this is such a popular spectator sport in Europe.
Oh, one more thing we have to pass on. The range times of these athletes has got to be one of the most incredible things to witness in the entire Games. You hear about how fast good biathletes can operate but until you are watching these people roll into the range and just whip through five tiny targets located someone over in Wyoming...I'm sorry, that is just in-cre-di-ble. At her first prone round Andrea Henkel looked like she was using a machine gun rather than a lighter-than-air performance rifle.
If you can a ticket and you can get out here to Utah. We cannot emphasize how much fun you will have if you come out to one of the remaining biathlon days. You don't have to know any of the names and you don't have to know anything about the marksmanship side of the sport...all you have to do is be hear to have the time of your life.
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2002 Winter Olympics: Random Notes
- Though we are not yet a quarter of the way thru the 2002 Games, hats off to the Soldier Hollow organizing team for a spectacular job of orchestrating this circus. The busiest venue in the entire Olympic fleet, Soldier Hollow is also the "youngest" venue with a decision to base the Nordic universe here only coming about in the spring of 1997...a mere five years ago. Since that time a mini-Nordic city and world-class facility has emerged out of a former cow pasture and scrub brush.
- So you want to organize an olympics?One unpleasant headache Soldier Hollow organizers had to deal with on Saturday was a slew of bus breakdowns along the short drive from the Park-and-Ride lot to the venue. What happened was that buses were brought from throughout the western U.S. to the Disney-size parking lot over the past month and many had been sitting idle for several weeks. It seems the sub-zero temperatures on the Heber Valley floor didn't agree with many of the engines after not being run for so long and thus Saturday morning ended up being interesting for many volunteers and spectators. Worse, some of the folks delivering the buses failed to inform the transportation crew of low fuel levels so a few buses actually ran out of fuel along the couple mile route. The good news is that most of the large Saturday crowd seemed to take things in stride. No reports have come in on thousands of folks missing events due to transportation situations like those reported yesterday at the men's downhill (a couple thousand folks missed the event due to a breakdown on a freeway exit).
- We've gotten more than one report from readers on the surprisingly high quality of NBC network coverage of both the Saturday and Sunday Nordic events. Not only did the network show more than a few token minutes of actual race footage but they offered enough honest-to-gosh racing action that viewers could actually enjoy the races rather than feeling they were watching a 15 second MTV News segment. The weekend coverage was offered in the afternoon Olympic blocks and, unfortunately, wasn't aired live...but still...it's a good start. We are looking for a good contact email to encourage NBC to keep after it and once we find something we'll post it on the front page for easy access. In 1998, the volume of mail from xcskiworld.com readers prompted Turner Sports to increase coverage on cable station TNT so writing a thank you does indeed work!
- And Finally...We were trying to figure who yesterday's Nordic Combined gold medalist Samppa Lajunen reminded us of and late last night the answer came like a spoonful of Vegemite. The 22 year old guitar-playing, blue-haired Lajunen is a dead ringer for Australian Head XC Coach and famous man-about-down Finn Marsland. The Aussies weren't able to qualify anyone out of their national program to race at Soldier Hollow due to tough Australian Olympic Committee standards but at least the crew down under can take solace in knowing their coach has a "mini-me" likeness grabbing hardware.
2002 Winter Olympics: Day Two...Nordic Combined 15km Individual
(12pm MST) Two-time Finnish Olympic silver medalist Samppa Lajunen made up a 53 second deficit to countryman Jaakko Tallus to take the gold medal in the Olympic 15km Nordic Combined event this morning. The jump portion on Saturday determine the pursuit order and time for today's XC portion. Lajunen pounded out a machine-gun tempo on laps one and two (they skied a 3 x 5km loop) to first overtake Tallus and then put a nifty 24 seconds on the silver medalist. Austrian Mario Stecher, who started in the second position, faded early in the race and never played a role in the final outcome. However, his teammate Felix Gottwald most certainly did factor in. Gottwald, racing out of the 11th spot (starting 2:43 behind Tallus), quickly made up time on the entire field over the first two laps eventually catching number five starter Ronny Ackermann of Germany by the final lap. As the skiers approached the final couple kilometers, Gottwald put the hammer down and put a full 22 seconds on Ackermann between Hermod's Hill and the finish...taking bronze in the process. Gottwald's ski time (37:23) was the fastest of the day and nearly 30 seconds faster than anyone finishing in the top 9.
For the U.S., what started as a day of high hopes ended up with historic..yet somewhat bittersweet results. American stars Todd Lodwick and Bill Demong, both podium World Cup skiers earlier this season, started in the 7th and 8th positions with a realistic shot at a medal. Realistic, that is, if they could ski at their best. Neither could muster that today. Lodwick had the better day starting seventh and ending seventh for what added up to the best ever U.S. finish in Nordic Combined. Still, for a guy who's been on the podium this season and someone who had every reason to believe a medal was not a possibility...but a good possibility...it wasn't what he wanted.
"It was a difficult day for me," said a somber Lodwick afterwards. "I had very high expectations going into the Olympics and they are not met yet. I needed a little more luck in the jumping and a bit more today on the XC. I 'm not very happy with my race but I'm not that disappointed either given the fact that I was still seventh. The pace was high today and I went out and maintained well but it wasn't the fastest out there. When Gottwald passed me it was demoralizing because at the start I was thinking I have 4 to pass to get a medal and he made it 5 to get on the podium...and that took some wind out of my sails. In the end I caught two guys but I got caught by two guys."
Asked about his chances in the Combined sprint and team event Lodwick was upbeat: "My jumping is coming along so in the sprint, one long jump and a good 7.5km...you never know. In the team event a medal is as close as it has ever been because of this team. This team has come a long way especially with Matt Dayton skiing as well as he did today (18th place but the 7th fastest ski time)."
For the other two U.S. skiers the day was far off their best form with Demong in 19th and Johnny Spillane 32nd. Demong said: "I'm pretty disappointed, it was a tough day. Internally I was going to wait and try to ride Gottwald but 5km into the race he picked up the pace and I couldn't stay with him anymore."
Head U.S. Combined Coach Tom Seitz (never one to mince words), told it like it was afterwards: "This group has high expectations so today wasn't our best day. But a best ever finish in 78 years isn't something we can ignore and we have to be proud of that. In the team event we always shoot for the moon so we want to go for it all. One of the things about combined in the U.S. is that we only have a couple dozen guys doing the sport, the rest of the world puts a lot of resources into it but we are always doing these first-ever things. This year we have two guys win World Cups (first ever) and we win first ever medals at the Junior Worlds. It takes time but we are ready to start talking about the next first ever...at these Games. 10-12 years ago the other nations didn't know we existed when we showed up at meets. Now the other nations are very much afraid of U.S. Nordic Combined which is a fun feeling."
For the medalists, the mood was decidedly more upbeat. Lajunen, sporting a blue hairdo in honor of the Finnish flag, was clearly pleased with his golden effort. "I knew I had a very good chance to win a gold medal, but I needed a good skiing day. After the jump yesterday I had such a bad feeling in my afternoon XC workout that I thought I'd never have a chance for a gold medal. But after skiing awhile I started to get things back together. Today I felt good and that was enough.
As to the way the race played out, Lajunen said it generally went as he hoped: " The only thing that was unusual is that I was surprised Ronny Ackermann didn't come from behind, but perhaps he didn't have his best day. I had no fear about anyone else out there except Jaakko and that battle was between teammates. When I caught Jaakko I tried to ski with him and help him for awhile, but I didn't have enough patience to stay there and I skied away. Jaakko skied very well today so I'm very happy for him as well."
Asked by the international media about the first time in 54 years for a Finnish gold in Nordic Combined (Finland has historically been annual player in both combined and jumping) the 22 year old Lajunen was non-plussed about national expectations and hopes. "No, I didn't feel the pressure. We were out there skiing as fast as possible." A student, musician, and golf enthusiast Lajunen was also asked how he could find time for the demands of skiing amongst all those activities. "In the wintertime I focus mostly on skiing, plus on planes you have a lot of time to work on things like schoolwork". When the focus at the press conference was as much on his band and music as today's race, Lajunen playfully scolded the media saying..."forget about the band, hey, I won a gold medal today!"
For Gottwald the day was a total success considering where he came from off the start. After the jump I was little disappointed since my position wasn't the best but I needed to stay optimistic and try and make my own race today. On this track and the altitude you need to ski smart and tough on the uphills...particularly on the last lap. On the last lap I knew I was making up time on Ackermann and when I caught him and we skied into Hermod's Hill I knew I could take it. I'm really very satisfied."
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2002 Winter Olympics: Random Notes
- Sunday offered up another picture-perfect day here at Soldier Hollow with clear skies, no wind, and cold morning temps climbing into the low 30s by mid-day. Track conditions continued to offer up a firm-on-firm packed powder and transformed crystal mix. Better still...the long term forecast for the next week is continued great weather with high temps in the low 30s and no significant storms anticipated.
- Tomorrow is another first for xcskiworld.com with same-day coverage of the 20/15km biathlon events.
- xcskiworld.com was able to catch up with former Norwegian superstar Vegard "The Terminator" Ulvang before yesterday's mass start races and Ulvang downplayed the role of team tactics in the new mass start events..."Someday you might see more of that but I think still the race is about individuals much more than teams. Skiers might be able to help each other a little bit but there isn't the drafting and so on that you see in cycling."
- Quote of the Games (thus far)...President Bush talking with a group of U.S. XC skiers before Friday's Opening Ceremonies..."Skiers eh? I don't know much about skiing...but I know how to win wars."
- If the announcer's voice at the Olympic Opening Ceremonies sounded familiar it was because it was none other than Peter Graves "the voice of nordic skiing". Graves has a long XC track record of live and television announcing and is also one of two venue announcers at Soldier Hollow.
- Quote of the Games (close second to the one above)...a Soldier Hollow volunteer after wading thru an estimated 11,000 XC fans that watched Saturday's mass start events: "This was a good venue until the spectators came."
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American Birkie Still On
At a February 8 meeting of the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation, board members reaffirmed that the American Birkebeiner and Kortelopet ski races will be held on Saturday, Feb. 23 and that both races will once again be quality events. The Kortelopet will be a 23K race, and the distance for the Birkebeiner will be determined on Wednesday, Feb. 13.
Concerns had surfaced over continuing dismal snow conditions throughout the midwest this season impacting North America's largest ski event.
