He is alright! If you'd seen what we've seen this week in Muonio, you'd think so too. The World Cup winner was doing intervals uphill with such gusto that we reckon the toothache and whatever other ailments were tormenting Alexander Bolshunov are well behind him. Photos don't convey it perhaps - but here you go, enjoy
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…
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-…
"....There were two good candidates in Toblach and Lygna that are both very experienced organizers. The agreement with NRK to produce the championship was what decided that it would be Lygna in Norway." That's Erik Røste, President of the Norwegian Ski Federation - quoted by the very same NRK We reported in October on Lygna and Toblach being two candidates to replace Zakopane as a host of the Junior World Ski Championships-2022. And added that the power of NRK, Norwegian public television, might be a decisive factor. NRK has experience, equipment and loyal ski-crazy audiences . What it does not have is enough money to buy media rights for top events - both the Olympics 2022 and the FIS World Cup 21/22 the Norwegian fans would have to watch elsewhere.…
We get more questions about Johannes Klaebo's new boots than about all the other ski-related stuff combined. So we can't avoid the subject and decided to do a post about them. Or two. Or twenty two. Because looks matter - even in cross country skiing where many an industry captain would prefer to talk at le ngth about functionality whereas the rest of the world chooses jordans, yeezys and balenciaga not because they are hyper-functional but because they are fashionable - and also because some cool dude got them first. In this case - at least two cool dudes, as apart from Johannes , Lucas Chanavat was spotted wearing them brand-new Fischer boots too. We, frankly, don't know what makes them different from the previous interation of Speedmax boots apart…
