Move over, NRK, SVT etc.  – new broadcaster steps in

Move over, NRK, SVT etc. – new broadcaster steps in

Money & Finance, Newsfeed
It was a big weekend. For the first time ever in this part of the galaxy the public channels of Norway and Sweden did not show the FIS World Cup races to their viewers. Just to remind you how chess pieces are set now: Pan-Scandinavian Nordic Entertainment Group a.k.a NENT acquired broadcasting rights in three key markets - aforementioned Norway and Sweden plus Finland - and have started on the weekend to broadcast the races on Viaplay platform as well as on television channels it owns: In Norway - for free on TV3 In Sweden you gotta pay to watch Frida and Ebba on TV6, it's no longer free. In Finland there is a transitional deal in place according to which public YLE still shows some races e.g. Ruka this…
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You know who won in Ruka today. Now meet their significant others

You know who won in Ruka today. Now meet their significant others

Newsfeed, Trivia
Have you seen how convincingly Maja Dahlqvist and Alexander Terentyev won their respective FIS World Cup races on Friday? We don't claim to know how they were preparing for them - for the lack of specific coaching knowledge, clearly. What we do know however, is that both had their significant others present in Ruka, at the starting lane. And that's a significant factor, we are sure. [caption id="attachment_18787" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Maja and Kevin announced their relationship at the Oberstdorf world championships just a few months ago. They seem to be quite inseparable ever since, with Kevin moving to Sweden[/caption] [caption id="attachment_18786" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anna and Alexander have a been a couple for years, throughout their junior careers. As of this season, Anna joined Alexander in the coaching group led by…
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IOC recommends ignoring testosterone levels in female athletes. It is relevant- xcskiers often have very high ones

IOC recommends ignoring testosterone levels in female athletes. It is relevant- xcskiers often have very high ones

Leaders, Newsfeed
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has issued a new framework policy regarding allowing transgender athletes to compete. With that the IOC is basically saying goodbye to its old policy, that said transgender athletes would be allowed to compete only provided their testosterone levels were below a certain limit for at least 12 months before their first competition. It's a big move. The World Athletics, for instance, now has a set of rules for female athletes requiring them to have levels of testosterone in their blood under 5 nanomoles per liter of blood (5 nmol/L) - or lower it by taking medications. As of today it applies only on 400m to 1 mile - nonetheless, it's a harsh barrier and does have a relation to skiing: World's best female xcskiers routinely…
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Natalia Nepryaeva & complete zen

Natalia Nepryaeva & complete zen

Newsfeed
In the last few weeks no top skier's name was mentioned more often in the media than that of the leader of Team Russia Natalia Nepryaeva. It all started with her long-time coach Yuri Borodavko mentioning in interview with the Russian media that Natalia needs to lose some weight. Top Scandinavian newspapers immediately reacted that no Norwegian or Swedish coach would say anything of a kind in 2021. Then young but feisty Veronika Stepanova from Team Russia got involved in discussion essentially telling the aforementioned papers to mind their own business - which caused a new round of discussions, naturally. Throughout all this one person didn't offer an opinion: Natalia herself. Remarkable zen for our day and age. This is Ms. Nepryaeva during her final preps in Finland on Thursday-…
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