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Norwegians Take Tartu Marathon Top Honors
Norwegian skiers Havard Skorstad and Elin Nilsen won the 33rd Tartu Maraton, the 2nd 2002 FIS Marathon Cup event. Skorstad finished the shortened 27 km race in 1:08.33,9 and was 1,9 seconds better than Norwegian Joergen Aukland. Third place took Peter Gsransson from Sweden (-22 sec). Nilsen needed 1:20.01 to cover the distance, Antonina Ordina came in 2 minutes later for second. Estonian Ķnne Kurg was third in the women's race.
Due to extremely difficult snow and weather conditions, the Tartu Maraton (orginal distance 63 km) was held on a shortened 27 km course for FIS Marathon Cup participants on and as an Open Track event for citizen skiers on 42 and 29 km courses. The reason of the modifications was that the organizers could not guarantee on full 42-km track classical technique grooves, adequate to FIS rules.
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80 Skiers Break Guinness World Record For Greatest Number of People on Single Pair of Giant Skis
(Ottawa, Canada) - Ingvard Havnen, Norwegian Ambassador to Canada, and Claude Laram*e, President of Keskinada Loppet, led a team of 80 skiers to victory, breaking the Guinness World Record for the greatest number of people to travel on the same pair of skis. The team skied 150 m (600 ft) on a 250 foot pair of skis. Last year, a team of 64 people, set the Guinness World Record for the greatest number of people to travel on the same pair of skis. The team covered a distance of 120 m (400 ft) on the 64 m (210 ft) skis.
"This event celebrates Norway and CanadaÕs shared enthusiasm for winter sports," said Ambassador Havnen. "The event also honors Norway, the birthplace of cross country skiing."
The Giant Ski Event takes place during Winterlude festivities. This year, invited participants included a number of dignitaries including, the Governor General of Canada and His Excellency John Raulston Saul and local media personalities. The Norwegian Embassy in Ottawa started the Giant Ski Event four years ago in collaboration with Keskinada Loppet. The 24th Annual Keskinada Loppet event brings together the largest number of cross country skiers in Canada, and will be held February 15Š17, 2002, in Gatineau Park.
U.S. Nordic Combined Skiers Sit 7 & 8 Going Into Sunday's XC Event
After jumps on Saturday, U.S. skiers Todd Lodwick and Bill Demong are on 7-8 heading into tomorrow's 15km XC portion of the 2002 Olympic individual Nordic Combined event. Event leader after the jump was Jaakko Tallus of Finland with Mario Stecher of Austria starting 48 seconds behind tomorrow (the pursuit start formula is based on jump distance and points). Lodwick sits 2:15 out from the leader but just 1:22 from third (Samppa Lajunen of Finland). Demong is 5 seconds in back of Lodwick giving rise to the U.S. skiers helping each other out over the 3 lap 5km A course.
xcskiworld.com will have coverage tomorrow morning of the Combined race plus Monday coverage of the opening biathlon competition.
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2002 Winter Olympics: Completed XC Day One...30/15km skate mass starts
Johann The Great...Muehlegg Mows Down Men's 30km Field
Spain's most valuable gift ever from Germany, Johann Muehlegg, proved his domination of the pre-Olympic January 2001 World Cups at Soldier Hollow was no fluke as he just plain blew up a stacked men's 30km skate field winning today by an incredible two minutes and two seconds. What looked possibly like a real dogfight at the starting line quickly turned into a showcase for Muehlegg's raw power as he broke open the early lead group in the first couple kilometers...then tore apart his few remaining challengers (including the notable presence of Sweden's Per Elofsson) over the remainder of the first of four 7.5km loops. At the 7.5km point Muehlegg was clear by 16 seconds and all of a sudden it seemed to dawn on both the rest of the field as well as the sizeable crowd that he could very well run and hide.
He did. Oh boy did he.
A page full of adjectives could be used describing what Muehlegg did over laps 2-3-4 but suffice it to say, he dominated every aspect of the race in every conceivable way. Think Armstrong waving goodbye to the peloton...Jordan pumping in 50...Def Leppard at full volume (you get the idea). By the halfway point Muehlegg was 1:29 clear of Austrian Christian Hoffman who was leading the "chase pack". One could tell even at that point all the chase pack of 5 was chasing was silver and bronze.
Although Elofsson gave a game fight in the early going, the young Swedish talent simply got beaten up by Muehlegg's sizzling early pace. Elofsson reached the halfway point and decided he needed to save his legs for another shot at hardware and dropped out. The rest of the chase pack consisted of Hoffman, Austrian teammate Mikhail Botvinov, Italian Pietro Piller Cottrer, and Norwegians Kristen Skjeldal and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. That group more or less stuck together throughout the last three laps with the Austrians controling things. Heading into the last beast, Hermod's Hill, Hoffman took the whip out and the only one to stay with him all the way to the top his Russian-turned-Austrian buddy Botvinov. The two duked it out around the final big downhill and horseshow hill as Muehlegg was waving to the crowd and enjoying his showcase moment coming across the finish line.
In the stadium Botvinov had the dreaded lead (you just do not want to lead into that last hairpin folks) and sure enough, out of the hairpin Hoffman kicked it into gear. Hold on a second, Hoffman tried to kick it into gear but his first move literally ran up the back of his teammate as he guessed the exact same chute Botvinov was aiming for. A heartstopping brief stall (just imagine if they both went down in a pile with 150 meters to go and three dudes frothing a mere ten seconds back?)...then Hoffman booted up the hard drive to come in second, Botvinov third. Skjeldal comes in fourth a tenth of a second ahead of Piller Cottrer with Bjoerndalen sixth.
Presto, bango, bingo. Central Europe sweeps the podium.
For Hoffman it was a clear case of deja vu as he saw Muehlegg attempt the same run-and-hide gig on this course at last year's 30km World Cup. The difference then was Hoffman was able to bridge the gap and hang with Muehlegg all the way until Hermod's Hill with 1.5km to go. Today with all the marbles on the line it was a different story, "When Johann got away on first lap it was very hard to catch up. Then his advantage kept getting bigger and bigger so it became nearly impossible to think about winning. He was just too strong. I was very tired after the third lap so about then I started focusing on who is going to be 2nd and 3rd.
Muehlegg detailed afterwards that his purpose was to go out front immediately and let everyone try to catch him. "The last 2 days I thought about tactics in this race and I knew what I wanted to do today. It was an Olympic race so you must push and push and push...my tactic was to push the first lap really hard and continue the pace on the 2nd lap to see what would happen. I was alone after one lap and after the 2nd I was still up more than a minute. From there on I skied my own speed and race. It was a perfect groomed track. Everything here it is all perfect...the security, the organization...there's a lot of really hard work put in and I appreciate it."
Did Muehlegg ever worry he had gone too hard, too early? "No, I have a turbo-ized motor (laughs) so I can lose some speed over a race but not all of it. Once I was up by over a minute I knew it was enough to win after 2 or 3 lap. With my motor I knew I wouldn't be caught." How much did this win mean? "Today was super improtant. I knew I had good form but I needed to show myself and the others that I could do it out on the trails. Today was also really important because it showed off the future of XC skiing cause this is the direction (mass start racing) we are going. I think it showed the races can be really interesting and not just a final sprint. If you have it you can decide it during the race. Today I won but it was a victory for XC in many ways I think."
For his part, Botvinov was ultra happy with his bronze. Looking like he'd fade out of any medal hope on lap one, Botvinov was one of the early casualties of the Sahara-like heat Muehlegg was putting out in front. True to his proven toughness though, Botvinov didn't quit and managed to claw his way back to the chase group. "I thought I was out of it early on but the others eased up when they realized they couldn't catch Johann. Suddenly I was back in it and slowly I felt better and better. In the last couple kilometers I could tell Christian was going to be the strongest of the pack so I focused on staying with him on the last big uphill. I caught him on the big downhill and knew he was the better sprinter down the stretch so I just tried to do everything I could to make it close."
For the Scandinavian juggernaut Saturday had to leave some folks a little shaken. Yeah, two Norwegian men finished in the top six but both Skjeldal and Bjoerndalen struggled to control any aspect of the 30km. At the end the Austrians worked them with relative ease on Hermod's Hill and no Scandinavian ever seriously threatened Muehlegg. Asked about his drop, Elofsson was matter-of-fact. "I blew up and decided I needed to save myself for the other races. I tried to stay with Muehlegg because I wanted to win today but he was too strong. My legs didn't have it."
Notably, Elofsson also said he regretted not coming to the pre-Olympic World Cups in January 2001. Elofsson believed the lack of experience on the tough-on-tough Soldier Hollow trails played a big role in his early exit from today's race. That may have been a huge, huge mistake since the top 3 men and 3 of the top 4 women...including both race winners today...ALL skied the January 2001 events which had so many prominent no-shows. It remains to be seen whether or not that mistake turns out to haunt Elofsson and the other no-shows throughout the Olympics.
Not shy about jumping on the subject of supporting racing around the globe, Muehlegg added his voice to the subject after Saturday's races: "I think it was very important to come last year for me and I think Mikhail and Christian would agree. Plus, we are professionals, we have to compete wherever there are races. People last year said I would have problems racing here and getting ready for the Lahti World Championships. Yes, I struggled with jet lag and I caught a cold...but it didn't end my season (Muehlegg won the 50km World event). And I had more experience for this year which was the most important thing. The Scandinavian men didn't come here last year and perhaps they paid a price. We all came here in the summer to train and look around, but it isn't the same. The hills here, they look more flat in the summer, in the winter when you are skiing they are more hilly."
For North America the story was a "fantastic" race by Mr. Consistency Himself, Andrew Johnson who came in 22nd. Johnson's somewhat unexpected top 25 finish saved the day in many ways for the U.S. with illness taking out Justin Wadsworth after just one lap and a struggle of a day for Carl Swenson (58th)...both skiers with legit top ten hopes in this race. Lars Flora came in 56th and Canadian Donald Farley was 47th.
For Johnson the day wasn't a total surprise. The U.S. Development athlete has earned a reputation in elite U.s. circles as one of the most consistent guys on the continent and that consistency paid off as he start relaxed and slowly worked his way through the packs to grab a very respectable Olympic debut finish. "I've had a really good season. I've been healthy and raced very consistently so I knew if I had good skis that good things could happen today. I knew I couldn't afford to take off early so I tried to race conservatively early on and over the race things just got better and better for me."
