Nordic News In Brief
Roller Ski
Alena Prochazkova (SVK) and Robin Norum (SWE) added the title of FIS Roller Ski World Cup overall winners 2018 to their achievement lists.
After finishing the last stage in Val di Fiemme (ITA) in second position, the consolation prize for Norum was prestigious; he is the winner of the 2018 World Cup with a total of 904 points. Teammate Victor Gustavson took second place with 806 points and Eugeniy Dementiev (RUS) ended his summer in third with 556 points.
In the ladies’ race the winner was Alena Prochazkova (SVK) ahead of Julia Angelsiöe (SWE) and Sandra Schuetzova (CZE). For the overall ranking, this meant a clear victory for Prochazkova with 1070 points. Schuetzova claimed position two with 776 points and Jackline Lockner (SWE) completed the overall podium in third place with 672 points.
The best juniors of the season were Moa Hansson (SWE) with 999 points and Johan Ekberg, (SWE) with 985 points. Sweden also scored the most points in the nations ranking.
In a weekend packed with events, Tord Asle Gjerdalen (NOR) won the prestigious 50 km elite race from Ziano di Fiemme up to Alpe Cermis ahead of the Bastien Poirrier (FRA) and the Joar Thele (NOR). In the ladies’ race, the winner was Astrid Oyre Slind (NOR) who had a strong performance and beat Polish superstar Justyna Kowalczyk up Alpe Cermis. Kari Gjeitnes (NOR) claimed position three.
The 50 km popular long-distance race and the 20 km popular short race were a great success too; Simone Varesco (ITA) and Paola Beri (ITA) won the 50 km race, while Fabian Kramer (GER) and Magdalena Kobieluse (POL) won the 20 km short race.
Thanks to a number of active promoters, Roller Skiing is a growing sport in Thailand. Recently, FIS TD and Cross-Country Skiing enthusiast Georg Zipfel (GER) visited Thailand to help build the training know-how, share experience and motivate kids, youth and adults to go out and try Roller Skiing.
Another driving force of the Roller Skiing development in Thailand is Karl Fred Kristensen originally from Norway who now lives in Chumphon and leads the local Roller Skiing club. The mission of the club is not only to teach kids how to roller ski but also to introduce Roller Skiing to Thailand on a larger scale.
Together with the Ski and Snowboard Association of Thailand’s Secretary General Sueb Tarasiri, two events were planned in late August and October. During the first seminar,which took place from the 22ndto the 26thof August, different workshops and two races, an individual start and a mass start were held. More than 65 children between the ages of five to eighteen had a chance to take part in the various training, education and motivation activities.
Georg Zipfel said, “To see the motivation and fun everybody was having was amazing. Even some of the parents of the participating children tried out roller skiing for the first time. In line with the presentation we had in the Sub-Committee for Cross-Country Youth & Children’s Questions, we believe this project can serve as a model and inspiration for other regions and countries without snow.”
Further roller ski activities like are planned in Thailand during October.
Ski Jumping
The international Ski Jumping community, Ski Club Partenkirchen and the partner clubs of the Four Hills Tournament, are mourning the death of honorary president and official Hans Ostler. The Four Hills Tournament veteran from Garmisch-Partenkirchen passed away at age 93.
“With Hans Ostler we lost a true legend. He was innovative his entire life and he was never satisfied with the status quo. With his passion, he played an important role in the constant development of the Four Hills Tournament and Ski Jumping in general. We owe him a lot and he will remain in our hearts as a role model“, said Johann Pichler, president of the Four Hills Tournament.
Hans Ostler was part of the Four Hills Tournament since the beginning, he even took part in the talks regarding the creation of the Tournament 1949 in Kitzbuehel and from 1954 he was responsible for calculating the results. From 1988 to 2003, Hans Ostler was in charge of the most important competition series in winter sports as the president of the Four Hills Tournament.
In addition, the Partenkirchen native was also a Ski Jumping official, he was a technical delegate at numerous events and he worked at various World Championships as a judge and as head of the video distance measuring. As a member of the FIS Ski Jumping Committee and chairman of the Sub-Committee for judges, he influenced the development of the sport of Ski Jumping. The implementation of the video distance measuring in 1991 was one of the most important innovations that Ostler was a part of. Ostler was also a strong advocate of the wind rule.
Good news for fans of Nordic Combined: they can look forward to one extra competition in the upcoming winter. The FIS World Cup competition in Trondheim, originally scheduled for the 13th March has been moved to January and will be joined by a second Individual Gundersen event.
With this schedule change, Trondheim will now host its own full Nordic Combined weekend on the 26th and 27th January. The total number of World Cup events in the 2018/19 Nordic Combined season rises to 24 plus four FIS World Championship events in Seefeld (AUT).
Race Director Lasse Ottesen said, “It is important for us to have competitions each weekend. This is why we are really glad that we, in cooperation with the Norwegian Ski Association, the Organisers in Trondheim and national broadcaster NRK, managed to organise this change in the calendar. Now everything’s ready for a fantastic Nordic Combined weekend in Trondheim. It will be exciting to see a true Nordic Combined atmosphere in Granåsen both on Saturday and Sunday.”
"We, as annual Organisers of the World Cup events in Granåsen, are looking forward to hosting a Nordic Combined World Cup weekend in January. It will be a great opportunity to see our local heroes in world-class fights for podium places just before the World Championships in Seefeld. There will be two action-filled days with a great atmosphere in Granåsen”, says the leader of the Organising Committee, Erik Andresen.
The programme:
Saturday, 26th January 2019
10.30 CET, NC Gundersen HS140
14.00 CET, NC Gundersen 10 km
Sunday, 27thJanuary 2019 (additional competition)
09.00 CET, NC Gundersen HS140
12.15 CET, NC Gundersen 10 km
