Cross country skiing and the olympics
- Cross country skiing was introduced to the olympics in 1924, Chaimonix, France. Only men were allowed to compete then. The women's events were first introduced at the 1952 winter olympics. For difficulty in winter sports, cross country ranks one of the highest. Its motions use all of the major muscle groups and it is a sport that burn the most calories per hour.
- There are two racing techniques, classical and free. Classical is where the skis run parallel to each other in machine groomed snow, Free skiing there is no restrictions as skiers kick of with the edges of the ski's the movement is similar to skating, hence the name ski-skating, it is slightly faster than classic skiing.
- Sochi 2014 olympics - top countries - Metal count
1, Norway - Gold-5 Silver-2 Bronze-4
2, Sweden - Gold-2 Silver-5 Bronze-4
3, Switzerland - Gold-2 Silver-0 Bronze-0
- There are two racing techniques, classical and free. Classical is where the skis run parallel to each other in machine groomed snow, Free skiing there is no restrictions as skiers kick of with the edges of the ski's the movement is similar to skating, hence the name ski-skating, it is slightly faster than classic skiing.
- Sochi 2014 olympics - top countries - Metal count
1, Norway - Gold-5 Silver-2 Bronze-4
2, Sweden - Gold-2 Silver-5 Bronze-4
3, Switzerland - Gold-2 Silver-0 Bronze-0
Top Canadians competing this year - Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, Finland, Poland, France, Germany, Slovenia
news on skiing in the olympics
-Krasnaya Polyana, Russia — Austrian cross-country skier Johannes Duerr was kicked out of the Sochi Games on Sunday after testing positive for the blood booster EPO. It is the fifth doping case, and most serious so far at the Olympics.
After few Sochi athletes test positive, IOC says its anti-doping program works
-During the cross country ski event Russian skier Anton Gafarov an early medal favorite was struggling miserly, he had fallen on a turn and broke one of his skis, he was not "skiing" toward the finish, he was dragging himself. Watching him was a Canadian cross country ski coach Justin Wadsworth. Wadsworth looked around. No one was moving. Everyone just stared, including a group of Russian coaches. “It was like watching an animal stuck in a trap. You can’t just sit there and do nothing about it,” Wadsworth said later.
Wadsworth grabbed a spare ski he’d brought for Canadian racer Alex Harvey and ran onto the track. Gafarov stopped. Wadsworth kneeled beside him. No words passed between them. Gafarov only nodded. Wadsworth pulled off the broken equipment and replaced it. Gafarov set off again.
“I wanted him to have dignity as he crossed the finish line,” Wadsworth, a three-time Olympian, said.
That. That right there. That’s the Olympics.
After few Sochi athletes test positive, IOC says its anti-doping program works
-During the cross country ski event Russian skier Anton Gafarov an early medal favorite was struggling miserly, he had fallen on a turn and broke one of his skis, he was not "skiing" toward the finish, he was dragging himself. Watching him was a Canadian cross country ski coach Justin Wadsworth. Wadsworth looked around. No one was moving. Everyone just stared, including a group of Russian coaches. “It was like watching an animal stuck in a trap. You can’t just sit there and do nothing about it,” Wadsworth said later.
Wadsworth grabbed a spare ski he’d brought for Canadian racer Alex Harvey and ran onto the track. Gafarov stopped. Wadsworth kneeled beside him. No words passed between them. Gafarov only nodded. Wadsworth pulled off the broken equipment and replaced it. Gafarov set off again.
“I wanted him to have dignity as he crossed the finish line,” Wadsworth, a three-time Olympian, said.
That. That right there. That’s the Olympics.
Russia sweeps podium in men's 50k cross country skiing
- The Flower Ceremony at the 2014 winter olympics on Feb, 23rd, 2014
Russian gold medal winner Alexander Legkov is overtaken by Russia's silver medal winner Maxim Vylegzhanin, To the left Russia's bronze medal winner Llia Chernousuv.
Russian gold medal winner Alexander Legkov is overtaken by Russia's silver medal winner Maxim Vylegzhanin, To the left Russia's bronze medal winner Llia Chernousuv.