U.S. Coach Christer Skog called Johnson's race "fantastic" and only wished he had his two top guns healthy. "Andrew had the kind of day we were hoping for from Justin and Carl. They could both have been threatening the top ten today and based on where Andrew finished...and where they usually have finished compared to him, top ten was very much a realistic chance. Now we have to concentrate on getting Carl ready for the sprints (Tuesday the 19th) and we have to get Justin healthy. The good news is that with Andrew skating so well, we now have three guys to choose from for the skate legs of the relay assuming John Bauer and Kris Freeman keep classic skiing the way they have been this season."
Race conditions for the men's race were over-the-top perfect with blue skies, no wind, temps warming into the low 30s and a crowd that only seemed to grow over the course of the day. Universally the crowd and media reaction was that the first individual mass start was a whopping success.
Women's 15km: The Small Bird Is Flying
If you came by earlier on Feb. 9 you'll find bonus coverage of the women's race in this report.
Italian Stephania Belmondo flat out kicked butt in an amazing display of grit and all out racing-from-the-gut in the final kilometers to claim gold in the women's 15km mass start skate. Belmondo come back from a broken pole at the 10.5km point, plus an unreal series of attacks by an Eastern European blockade, to win a sprint finish against Russian Larissa Lazutina. Katerina Neumanova outworked a chase pack to claim third.
A pack of fifteen women separated over the course of the first of two 7.5km loops led on nearly every uphill by either Lazutina or her countrywoman Julia Tchepalova (4th at the end). The clear strategy by the two Russian machines was to work the field from the gun and they made a game effort of that plan attacking, reattacking, and attacking some more. Both Belmondo and Neumannova covered every move but over the course of the last part of lap one the pack starts to fracture at the pack going from 15 to 13. Over lap two it continued to break up in the back going down to 9 skiers heading into the infamous Hermod's Hill at 6km.
What many spectators couldn't see was that between the wicked fast downhill at roughly 11km and the reappearance of the pack at the bottom of Hermod's (13.5km), Belmondo first had a pole stepped on and broken...then a French coach's replacement pole proved too long for the tiny Italian...only after losing roughly 8 seconds she finally got a good replacement from an Italian serviceman. Her push to get back on the train before the bottom of the final uphills will have to go down as one of the most amazing surges in Olympic history. On the big uphill, perhaps feeling the juice from her near-disaster, Belmondo took the battle to the Russians and unleashed her own attack that separated her and Lazutina from the rest heading into the big final DH. Lazutina took the lead at the top (as we'll see later not to the displeasure of Belmondo).
Down the big downhill and around the final horseshoe hill, then into the stadium the two leaders simply increased their margin over the chase group. Going into the final Stadium hairpin turn Belmondo did what so many have succeeded in doing here and took the inside coming out of the hairpin. Perhaps showing a wee bit lack of mass start experience, Lazutina gave Belmondo the space she needed in the final straight to take the inside lane and that, ladies and gentlemen, was all the Italian needed for gold. Both skiers pounded down the stretch but Belmondo clearly had better pace and even before the line it was obvious that she had Lazutina beaten. The final margin of 1.8 seconds might has well been 10 seconds such was the blistering finish by "Italy's tiny butterfly". Neumannova enjoyed a similar break to separate from Tchepalova, Finland's Kaisa Varis, and Belarus' Svetlana Nagejkina for bronze (6.9 seconds off Belmondo).
Belmondo afterwards said, "Today I am very, very happy. After 10 years another gold medal in the Olympics (a gold in Albertville in 1992). It's incredible but these are very good tracks for me. When my pole was broken at 10.5km I thought the race was over. I literally cried and screamed because I was so upset. A French coach gave me a pole, but I'm so tiny, the pole was just too big...I just started to push with one hand only and had to ski that way for 600-700m just with one arm without regular pole. I was thinking, oh my race is over for good. I felt exhausted and lost 6-8 sec. Then my trainer gave me the right pole and I gave it all I had to finish line."
When she got back to the pack, when did Belmondo realize a break had taken place and it was just you and Lazutina going into the final stretch?
"At top of the big last hill I wanted Lazutina to pass me cause I had wonderful skis and I knew if I could be behind I would have the advantage in the stadium. At the final corner I turned around I knew it was either silver or gold. All I could think was...I just can't come in second, I have to have gold."
How does this medal compare to '92?
"In Albertville I was 23 years old, I'm 33 now so it is two completely different times in the life of anyone. Gold is always beautiful. There is an interesting story I must tell...this October I was asked to bring my '92 gold medal to the Italian Alps for a ceremony, when we got there the medal actually broke into pieces due to the cold or altitude or something. I thought then that I have to get another one to replace it. Now I've done it. I also have to tell you I'm happy, in my life I've been racing since I was 8, heck of a long time since then. In life it is beautiful to win but I believe people can win without sports. You can win with your family for example. Gold is wonderful feeling ."
Lazutina said afterwards that her toughest time on Saturday was at the start, "Most difficult place for me was the beginning...I haven't done many mass starts so I was a bit nervous. Of course, the approach to the finish with Stephi was also very hard. I guess I did everything I could do but she was too fast in the sprint. At first when I realized I lost I wasn't happy at all. But then once I crossed the finish line I was overwelmed with joy because I had silver and I had done everything I could for that result. I want to thank my service group for all the support over the years. We've done a great job...and I underscore WE have a silver medal.
The Russian was less pleased with the extensive security measures put in place for the 2002 Games. "This is my 4th Olympics and no one has ever searched my personal belongings the way they do here. Everytime we are searched so completely I feel it is a put down to the athletes. We came here to compete, we have nothing else on our kinds but competition. Nothing negative on our minds. They are searching us and opening everything. Haven't damaged anything but the bitter aftertaste is beyond my comprehension. Before I'm let in to a race or training I feel like a guilty party."
For her part, bronze medalist Neumannova was far less concerned about the security measures and happy with her hardware. "I didn't feel all that great early on. The race was a bit of a struggle for me in many ways. But in the end I had enough for third so for me today that is as good as a victory. The security? I think they are doing it for our own protection and it isn't that much a problem for me."
Top North American was Nina Kemppel in 30th who generally seemed upbeat about her performance. "I'm pretty satisfied with this. I didn't know what to think about this race so it's OK in terms of result. Actually, I've been in the 60s in a couple of my last Olympics so being 30th is something I should be happy about for today!"
U.S. Coach Christer Skog called Kemppel's race along with Barb Jones in 44th and Kristina Joder in 54th "about as good as we could have expected from the women today". Skog added: "We will build from today for the rest of the Games and see what we can get out of the other races. Canadian coach Dave Wood echoed comments of the Fortier sisters...Amanda Fortier in 35th and Jaime Fortier in 38th by saying "it was an OK day...we can use a bit more tapering to get really sharp but it's a long Games and we still have a lot of racing left in us...I think we'll be fine".
U.S. Olympic rookies Jones and Joder were positive with their comments in the finish area with Joder wondering if her lack of nervous energy in the start area could have been to being too familiar with the Soldier Hollow venue (the former University of Utah has lived within an hour of the trails since they were built). Jones said that her NCAA collegiate races for Dartmouth actually proved to be the best prep for the mass start format and a 15km distance. "You have to be ready for the pace early on, that's a big key. Towards the end I was totally tired but the crowd was so loud that it just carried you to the finish...that was very cool to be part of."
Notable note for NCAA race fans, University of Nevada-Reno/Czech Republic skier (and defending double NCAA champion) Katerina Hanusova skied to a solid 21st spot, just 1.4 seconds from her goal of a top 20. Hanusova called her effort "not too shabby...I'm happy even though I really wanted the top twenty".
After early morning clouds and cold fog, the weather for the women's race turned out to be fan-tas-tic with beautiful blue skies and temps warming into the 20s. With the surrounding mountains dressed in white we are talking about an incredible day for racing here. The tracks are bullets even with the mixed-in fresh granules.
Remember folks that if you are sitting by computers all day you can find real time results and complete final results posted on the official Games sites linked in the Olympic section of xcskiworld.com.
2002 Olympics: (Early AM) Day One...30/15km skate mass starts
We're coming direct to you from Soldier Hollow, Utah with about 45 minutes to go before the first XC race of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Temperature at the race venue is a brisk 9F /-13C with a trace of fresh snow over night. Skies are partly cloudy with almost no wind...actually a bit of inversion on the valley floor.
Word from the various team camps overnight has the U.S. team on pins and needles regarding the health of Justin Wadsworth who has battled a cold this week. His race start to be determined this morning. From Sweden, the notable absence of Mathias Fredrickson will leave race favorite Per Elofsson one valuable man shy in any team tactics to play out today.
Early morning crowds look to be healthy...real healthy. But folks are quickly learning to take the estimated time required to get past security and on/off shuttles very seriously. Already this morning, it has taken spectators up to one and a half hours to simply go from their cars at the park and ride until they are past the last checkpoint at the venue. If any readers are planning a trip later in the Games...pay heed! You need all the time you can give yourself to get here. Oh, and dress warm. You can always peel off the extra layers later on.
Soldier Hollow USA: One Day To Go
The countdown is on in Utah with just hours left til skiers toe the line in the opening XC events of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Tomorrow the world's best tackle not only each other in the 30/15km freestyle but also the first mass start individual races in modern Olympic history...and the brutally-tough Soldier Hollow layout. A fun day at the office some would say. Ya think some folks aren't going to get much in the way of sleep tonight?
Things will get rolling with the women's 15km at 9am in the morning (Mountain Standard Time...2 hours behind EST, 1 hour behind CST, 1 hour ahead of PST for North American readers). The men follow at 12:30pm which will mean a healthy gap of around 2.5 hours in between races. Women race two laps on the 7.5km course with men enjoying a scenic four lap jaunt around the same route. As with the January 2001 World Cups, the expectation among veteran observers is that "the big moves" for the day will be made on major uphills locationed at roughly the 4km and 6.5km points. The latter...known as "Hermot's Hill" after one of the course designers...was the exact spot Spain's Johann Muehlegg pounded out his win in last season's World Cup. Seen by the entire stadium and general viewing areas, Hermot's will have a major say in decided many a race over the next couple weeks...bank on it.
