Vuokatti Will Host FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships In February 2021

Vuokatti Will Host FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships In February 2021

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The FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships 2021 has finally found its home - fingers crossed. It was an unusually long and dramatic story: two initial locations in Poland had to withdraw even before Covid-19 pandemics in favor of Zakopane. Then Zakopane asked FIS to move it's hosting bid to 2022. Then there was a bit of confusion when FIS officially named the Italian town of Pragelato as the JWC'21 - unbeknownst to the Italian hosts. Finally Viokatti stepped in and saved the day. Unlike fairly exotic Zakopane and Prageloto, the Finnish town is a total mainstream location for the most if not all elite skiers, not the least because of its ski tunnel. Lahti, Finland was the location of JWC 2019 ( junior ski jumpers and Nordic combiners will…
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Natalia Nepryaeva: I Don’t Do Screaming, Shouting Or Public  Breaking Of Poles

Natalia Nepryaeva: I Don’t Do Screaming, Shouting Or Public Breaking Of Poles

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Natalia Nepryaeva doesn't really need introductions in 2020. But just to refresh you memory: the 3d overall in the World Cup 2019/20, arguably the most universal female skier of our times ( 4h in both Distance and Sprint ratings) and Russia's best hope for women's program at Oberstdorf-2021. We spoke in Ramsau , Russians' traditional October training camp - and their first on snow this season. The pandemics wreaked havoc with all of my spring plans. I was planning to do some downhill skiing with friends, to visit St. Petersburg - instead had to stay at parents’ countryside cabin, “ dacha”, in more or less full isolation - the only positive side was spending more time with the family! The summer training wasn’t too good either. Long, very long training…
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Markus Cramer: It’s Time For Change At FIS , Especially  Way It Handles International Competitions

Markus Cramer: It’s Time For Change At FIS , Especially Way It Handles International Competitions

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...Markus Cramer never looses his cool, affable manner but neither is he ever been known for mincing his words. The coach who played such a decisive role in careers of Dario Cologna and Sergei Ustiugov can afford to be blunt. This time Mr.Cramer sounds frustrated and borderline angry about the upcoming season: - FIS has decided to go ahead with the World Cup season, with most of what was planned before remained on the schedule - but, of course, nobody could tell with any certainty whether it would happen as planned.1 -There is a lack of general understanding and guidance in What If? Ssituations. What if, say, 2-3 athletes would test positive at one of the WCup stage? How's the virus testing and , need be, isolation of a suspected/confirmed…
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Yuri Borodavko: Bolshunov Is As Ready As Last Year, Nepryaeva Will Have Tough Beginning Of Season

Yuri Borodavko: Bolshunov Is As Ready As Last Year, Nepryaeva Will Have Tough Beginning Of Season

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Yuri Borodavko spoke to Daily Skier at the training camp in Ramsau as his athletes were ..playing floorball. Borodavko is almost unique among the top xcski coaches: he believes that ball sports - be it volleyball, floorball or even football - are good for morale and team spirits. And that the benefits of good mood outweigh the potential risks. ...For the Russians this season was as experimental as it could : instead of going to their usual Alpine and Norwegian training spots, they've stayed at home - which meant no snow skiing in the summer and non-standard altitude camps. How will affect Alex Bolshunov, Natalia Nepryaeva and their teammates Borodavko, in his own words: [caption id="attachment_17137" align="alignnone" width="1443"] It’s one tough season. Apart from COVID that affected and keeps on…
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Katerina Janatova: My COVID  Story

Katerina Janatova: My COVID Story

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[caption id="attachment_17101" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Katerina Janatova, 23, Czechia, currently #17 in the world in FIS Sprint ratings, #47 in distance ratings [/caption] This is the very first known case of Covid in elite skiing. Katerina has agreed to share her personal story here to highlight the fact that some 10 months into the pandemics, nobody still knows how the Covid affects elite athletes' health and performance. In her own words: ...Everything happened quite fast. We were on a camp in Oberhof and I had a training session on skis, where I felt pretty good. During that night I knew something wasn’t right, I started having a fever and a horrific headache. At first I thought it could be from changing temperatures but a few other people on the team also…
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