Eva Urevc, 23, Team Slovenia
Specialization: Freestyle Sprinter
What Makes Eva’s sporting career special:
– One of the most impressive “burst onto the scene” this season so far, 4 Top 30 places in a row with some of the best times in sprint qualifications at the World Cup stages in Toblach, Val Muester and Lahti.
– In Lahti last week Eva outright won the sprint qualification. finishing astounding 4 seconds ahead of #2, Nadine Faendrich – and then couldn’t qualify for the semis. In fact, she is yet to qualify for the semis once at the World Cup.
– Eva is a world-class rower ( participated in World Junior Rowing Championships) and Crossfit athlete – and she is including training element commonly used in those sports into her cross-country skiing routine.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjcFqaMFV8Z/
– How many female skiers do you know who could do a handstand?!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bk-ON79FdNW/
In Eva’s own words:
– I was running and doing sport all my early childhood. We lived first in Bled, then in Gorje. Cross country is quite a big sport in both of those places so my father signed me for the ski club I was 10 years old.
I was in biathlon when I was junior but in 2016 after the Youth Olympics in Innsbruck I felt disappointed with my results and I put the rifle and skis away and I started to train in rowing…
What’s harder – skiing or rowing? Well I think the suffering is quite same during the races the biggest difference is that you row 2000m without a break, no downhills there.. Hard to choose, both are really hard sports.
– Did rowing improve your upper body strength so appreciated in skiing these days? is that your advantage?
– Both that – and the right training is the summer time. In summer time I do twice a week gym-weights and every second day core-street workout with my own weight. In winter time once a week gym and every third day core workout.
What do you attribute your rapid progress to this season?
– There was a big increase in amount of training time. Previous season there was about 400 hours – and this year I think it was more like 600 hours.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnsxzUgDOAf/
– I have much better technique in freestyle skiing so mostly run those races. If I have good grip in classic I could probably also run fast ( laughs)
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https://www.instagram.com/p/BnyKU8nFFBp/
Eva’s can-dos:
Chin-ups: Crossfit style around 15-17
Push-ups: 45-50
Single-leg squats: 20
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl-TKagFAzo/
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– How is that that Slovenia, a country of some two million people, has such a strong, “deep talent” team of sprinters – especially on ladies’ side?
– Hmm, I don’t know.. We are really good team with a good team spirit. We enjoy training together and are supporting each other.
But it’s not just girls. Miha Simenc is really good this year, he made a big step forward.
– How prestigious – or not – is xcskiing in Slovenia? Can on make a living out of being an xcskier – like in Norway or Russia ?
– Its nothing like Norway or Russia. You can make a living during the sport career but then you must find something new to do in life. Perhaps, things would change is somebody were to become really internationally successful.
– Do you have a hero, a person you want to emulate in sport?
– Marit Bjørgen. She was good in everything, specifically in sprint when she was younger. I think she accomplished everything one can accomplish in sport and beyond.