Weather on Friday afternoon at the venue doesn't offer up a whole lot of reassurance to the waxing crews with temperatures in the high 20s with a steady wind and occasional snow flurries. A couple inches of fresh snow greeted the venue early on Friday with a chance of snow overnight and into race time on Saturday. Yet knowing the weather report is of little help to the international crews working like mad right now to piece together their little bit of history. Past major events at Soldier have yielded only one conclusive wax-related axiom...wait 10 minutes and something else will probably work. Oh yeah, we forgot, there is another axiom...whatever you thought you knew about waxing, forget it. Here, all the rules have changed. Why for? The combination of mountains, man-made lakes, valleys, artificial snow, and famous Wasatch bone-dry natural snow all conspire to wreak havoc with the waxing norms coaches and athletes have become used to just about anywhere else in the world. Plus, like the 1998 Nagano Olympic venue, Soldier Hollow has a variety of aspects (including a few southern slopes) making for incredible variety in snow conditions over the span of a single 5km loop. In one spot you might have fresh packed powder...in another spot glare ice packed artificial snow...in another spot transformed "slush"...and in another spot windblown granules over a packed surface. For classic races it gets wild here but even for the skate races, especially on a day like tomorrow where skis are going to play a huge role in the final outcome...wax, structure and ski selection is likely to spell the difference between a big day and something you'd rather forget.
Predictions?
For the women's race you start with two prominent Russian names and work backwards from there in the sixteen deep red group field (red group meaning skiers seeded for each race out of the overall World Cup top 30). Russians Julia Tchepalova and Larissa Lazutina both have the golden juice potential. Italy's Stephania Belmondo is also a player in any skate race (though we still have not heard if she got her skis back from the Sun Valley theft of 10 days ago). Then there is the healthy form of Czech Republic's Katerina Neumannova. A dark horse would be no other than the gal that touched off the latest doping controversy, Estonian Kristina Smigun. North American's on the start list are Nina Kemppel, Barb Jones and Kristina Joder for the U.S....sisters Amanda and Jaime Fortier will carry Canadian hopes. A total field of 60 is listed making a top 20 finish for any North American very much a possibility (though no easy feat).
Gotta believe that Sweden's Per Elofsson and the aforementioned Muehlegg will be players in the men's race. Also in the mix will likely be Austrians Botvinov and Hoffman and the Norwegian team...yeah, the entire Norwegian team (Alsgaard, Skjeldal, Hetland, Bjoerndalen). A good dark horse? The Italians, again, just about any of them (Zorzi, Maj, Piller Cottrer, Fauner). They skied really well as a team last year at the World Cup and had a very nice January 2002 World Cup run before the pre-Games training period. Also not to be counted out would be German Rene Sommerfeldt who was third here last year. North Americans in the 77 skier start list include U.S. skiers Justin Wadsworth, Carl Swenson, Andrew Johnson, and Lars Flora plus Canadian Donald Farley. Again a great chance for a huge day for these fellows.
Bottomline Guess: Look for team tactics to play a big role in deciding things. One of the two Russian gals wins (flip a coin) and Cristian Zorzi from Italy pulls the stunner for the men.
Russian Nailed In Doping Test
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Two days before the start of the Olympics, Russian cross-country skier Natalia Baranova was tossed from the Winter Games for testing positive for the endurance-boosting hormone EPO. The Russian, who turns 27 the day after the Games end, tested positive in an out-of-competition test on Jan. 18 at Tauplitzalm, Austria, according to the FIS. EPO, or erythropoietin, boosts production of oxygen-carrying red blood cells.
In accordance with federation rules, Baranova was immediately suspended Wednesday from all of its events, including the Salt Lake City Games. The federation council will rule later on her final penalty. Ordinarily, a test failure means a two-year suspension. The Russian National Olympic Committee confirmed the withdrawal of the athlete, according to the International Olympic Committee.
Barnova was scheduled to compete in the 10- and 30-kilometre classical races as well as the 4x5-kilometre relay and five-kilometre freestyle pursuit. She is currently 14th in the overall world cup this season and has been 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th and 10th in World Cup events this season.
A week ago, IOC president Jacques Rogge warned that a substantial increase in the number of tests would inevitably lead to more positive tests for performance enhancers.
"Every athlete you catch is a good thing for sport," he said. "The more cheats we catch, the more deterrent there will be. If you test more, you have more chances to get a positive case. If tomorrow, I can catch 50, I'd be happy. I prefer no athlete to cheat, but you have to be realistic."
For the first time, all endurance athletes - more than 700 competitors in cross country skiing, biathlon, Nordic combined and speedskating - will be tested for EPO. EPO, one of the most widely abused drugs in sports, enhances endurance by stimulating the production of oxygen-carrying red blood cells. It has been linked particularly with cycling and long-distance running, but also is believed popular in a number of winter sports. Athletes in Salt Lake City will undergo a combined blood-urine test, similar to the EPO controls introduced for the first time at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
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A Possible Reason For The Delay In Pre-Olympic Testing Results
SALT LAKE CITY - Just before the 2002 Winter Games begin Friday, the names of athletes caught in pre-Olympic drug tests will be released by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). But rather than detract from the opening ceremonies, agency chairman Richard Pound said yesterday naming the cheats will enhance the festivities.
"I think the best thing in the world is to say: `We found someone trying to get in here cheating and we've taken him or her out of play -- you're not going to wreck these Games,' " Pound said. "Every confirmed positive ought to be made public and people have to know if they can enter other competitions."
Pound gave no hint of who, or how many, will be named when the anti-doping agency announces results of the roughly 3,500 out-of-competition tests it has taken on athletes in the past year. About 1,000 of the tests were on athletes in winter sports. Last month, the agency announced it had 28 positive tests. But they included some athletes with medical clearance to use drugs on the International Olympic Committee's list of banned substances, such as asthma medications.
Two Wisconsin Events Still On
Despite a barrage of cancellations of cross country ski events across the upper Midwest, two Cable/Hayward, Wisconsin area events are set to go. There is good snow and good tracks where these races are being held.
HAYWARD LIONS PRE-BIRKIE Saturday, Feb. 9 *Start time: 11:00AM *Start location: Telemark Resort, Cable, Wisconsin Finish location: Cty. Hwy OO, Seeley, Wis. *Note: the start location and time have been changed from the traditional location and time. Info: Bob Olson, msibob@cheqnet.net NORTH END CLASSIC Sunday, Feb. 10 Start time: 10:00AM Start Location: Cable Union Airport adjacent to Telemark Resort Finish Location: Telemark Resort Info: Ron Bergin, (715)798-3599. Register for the North End Classic on-line at www.signmeupsports.com. There will be day-of registration for both events.
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Altitude Symposium To Be Held During The Olympics
An altitude symposium will be held on February 16th at 3pm in the Wasatch High School Library in the Heber Valley (Utah). Participants must RSVP to get in at altitudesymposium@hotmail.com. Guests will be: Dr. Jim Stray-Gunderson; Rolf Saterdal (Norwegian Ol committee); Larry Kutt (CAT); Dr. Mahlon Dradley (US Figure Skating); Nathan Schultz; and Barb Jones. Invited: Bjorn Daehlie and Per Eloffson.
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Grand Prix Article
Idaho Statesman article on Sun Valley Grand Prix held last Wednesday and won by Johann Muelegg and Stephania Belmondo.
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Dope Show Today: Part One
Editor: If anyone thought the positive/negative Kristina Smigun saga of last week was the ultimate for a sport-politic conspiracy theory...you might want to rethink things. Over the past several days xcskiworld.com has literally been buried in email from around the world with information that seems to indicate this entire episode may be just the tip of a very big and very dangerous iceberg. For those not up to speed with the story, scroll down to the February 1 update and/or read this Salt Lake Tribune article to get yourself up to speed. Here's the latest...
From Skidsport.com (thanks to Inge Scheve for translation)...18 XC athletes are under suspicion for EPO doping
One week before the start of the Olympics, alarming documents have been found in Europe reporting that 18 cross-country skiers are under suspicion for EPO doping. The International Ski Federation (FIS) is investigating the cases according to the Danish newspaper Ekstrabladet. The paper adds that if the accusations are true, several athletes will be barred from the Games.
"I can confirm that 18 cross-country skiers, both male and female, who I cannot name, have been tested and that their tests reveal reticulocyte values above the legal limit," said medical doctor Rasmus Damsgaard who works for the Anti Doping agency in Denmark.
During the World Cup, all of these athletes have been blood tested. If these tests come out with reticulocyte values above the legal limit, the athletes must submit a urine sample. For an athlete to be classified as EPO doped, both the urine and the blood samples must be above the limit. High reticulocyte values can be normal in women during menstruation and if an athlete has certain blood disorders.
What does this report mean? Well, originally xcskiworld.com had learned of an additional 14 XC athletes that had positive A samples from December random testing. If this report is accurate it means that number has now expanded by four...with Smigun not in the mix apparently since she has already been cleared to compete. Any way you cut it, the report won't bode well for the overall mood in Soldier Hollow starting this weekend.
Scenario One: If all 18 are cleared and we never hear their names, then suspicion and rumor have the potential to literally rip apart the integrity of the sport. Already the XC community has to come to grips with the suspicion and doubt that will surround Smigun and for that matter, the entire Finnish contingent due to the last two major dope show installments. It won't help that Lbuvov Egorova (nailed in 1997 for steroid use and cleared to compete just 2 years later) is part of the 2002 Russian team. It also doesn't help that Jari IsometsS, a prominent member of the Lahti six, is publicly planning a comeback in time for next year's World Championship.
Scenario Two: Some of the 18 are suspended, names released, hoopla ensues...some are cleared. Repeat all the big questions raised in the February 1 xcskiworld.com coverage of the Smigun saga. Those that are found guilty can immediately file appeals pointing to the Smigun case and (accurately enough) claim the testing procedure is flawed because values from samples are so different. Those are cleared will immediately be cast under the same dark cloud of doubt that Smigun finds herself under (right or wrong). Worse...if none of the names are released, virtually everyone at the top in Soldier Hollow will be suspect. The XC competitions become a witch hunt at Hogwarts.
Bottomline: No matter how it plays out, the 2002 Olympics are very likely to be a public relations disaster akin to the Tour de Dope fiasco the cycling world faced a couple years ago.
Dope Show Today: Part Two
We've had several folks "in the know" weigh in with technical and political comments regarding the fallout from the Smigun situation...and some highly-charged eyebrow raisers with regards to the 18 skiers mentioned above.
On the technical side we have some great information submitted by Chris Cline of Salt Lake City, Utah worth sharing for the educational value to those of us that don't work in labs everyday:
"Before we decide that a sample actually has "X" concentration of something in it, we go through a fairly vigorous data validation process. My question is what kind of validation is being done by the FIS. There are a lot of ways to collect inconclusive data, either on purpose or inadvertently. Then, when there is a question about the data...the legal response is going to be to give the individual involved the benefit of the doubt. By doing sloppy data collection or analysis, you can just about guarantee that you will never be able to prove that someone did something wrong. On the other hand, you can do things right, and still come up with discrepancies like the two values above and below the legal standard in Smiguin's case. In those instances, you have to accept the limitations of your detection techniques, and give that person the benefit of the doubt because you don't have the ability to make the distinction.
A couple of things that should be considered:
Detection Levels: In a way, the numbers generated from lab tests like these are not absolute numbers. Instead, they are relative to a "standard curve." This curve is generated by running samples with known concentrations of the substance ("spikes") at different points along a concentration curve. Ideally, you want your sample values to be somewhere in the middle of the standard curve. When you start getting out towards the ends of the curve (either too high of a concentration, or too low), there is a lot more uncertainty. So, the question is, what is the detection limit or detection range for the hormone samples involved in this case? If the concentrations involved are near the detection limit, it would not be unusual to get the type of variation seen in this case. If both values (the above and below 5 ng values) are in the "belly" of the curve, this question is still on the table.
Sample splitting: This is the one that seems the most fishy to me. If you pee into one cup, then someone hands you another cup, and you then pee into that cup, those are NOT duplicate samples. The proper method is to pee into one cup (i.e., collect one sample), make sure it is homogenous, then SPLIT that sample into two, duplicate samples. One sample is run, and the other is held for quality control purposes (i.e., for later testing). In the mean time, those samples have to be treated exactly the same, usually up until the point they are frozen at -40 deg. C for storage. Otherwise, you're essentially testing two different, but related samples, and it's very difficult to compare results.
The big question to me then, is what kind of laboratory QA/QC standards are the FIS laboratories being held up to, and, how well are they achieving those standards."
This precise point has been raised from anti-doping advocates over the past several years. No one is providing real answers to the tough questions surrounding accountability, validity, and security with international testing. The questions are being asked over and over again by athletes, national teams, and interested media...but the conclusive answers are still missing.
Dope Show Today: Part Three
Some tidbits from various sources that make you go hmmmmmmm...
- The normal range for the steroid that Smigun tested positive for is around .08 for females (unless pregnant). For men it's around 2. Smigun tested negative at 4.2 and positive at 6.4 in her two samples.
- According to all technical experts contacted by xcskiworld.com, two samples should come out almost identical unless a lab's machine is out of calibration, or there was an error in the sampling, or tampering. The FIS itself has said it is highly unusual to have samples vary in their testing protocol...yet Smigun's tests showed a 35% difference. Are we going to see similar double digit differences with the 18 athletes currently on the testing block? How many other negative B samples are out there that didn't get announced after a positive A sample?
- Persistent rumours continue to surface (some from Norway itself) that 4 Norwegians tested positive in December testing. True or not, another big question surfaces...could the sport survive the paradigm of "clean excellence" stained by dope?
- And finally...yet another big question. Why is it taking until early February to get results from B samples on the 18 athletes reportedly found with positive A samples back in December? While we are on the subject, why...in the Smigun case...did it take from mid-December until the end of January to get definitive word on her samples? These timelines seem terribly out of whack with the incredibly fast results produced at the 2001 World Championships when the Lahti six were going down. Could it be that in Lahti an independent testing agency (WADA)...one that wouldn't have anything to lose if big name athletes were caught in the net...that agency did all the sampling, testing, and interpretation?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
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Biathlon Junior World Relay Medal: Play-by-play
By Brian Olsen of www.frozenbullet.com, 03 February 2002
The American junior women's relay team answers the call, placing second in the final day of competition in Ridnaun, Italy. The team of Carolyn Treacy (Duluth, MN), Tracy Barnes (Durango, CO), and Lanny Barnes (Durango, CO), was in first place for much of the race. Carolyn Treacy was the first leg, and entered the range first, closely followed by Germany, Belarus, and Russia. She cleaned with no extra rounds, leaving the range in first. Jenny Adler of Germany, who used one extra round, quickly followed and passed Treacy before the second shooting bout. Treacy stayed calm, however, and cleaned her next five targets as well, with no extra rounds. But Adler did as well, and was able to tag off to her second leg 13.3 seconds before Treacy handed the pressure off to Tracy Barnes. Barnes lost some time to the German team on her first loop, but quickly hit all of her five targets in the first shooting stage. Germany's Kathrin Pfisterer had to use one extra round. The German had lost ground, and Barnes was again in the lead. At the second shooting stage in the standing position, Barnes cleaned again! Pfisterer missed four targets, and thus had to ski a 150-meter penalty. Tracy handed off to twin sister Lanny Barnes almost twenty seconds ahead of the German team. Ute Niziak of Germany passed Lanny, who placed third in yesterday's individual competition, in the first loop. Niziak shot clean, while Barnes missed one and had to use an extra round. She skied off, but Niziak was far ahead. The German used only one extra round in the final standing stage, putting the pressure on Barnes to shoot clean. She was unable to, and had to make use of three extra rounds. She brought the American team to its first relay podium ever at a major World Championship event, in second place. They were 1:18 behind the German team, almost a minute ahead of the team from Russia. Tracy Barnes and Carolyn Treacy posted the 3rd and 4th split times respectively.
Earlier that day, however, the junior men's relay team was putting pressure on traditionally dominant nations in its own field. Walt Shepard (Yarmouth, ME) started the team off well; even with a second wave start position. He entered the range in second place, behind the Slovakian leader. Shepard cleaned with no extra rounds in a brisk 32 seconds, and went on course. He was soon passed by the German's first leg, Michael Roesch. The two entered the range together, and Shepard cleaned again in the standing stage. The last loop proved brutal, however, as he was passed by two teams, from Slovakia and Belarus. He handed off to teammate Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY) in the fourth position, only seven seconds behind the German team. Burke, who placed eleventh in Thursday's pursuit race, was up to the challenge. He was able to pass the two nearest teams and ski onto the tails of German Wick's skis, arriving in the range only two seconds behind him. Burke cleaned with no extra rounds, but the German was able to clean with one extra round in only twenty-five seconds. Burke left the range in second place. He arrived in the range for his final shooting only thirteen seconds down to the German. Missing one, he had to utilize one extra round - the relay competition gives biathletes three extra rounds to use. He skied well in the final lap, and brought the team to second place, before handing off to youth team member Evan Ray (St. Paul, MN). Ray was out skied by the competition on the first loop, and was passed by two teams, arriving in the range in fourth position. He had to use all of his three relay rounds, which can take ten to fifteen seconds to use. Ray moved out on course, but had lost a lot of time with his shooting errors. He arrived in the range in sixth place, more than two minutes behind the German leader. Ray again had to use three extra rounds, but thankfully had to ski no penalty loops. He tagged off to Anders Osthus (Duluth, MN) in sixth place, less than three minutes behind the leader. Osthus skied a respectable first loop, but the fifth place team was already well ahead of him. Anders hit all of his targets, using no extra rounds. Only one more shooting stage remained, and he entered the range confidently in eighth place. However, he had to use three extra rounds in order to hit all five targets, losing some time in the loading process. He skied a nice last loop, bringing the team into seventh place. The relay team placed twelfth last year in Khanty-Mansiysk. Tim Burke posted the 4th fastest split time with Walt Sheppard claiming the 11th fastest split.
Abundant shooting penalties plagued the youth men's relay team. Nathan Erlandson (Grand Rapids, MN) used five extra rounds, but skied one penalty loop, to bring the team into thirteenth place. Ben Byrne (Bovey, MN) used six extra rounds and skied two penalty loops, only to drop to fifteenth place. The final leg, Kurt Farchmin (Duluth, MN), shot very well, using only three extra rounds, to bring the youth American team to a final fourteenth place.
The youth women's relay team skied no penalty loops today, finishing in fifth place. Emelia Demarchis (Burlington, VT) used only two extra rounds to hand off to Annalies Cook (Saranac Lake, NY) in fifth place, a little over a minute behind the leading team from Russia. Cook cleaned all of her targets in the prone stage, putting her in a strong third place for the second stage. She used three extra rounds, however, and dropped to fourth place, less than twenty seconds behind the leader. Antonia Slaughter (Orono, MN) had excellent shooting today. She used only one extra round. The other competitors were faster on skis, and she fell to a respectable fifth place at the finish line. Annelies Cook posted the 2nd fastest split time of the day.
Go to www.ibu.at/01-02/bjwc/index.html for complete results from the week's competitions.
Junior Women's Relay 1 GERMANY GER 0 1 1:11:04.4 2 USA USA 0 0 +1:19.3 3 RUSSIA RUS 1 0 +2:16.1 4 SWEDEN SWE 0 2 +3:02.9 5 BELARUS BLR 3 0 +3:20.7 6 FINLAND FIN 0 0 +3:28.1 7 CZECH REPUBLIC CZE 0 2 +4:04.0 8 FRANCE FRA 1 3 +4:07.4 9 NORWAY NOR 2 0 +4:59.7 10 CANADA CAN 0 1 +5:08.6 11 UKRAINE UKR 0 1 +5:38.6 12 ROMANIA ROM 0 0 +6:29.9 13 POLAND POL 2 2 +7:10.0 14 ITALY ITA 2 1 +9:10.4 15 BULGARIA BUL 1 3 +11:13.8 16 GREECE GRE 7 3 +29:48.9 Junior Men Relay 4 x 7.5km 1 GERMANY GER 0 0 1:20:29.9 2 CZECH REPUBLIC CZE 0 0 +2.8 3 BELARUS BLR 0 0 +1:28.5 4 SLOVAKIA SVK 0 0 +1:53.4 5 RUSSIA RUS 1 0 +2:14.7 6 SWEDEN SWE 0 0 +2:41.3 7 USA USA 0 0 +3:40.1 8 FRANCE FRA 0 0 +3:53.2 9 AUSTRIA AUT 1 1 +4:07.6 10 LATVIA LAT 0 2 +4:46.4 11 NORWAY NOR 0 3 +5:29.3 12 UKRAINE UKR 0 2 +5:50.5 13 SLOVENIA SLO 0 2 +6:06.6 14 ITALY ITA 0 4 +7:24.1 15 CANADA CAN 0 2 +7:39.7 16 BULGARIA BUL 1 0 +7:57.9 17 POLAND POL 4 0 +8:45.7 18 ESTONIA EST 0 1 +9:03.1 19 SWITZERLAND SUI 6 1 +9:44.1 20 GREECE GRE 13 4 +29:41.3 FINLAND FIN 0 1 Youth Women's Relay 3x 7.5 1 CHINA CHN 1 0 58:01.1 2 RUSSIA RUS 2 0 +6.8 3 GERMANY GER 0 0 +22.3 4 FINLAND FIN 0 0 +1:51.4 5 USA USA 0 0 +2:01.5 6 KAZAKSTAN KAZ 2 1 +3:27.4 7 POLAND POL 1 2 +3:40.3 8 CZECH REPUBLIC CZE 4 1 +4:15.6 9 AUSTRIA AUT 1 0 +4:31.5 10 CANADA CAN 0 1 +5:05.1 11 SLOVAKIA SVK 2 2 +5:30.7 12 UKRAINE UKR 1 5 +7:01.0 13 NORWAY NOR 1 4 +8:28.3 14 ITALY ITA 4 5 +9:18.1 15 BULGARIA BUL 3 5 +12:41.7 Youth Men's Relay 3 x 7.5km 1 GERMANY GER 0 0 1:01:10.3 2 RUSSIA RUS 0 2 +3:25.5 3 POLAND POL 0 0 +4:00.4 4 SLOVENIA SLO 2 1 +4:57.1 5 FINLAND FIN 0 0 +5:29.3 6 SLOVAKIA SVK 0 3 +5:33.9 7 ITALY ITA 1 3 +5:37.6 8 UKRAINE UKR 0 2 +5:59.2 9 LATVIA LAT 1 1 +6:22.4 10 CZECH REPUBLIC CZE 0 1 +6:34.7 11 NORWAY NOR 1 0 +6:48.7 12 BULGARIA BUL 0 2 +6:51.5 13 AUSTRIA AUT 0 2 +7:20.2 14 USA USA 2 2 +9:24.7 15 ESTONIA EST 2 4 +9:40.0 16 CANADA CAN 1 4 +10:32.3 17 CROATIA CRO 9 5 +16:41.2
Lanny Barnes Leads U.S. To Two Historic Biathlon Junior World Medals
Late Sunday News Flash...The US junior women were 2nd to Germany today in the World Junior relay. The Russians were 3rd. Carolyn Treacy tagged in 2nd to Tracy Barnes who tagged to Lanny Barnes in 1st. Ute Nitziak of Germany was too much for Lanny to hold off. This represents an historic finish for the U.S. as it is the first relay medal at the World Junior Championships. Good skiing was complimented by great shooting as the young gals only used 4 extra rounds on the day!
US men were in 2nd for the first and second legs (Walt Sheppard and Tim Burke) and end up 7th out of 20 teams. Ray and Osthus were 3rd and 4th legs. Coaches called the effort a "very World Class performance".
Earlier results from the Biathlon Junior Worlds (report by Brian Olsen of www.frozenbullet.com)
World Junior Biathlon Championships are being held this year in the mountain village of Ridnaun, in northern Italy. Italy has been quite rewarding to American juniors, as Jay Hakkinnen claimed a victory in the sprint race at World Junior Championships in Forni Avoltri, Italy, in 1997.
Lanny Barnes (Durango, CO) - who won the individual race at US Olympic Trials in late December - claimed the bronze medal in that same race at World Junior Championships in Ridnaun, Italy. Barnes shot 95%, with only one miss. This is the first World Championship Medal for an American Junior Women ever. The individual race penalizes competitors with one-minute time fines, added on at the completion of the race. After two days of mediocre results from the junior women's team, the other three members of the team provided back up to Lanny's sensational performance. Lanny's twin sister, Tracy Barnes, recorded a top-ten finish by placing eighth, with two misses. Carolyn Treacy (Duluth, MN) skied exceptionally well, placing 17th, even with five missed targets. She skied the seventh fastest out of the 63 competitors. All seventeen competitors ahead of Treacy missed four or less targets. Beth Ann Ellingson (Grand Rapids, MN) placed 45th with seven missed targets.
The junior men's team has had two great days of racing, providing four top-twenty results. Today's individual race proved to be a bit different. Walt Shepard (Yarmouth, ME), who cleaned a sprint race at US Olympic Trials and is an amazing shooter, was expected to do well in the race, for accurate shooting is of the essence. However, his shooting failed to materialize in the range, and he missed seven of his twenty targets. Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY) provided the team's best result, with an admirable 31st place. He missed six targets in all, but skied the 7th fastest. Anders Osthus missed ten targets to finish in 72nd place. Osthus is an extremely talented skier, and is slowly making his way to becoming a full-time biathlete. It just takes time. All of the junior men have an additional year of competition ahead of them in the junior category. They will be competing in tomorrow's relay competition, which should prove exciting for both the athletes and fans.
Evan Ray (St. Paul, MN), who claimed top-ten performances in both the sprint and pursuit in the youth men's field, dropped from being the top American competitor in that field. Kurt Farchmin (Duluth, MN) missed only four targets to claim the top American result in the race, placing 27th. A little more than thirty seconds back was Ray, who missed five targets, in 35th place. Ben Byrne (Bovey, MN) and Nate Erlandson (Grand Rapids, MN) both missed seven targets to place 46th and 50th, respectively.
Annalies Cook (Saranac Lake, NY) has proved to be the most stable American, for she again finished in the top-twenty in the youth women's individual race. She missed six targets to finish in 16th place. Antonia Slaughter (Orono, MN), who has been sick all week, finished her first World Junior Championship race in 43rd place. Slaughter missed five targets in all. Emelia Demarchis (Burlington, VT) did not finish.
JUNIOR MEN'S 15-KM INDIVIDUAL 1 EDER S. AUT 0100 42:12.4 =2 GOUSSEV A. RUS 1100 +22.3 =2 R SCH M. GER 1101 +22.3 31 BURKE T. USA 1221 +4:26.7 49 SHEPARD W. USA 2221 +7:07.0 72 OSTHUS A. USA 2323 +10:02.8 JUNIOR WOMEN'S 12.5-KM INDIVIDUAL 1 KOLESNIKOVA N. RUS 0000 40:43.8 2 NIZIAK U. GER 1110 +2:43.5 3 BARNES L. USA 0001 +2:46.2 17 TREACY C. USA 1202 +5:25.6 45 ELLINGSON B. USA 2212 +8:44.0 YOUTH MEN'S 12.5-KM INDIVIDUAL 1 KNIE C. GER 2110 39:10.8 2 BEREZHNYY O. UKR 0111 +6.9 3 STROHM T. GER 1201 +19.9 27 FARCHMIN K. USA 0120 +4:21.8 35 RAY E. USA 1130 +4:54.5 46 BYRNE B. USA 1132 +6:27.9 50 ERLANDSON N. USA 2014 +6:45.2 YOUTH WOMEN'S 10-KM INDIVIDUAL 1 ECKHOFF K. NOR 1100 35:46.9 2 KARASVYCH N. UKR 0001 +2.6 3 MARKKANEN M. FIN 1200 +9.0 16 COOK A. USA 0312 +3:04.3 43 SLAUGHTER A. USA 0014 +7:18.5
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CRAFTSBURY MARATHON & SKI TOUR DRAWS LARGEST CROWD EVER!
Over 700 skiers came to the Craftsbury Outdoor Center today to either race or tour the 21st annual Craftsbury Ski Marathon, the third scored event in the American Ski Marathon Series Champions Cup. Frigid single-digit temperatures tested the fortitude of both the 25- and 50-km skiers, but the brilliant February sunshine soon warmed up the morning. Fresh powder combined with icy granular conditions to make for tricky waxing. The fastest skiers applied a thin base layer of binder and a little klister, covered with many layers of hard wax. Despite the bitter cold and the rocket-fast downhills, skiers from age 7 to 70 enjoyed blue skies, scenic vistas and the rolling fields between Greensboro and Craftsbury Common, VT. Recreational touring skiers fueled up at the gourmet feed stations, sponsored by area restaurants. At the post-event Awards Ceremony, dozens of sponsors provided over $10,000 in prizes.
RACE: Nearly 250 racers lined up for the 25- or 50-km races, in the most competitive field this event has ever seen. Skiers from the West outshone New England racers, with the Subaru Factory Team sweeping both the men's and women's marathon. An extra incentive was a $100 preem (courtesy of Concept II), awarded to the first man and woman to the top of Barr Hill, a grueling 3-km climb from the start at the Highland Lodge. In the men's race, 2001 American Ski Marathon Series Champion Magnus Eriksson (Bozeman, MT) pulled away from the lead pack to win in 2:30:22. His Factory Team teammates Dave Stewart, Dave Chamberlain, and Scott Loomis battled it out for the next three spots, finishing within seconds in 2:32:19, 2:32:21, and 2:32:25 respectively. Rossignol team skier Justin Freeman won the cash preem, then rounded out the top-5 in 2:32:31, with local hero and Olympian Marc Gilbertson (Morrisville, VT) behind him in 6th place (2:33:19).
In the women's 50 km, Factory Team standout and former Colorado Universtiy All-American Unni Odegaard (native of Norway) blew away the field to claim the cash and the win in 2:53:13. Alpina/Madshus Team member Irene Eder (native of Austria) was second in 3:08:11, while Atomic racer Sara Zimmer (Duluth, MN) rounded out the podium in 3:15:33. In a field that included the nations top Marathon stars, three Masters racers posted highly impressive results: Olympians Leslie Krichko and Trina Hosmer finished 4th and 5th in close times of 3:16:17 and 3:16:28 , and Sandy Tetrault was 6th in 3:24:04.
In the 25-km races, Pat Driscoll won the women's event in 2:12:36, followed by Sally Swenson (N. Conway, NH) in 2:13:33 and Susan Walter (Montpelier) in 2:16:21. Andrew Milne of Medford, ME won the men's race in 1:39:18, with Terry McNatt (Needham, MA) and Murray Banks (Underhill, VT) also on the podium in 1:39:51 and 1:43:43 respectively.
TOUR: Over 400 skiers of all ages and abilities enjoyed a scenic tour from Highland Lodge to Craftsbury Common. Groups of kids, families, couples, and solo skiers stopped for gourmet food (such as hot soup, rolls, and spiced cider) provided by area restaurants.
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Wadsworth, King Lead The Way At 2002 Wells Fargo Boulder Mountain Tour
Justin Wadsworth (XC Oregon/Atomic) and Suzanne King (Atomic) claimed victories in Saturday's 2002 Wells Fargo Boulder Mountain Tour in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Wadsworth used the 32km BMT as his final tune-up for next Saturday's Olympic 30km and showed he is more than ready for the challenge of a loaded field in the first mass-start individual race in modern Olympic history. "I'm finally starting to feel good and it's a perfect time for it," said the soon-to-be 3-time U.S. Olympian. "It's been awhile in the making this year but I feel like it's all coming together at the right time." Wadsworth's confidence can only be boosted by Saturday's win. He outstretched a surging 2002 30km national champion Carl Swenson and also outclassed the formidable presence of third place finisher Norwegian Tor Arne Hetland (2001 Sprint World Champion) for the BMT win. In addition, Wadsworth claimed 2 of 3 mid-race PREEMS with only one of the sprints going to Hetland.
As is often the case at the Boulder, the men's elite wave quickly saw a lead pack established in the early km's that slowly pulled away from the chase groups. Even with his success later in the day, Wadsworth almost had the race taken away from him by an unfortunate pole plant at about the 4km point. "I lost my concentration for a second and planted a pole right between my legs. Totally slammed me down to the snow. I got up right away but I was thinking oh man, that could be the day right there". The other 7-8 skiers in the pack immediately took advantage of the fall making a strong break but Wadsworth put the hammer down and bridged the gap. "I had to work really hard to get back into it but from then on things seemed to go my way".
The lead pack pretty much held together (narrowing to six) all the way into the final kilometers where Wadsworth's Bend, Oregon training partner and fellow Olympian Patrick Weaver (XC Oregon/Rossignol) took over pulling duties...and in doing so provided a perfect lead out for Wadsworth's winning finish. Weaver kept the pace high enough to prevent a serious challenge by Swenson or Hetland until Wadsworth was ready to put things on the line. His burst provided just enough space to hold off the other two at the line with U.S. Olympian Andrew Johnson slipping by Weaver for the fourth spot.
Wadsworth's winning time was 1:16:01 on a stunningly beautiful day that started out with temps in the sub-zero range warming into single digits by race start and low teens by the finish. Swenson clocked in three tenths of a second later with Hetland another two tenths back.
In the women's race, a past U.S. Olympian had yet another day in the sun as Suzanne King claimed a hard fought victory in another pack race determine only in the finish run. King traded leads with another pack of 7-8 skiers that slowly whittled down to five over the course of the race. Looking back with about 5km to go, King decided she wanted even better odds at the finish and took things up a notch to bring it down to a stretch run between herself, second place Brooke Baughman (Rossignol) and third place Kelly Milligan (NEI...and another former U.S. Olympian proving she still has plenty left in the tank). King had the mojo working enough to separate from the other two for a three second win in 1:26:10. Christie Aschwanden (Rossignol) grabbed fourth with Jeannie Wall (NEI) fifth.
Overall the 2002 Boulder was a huge success with nearlly 1000 skiers registered and a record-setting field crossing the finish line on the frosty day. The Boulder Tour is the shortest of the eleven member American Ski Marathon Series events but has earned the honor of most popular western distance event west of the Mississippi.
Random notes...
- Hetland was the only European Olympic skier to jump in the Boulder out of several dozen in town for pre-Games altitude training. Even his entry was a last minute decision with the top men only finding out they had significant company when they looked over at the starting line.
- In a decidely less amusing turn, Italian Stephania Belmondo had eight pairs of race stock skis stolen out of the Italian waxing trailer the night before Wednesday's Grand Prix. The thieves apparently decided they didn't need the whole bunch as they returned three pairs in a box with Belmondo's name on it the morning of the race. Authorities still had not found the ski-nappers by the weekend. What made the heist particularly galling was the fact that Belmondo is so small that she has the skis specially picked out of the factory to match her 95 pound frame. They are marked with special stamps and can easily be picked out from store bought skis. Since the XC community is the only place one would imagine the thieves unloading such special items, readers are asked to keep eyes and ears open (particularly in the U.S. west).
The Latest Doping Saga Unfolds
Editor: Got a hankering for a real juicy sport-politics-gone-haywire and international conspiracy story? Well, were time to allow we could offer up a full "all-too-true" novel that Robert Ludlum or Tom Clancy would find exciting. Alas, all we are going to be able to do is fill in the broad strokes for now. Perhaps it is just as well since this particular update might very well end many XC fans for the greatest show on snow coming starting next week.
Let's start by summarizing the past week. Last Wednesday the Estonian Ski Federation released (worldwide) a statement that said that superstar Kristina Smigun, currently ranked fifth in the world, had submitted a urine test at a mid-December World Cup that came up positive for steroids. The International Ski Federation (FIS) followed that release up with a statement that Smigun's B sample (they always take two to "eliminate error") was being tested. The International Olympic Committee also announced that they would hold her Olympic credential until the results of the B sample. Flash forward to yesterday morning when the FIS announces to the world that Smigun's B sample had come in under the legal limit for the steroid in question and she was now cleared to compete in the Olympics.
The published nitty-gritty on the samples was as follows...Smigun's positive test was for an illegal level of norandrosteron after a December 12th World Cup in Brusson, Italy. Smigun's first "A" sample showed a 6.4 nanograms per milliliter reading, which is higher than the 5.0 ng/mL limited allowed by the IOC (many steroids are produced naturally by the body thus the legal limit). On Thursday the results were released from Smigun's second "B" sample which showed a reading of 4.2 ng/mL--a legal amount. "Now I can place my hand on the Bible and repeat that I am absolutely clean," said a relieved Smigun to news sources on Thursday.
Almost as soon as the FIS had cleared Smigun, the snow began to fly around the world with accusations and rumors as to which international agency had conducted both Smigun's A and B samples...and whether the entire testing system was rigged start-to-finish. Reports on Thursday from Europe said that the A sample had been tested by the new independent doping agency WADA (the guys that nailed the Lahti six last season) but the B sample had been tested by the FIS. If true, the biggest scandal wouldn't be one top athlete going down but the complicity of the worldwide sport federation.
xcskiworld.com hopped on the case throughout the day and came up with the following. It's an on-going saga but this is what we discovered (in many cases we are letting our sources do the reporting for us)...
From FIS Secretary General Sarah Lewis late Thursday..."The doping control in Brusson, Italy (the location of Smigun's A and B samples) was a 'normal' post-competition urine control, carried out by the Italian Anti-Doping Agency, otherwise known as a FIS competition control and not a WADA out-of-competition control.
According to the FIS rules, a positive sample is only announced after the result of the "B" sample analysis is submitted. However the (Estonian) National Ski Association concerned chose to release to the media the information about the name of the athlete, the substance etc. after they had been informed by FIS about about the findings of the "A" sample.
The "B" sample did not confirm the findings of the "A" sample and the report and explanation submitted by the laboratory in this regard was also verified by scientific experts from WADA. The laboratory is IOC/WADA accredited and follows the IOC/WADA "Criteria for reporting low concentrations of anabolic steroids".
What does all this mean? Well, for starters it means the reports that WADA did the postive A sample and then FIS did the negative B sample were false. How can we be sure? A reliable source from the international community provided this to "back up" Lewis (although not without much chagrin)...
(Annonymous source) "while WADA was responsible for getting out-of-competition samples and random samples and no-notice samples, WADA is still not in charge of the lab testing, chemistry analysis, and interpretation of results. That, sad to say, is still in the hands of international federations, such as FIS. It's because there's no international anti-doping accord yet. I understand that's what WADA chief executive Richard Pound is working on, but it won't be ready until spring 2003 and WADA won't be in charge of an Olympics before 2004...
OK, so both the tests were done by the FIS. Lewis says that WADA experts looked over the results and were satisfied with the final numbers. At first blush it seems like the story is dead on arrival...ah, but not so fast grasshopper! A number of questions remain (this is where it really gets fun). Ready? Deep breath now...
Big Question #1.) FIS Secretary General Lewis says that the explanation for why there was a 35% discrepancy between Smigun's "A" sample and her "B" sample was accepted by WADA. Missing here is any public mention of what that explanation could be. Exercise physiologists and lab technicians contacted by xcskiworld.com tell us that two supposedly equal samples simply could not produce such vastly different results unless something was wrong in the testing...or the samples were manipulated. Either way, big problem for a sport that is supposedly "cleaning it's act up".
Big Question #2.) After the furor of the Lahti scandal...a petition led by the Canadian team (signed by over 100 athletes and national team representatives)...and worldwide suspicion about the integrity of elite XC racing, one has to wonder why WADA isn't being allowed to handle the doping control process from start to finish? The way the book reads now is that the "good cops" (WADA) are being allowed to request tests and take samples - but they aren't the ones actually doing the tests or finalizing results. The heart and soul of the athletes' petition last year was that FIS has a direct disincentive to allow major stars to get nailed for doping. Allegation after allegation has been made (and in many cases substantiated) that FIS representatives have either looked the other way on positive tests with major XC stars or even actively participated in manipulation of testing results. The Smigun situation brings this entire scenario front and center one more time...and right on the eve of the Olympics. Couldn't be worse timing!
Big Question #3.) How is anyone going to believe in the pre-Olympic and Olympic testing that has and will take place this winter? Let's face it, if you are a clean athlete you are staring at a no-win situation.
On one hand, suppose Smigun is totally clean and the positive test was indeed a complete error. How in the name of sticky klister boxes can a clean athlete test nearly 25% over the legal limit for a steroid from a good testing protocol? How can one test sample be 35% different than another? If this is the end result of the tens of millions that the alphabet soup of authorities out there can produce, why don't we just square both sides and call it a day? After this fiasco there is a great chance there isn't going to be anymore athletes nailed for doping because even two positive tests can be challenged due to the enormous error potential that obviously exists (at least according to the official results being presented).
Now on the other hand, let's suppose Smigun's A sample was the real deal. This is where the dark side is really in charge because it means someone deliberately manipulated things so that her B sample came up clean. Makes your stomach jump doesn't it? Again, how does anyone take the testing seriously if this is a common suspicion (and believe us...it is a common suspicion in clean World Cup waxrooms). For a sample, let's turn to the Canadian team that has beat the drum longer and louder than just about anyone else in the world for some thoughts...
Dear Sarah Lewis (FIS General Secretary) I am writing this letter from Sun Valley, Idaho where we have been enjoying great preparation for the rapidly approaching Olympic Winter games. Imagine my shock this morning to read the results of the Kristina Smigun situation. I find the testing and the results suspect and I beleive that the FIS owes an explanation to the ski world. My questions are these: When the same urine sample is tested and the two vales differ by 33 % or 50 % depending on how one does ones math, what has happened Is the the testing process accurate or relevant? Is the lab that conducted these tests incompetant, corrupt or both ? How can an athlete, coach or program have any faith when this sort of situation continues? Yours truly Dave Wood Head Coach Cross Country Canada
...and this...
Dear Mr. Richard Pound, I am writing to you with regards to a recent event in the sport of cross-country skiing that I feel needs immediate attention and is worthy of a full investigation by WADA. I was in communications earlier this year with Mr. Johann Koss, regarding athlete concerns surrounding the FIS, their doping control methods, and the involvement of WADA in the doping control procedures for the sport of cross-country skiing. Central to this problem was the fact that the majority of the athletes in our sport believed (as proven by the over 100 signatures collected on a petition) that the FIS took part in doping control methods that were ineffective, covert, and ultimately corrupt because they protected their "star" athletes. Perhaps you have already heard the news about cross-country skier Kristina Smigun, ranked 5th in the world, who tested positive for a steroid in an initial doping control test, and, just recently, and most miraculously, negative in a second test (her B probe) conducted by the FIS. Does it not seem just a little bit suspect to you Mr. Pound that the same organization we have been taking aim at for illegal behavior has now just conducted a test of their own that clears Kristina Smigun in time for the Olympics? I confess I don't know much about the numbers and levels involved in positive steroid tests for athletes, however, this recent event whereby Ms. Smigun was initially well over the limit, and then suddenly, just under the limit and cleared of any wrongdoing by her governing body, the FIS, clearly indicates that there has been manipulation and illegal behavior. Can I ask how interested WADA really is in cleaning up sport by allowing this to happen? Is cross-country skiing just not quite high profile enough to warrant the full, complete procedural testing that would ban someone from their sport, or, was the FIS just successful enough in pressuring WADA to let another "star" slip through the cracks? I am so disapointed I cannot even express my sentiments properly. All that we had fought for and tried to change in our sport for the sake of ethics and doing the right thing seem like a waste of time in the face of the powerful and influencial. If we cannot believe in WADA and be assured that there is a force out there working for clean sport, who can we believe in? I am requesting, on behalf of clean athletes World-Wide, that WADA please launch an investigation into this recent event and give us a reason to believe again. Sincerely, Beckie Scott and the members of the Canadian cross-country ski team
Like we said earlier folks, it's a wild roller coaster of a story and it would be much more entertaining were it only fiction. Stay tuned for more on the saga as we find out more...we're pretty sure this dog ain't done hunting yet.
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Biathlon Junior World Championships Days One and Two
Ridnaun, Italy
Jan 30, 2002
Evan Ray, St Paul, MN, skiied a conservative first loop in the 7.5km Sprint, coming into the first shooting in place. After 1 miss in prone, he proceeded to move up through the field, making a big move up after shooting clean in standing. Evan will be 19 seconds out of first place going into tomorrow/s 10km Pursuit event (4 shooting stages). Poor shooting hampered good skiing efforts by Nathan Erlandson, Grand Rapids, MN (55th place), Ben Byrne, Bovey, MN (60th), and Kurt Farchmin, Duluth, MN (67th).
The other big story of the day was in the Men's Older Junior category (18-19 years), Walt Sheppard of Yarmouth, ME, hitting 9 for 9 targets and then missing his last shot. Cursing the biathlon gods, Walt skiied a fantastic last loop to finish 14th. Sheppard is a very savvy competitior in the range, and has a good chance to move up in the more shooting intensive and pressure filled Pursuit race that will take place on Thursday. Finishing 59 seconds out of first place still gives Sheppard a chance at the top 5 in that event. Tim Burke of Paul Smith's, NY finished in 16th, with fantastic skiing but only 70% shooting. Plagued by poor shooting, Anders Osthus of Duluth, MN finished 48th, good enough to start the Thursday pursuit which is limited to the top 50 finishers.
Annalies Cook of Saranac Lake, NY was the bright spot on the U.S. Junior Women's J1 (16-17 years old) side. Cook shot 70% in the 6km Sprint and finished 15th. Emilia Demarchis of Burlington, VT finished 31st with 60% shooting. Toni Slaughter of Maple Plain, MN did not start due to illness.
The Sprint event was a big disappointment for the Older Junior US Women (18-19 years). The US women were favored to be one of the top teams at World Juniors after numerous top 10 finishes at Europa Cup races in Czeck Republic. A victory by Lanny Barnes at the US Olympic Trials 15km event has also increased expectations of this group of women. Tracy Barnes of Durange, CO shot 70% finish in 24th place, followed by Carolyn Treacy, Duluth, MN in 32nd, Lanny Barnes, Durango, CO in 37th , and Beth Ann Ellingson, Grand Rapids, MN in 47th. Always upbeat, Head Coach Cory Salmela commented "Well, our women are still in decent position for the pursuit. They need to shake off this shooting performance and come out focused and confident for tomorrow." The US women's team has been looking forward to the World Junior Relay (Feb 3) all year and they will likely be a force in that event. For complete results go to www.ibu.at
Youth Men (J1 16-17years)- 7.5km Sprint 1 LORENZ M. GER 02 21:25.9 2 FOURCADE S. FRA 00 +9.7 3 MORAVEC O. CZE 31 +12.7 7 RAY E. USA 10 +19.6 55 ERLANDSON N. USA 31 +3:03.1 60 BRYNE B. USA 42 +3:32.9 67 FARCHMIN K. USA 13 +4:04.3 Junior Men (OJ 16-17years) 10km Sprint 1 NILSSON M. SWE 11 26:31.4 2 WICK R. GER 01 +2.2 3 SLESINGR M. CZE 02 +8.7 14 SHEPARD W. USA 01 +57.7 16 BURKE T. USA 21 +1:12.6 48 OSTHUS A. USA 13 +2:25.1 Youth Women (J1 16-17years) Sprint 6km 1 DONG X. CHN 11 18:45.5 2 BOULYGINA A. RUS 21 +7.3 3 DUDCHENKO O. KAZ 11 +21.3 15 COOK A. USA 12 +1:40.8 31 DEMARCHIS E. USA 13 +2:40.4 Junior Women (OJ 18-19years) Sprint 7.5km 1 PFISTERER K. GER 10 23:24.5 2 ADLER J. GER 01 +4.2 3 ANANKO L. BLR 00 +19.1 24 BARNES T. USA 21 +1:55.8 32 TREACY C. USA 13 +2:28.9 37 BARNES L. USA 13 +2:43.4 47 ELLINGSON B. USA 13 +3:19.2
Day 2- Biathlon Junior World Championships- Pursuit Event
Ridnaun, Italy
Jan, 31, 2002
Another Day for the Junior Men- Burke 11th, Ray 9th
The pursuit event is considered to be the most exciting biathlon event, and today proved no exception. In the Junior Men's (OJ 18-19) race, Tim Burke of Paul Smith's, NY put together a nail biter for the US fans. Shooting 2-0-1-1, Burke fell from a start position of 16th to 26th place, but as his shooting improved, clawed his way through the field to 10th place as he left his final standing stage. The final shooting stage put 5 athletes within 2 seconds of each other, setting up a great battle for the last 2.5km loop. With 500m to go, Burke had moved into 7th place. This turned out to be a tactical mistake, as 4 of his competitors were able to stay in his draft on a long downhill to the finish. In the sprint to the finish, Burke came out in 11th place, only 4 seconds out of 7th place.
After a fantastic race in yesterday's sprint, Walt Sheppard, Yarmouth, ME, dropped from 14 to 18th place, today. Walt had fantastic shooting, hitting 18 if 20 target. He moved up as high as 10th place after the third shooting stage, and left the last shooting in 14th, finishing 18th after a hard fought last loop.
Evan Ray, St Paul, MN put an exciting race together in the Youth (J1) Men's category, shooting 2-0-1-1. Ray started in 7th place based on yesterday's results, and left the first prone shooting in 11th. He moved up to 8th after second prone, 5th after first standing, and then left in 7th after his second standing stage. With 2km to go, Ray was outskiied by his nearest competitors from the Ukraine and Italy, and fell to 9th place.
After finishing 15th in yesterday's sprint, Annelis Cook of Saranac Lake, NY, was able to hold on to a top 20 finish in the Youth (J1 16-17years) Women's race, shooting 1-0-3-3. "Things were looking really good through prone- Annelis had moved into 9th place- but shooting 40% over two standing stages really set her back" lamented Youth Team coach Gary Colliander. Annelis has been the top American Youth (J1) biathlete for the last two years, so the US Team coaches have high expectations of this talented young woman.
In the Junior Women (OJ 18-19years), the U.S. women all moved up several positions from yesterday's ranking for an encouraging, if not inspiring, performance. Tracy Barnes, Durango, CO, moved from 24th to finish in 20th place. Carolyn Treacy of Duluth, MN moved up 5 places to 27th, Lanny Barnes, Durango, CO, moved up 6 places to 31st place, and Beth Ann Ellingson, Grand Rapids, MN moved up one place to finish 46th.
There will be no competitions tomorrow, as the teams rest up for the weekends events. Saturday will feature the Individual format race, and on Sunday, the Relay, where national pride is really comes to the fore. With 28 nations competing, this World Juniors Relay will be the most competitive to date. For complete results go to www.ibu.at.
Junior Men Pursuit 12.5km 1 SLESINGR M. CZE 1011 37:10.1 2 TCHOUDOV M. RUS 0212 +28.0 3 DASHKEVICH S. BLR 1010 +47.3 11 BURKE T. USA 1022 +1:18.8 18 SHEPARD W. USA 0011 +1:47.6 49 OSTHUS A. USA 2233 +6:25.2 Youth Men Pursuit 10km 1 DOUBASSOV A. RUS 0111 30:01.9 2 STROHM T. GER 0013 +0.7 3 MORAVEC O. CZE 2212 +8.1 9 RAY E. USA 2011 +47.4 Junior Women Pursuit 10km 1 ADLER J. GER 0002 32:38.3 2 NIZIAK U. GER 0011 +31.1 3 PFISTERER K. GER 0022 +41.9 20 BARNES T. USA 1112 +4:12.0 27 TREACY C. USA 1121 +4:42.4 31 BARNES L. USA 3011 +5:43.2 46 ELLINGSON B. USA 1024 +7:54.5 Youth Women Pursuit 7.5km 1 DONG X. CHN 1021 27:38.7 2 LINDAU K. GER 0010 +18.3 3 RATHMANN A. GER 0110 +21.8 19 COOK A. USA 1033 +4:03.0
