Cross-Country Skiing

[Athena]

Your cross country skiing thread!

[selkie]

And the American women have some legit contenders this time around:

 

http://www.mtexpress.com/sports/diggins-caldwell-nab-u-s-nordic-wins-at-seefeld-test/article_9dd1cb68-045a-11e8-958a-9fe408179431.html

[Good Queen Jane]

Could someone who follows cross-country skiing explain to this every four year watcher what the difference is between freestyle and classic styles?

[selkie]

8 minutes ago, Good Queen Jane said:

Could someone who follows cross-country skiing explain to this every four year watcher what the difference is between freestyle and classic styles?

 

Think of it like different strokes in competitive swimming- each style requires different technique and, like freestyle in swimming, 'skate-style' freestyle skiing where they go kind of side to side on each stroke is faster than the classic style where it's constant forward movement and no lateral movement. 

[Good Queen Jane]

Thanks, selkie. If you have any questions about figure skating, I'm your woman.

[mtlchick]

As a Canadian who isn't a die hard but pays enough attention to events, I really hope Alex Harvey finally has his Olympic breakthrough. 

[mtlchick]

As less we forget, our favourite greased up Tongan Pita is competing in this. 

[galaxygirl76]

Marit Bjorgen won her eleventh Olympic medal today, a silver, and became the most successful female winter Olympian of all time.

[walnutqueen]

58 minutes ago, galaxygirl76 said:

Marit Bjorgen won her eleventh Olympic medal today, a silver, and became the most successful female winter Olympian of all time.

I watched that, and was so happy for her (even though I was hoping she'd take the gold).

[MyAimIsTrue]

I think I have a girl crush on the friendship between Charlotte Kalla and Marit Bjorgen. I want to hang with them.

[galaxygirl76]

The results of this race were so gloriously stereotypical Winter Olympics: A Swedish, A Norwegian, and a Finnish woman.

[Cherpumple]

Does anyone know what specific event Pita Taufatufua is competing in? All the newspaper fluff pieces only say "cross-country skiing" and the NBC site is infuriatingly unhelpful.

[KAOS Agent]

Pita Taufatufua qualified for the distance event in freestyle, so he should be in the men's 15k freestyle, which is scheduled for February 16 at 1 a.m. eastern

[Cherpumple]

Thanks! He doesn't appear on the start list for that on the NBC site, so I wasn't sure.

[bosawks]

If I go to hell it’ll look a lot like being in a skiatholon, that shit looks rough.

I think in this event if you even finish, as opposed to Finnish, you should get a medal.  Yikes.

[walnutqueen]

3 hours ago, bosawks said:

If I go to hell it’ll look a lot like being in a skiatholon, that shit looks rough.

I think in this event if you even finish, as opposed to Finnish, you should get a medal.  Yikes.

It looked brutal, for sure.  But it was totally cool to see Krueger recover from an early crash to win the race.  

[legaleagle53]

3 hours ago, bosawks said:

If I go to hell it’ll look a lot like being in a skiatholon, that shit looks rough.

I think in this event if you even finish, as opposed to Finnish, you should get a medal.  Yikes.

Ever done the elliptical at the gym?  It's kind of like that.

[ceecee]

Nobody else is watching the individual sprints in cross-country skiing?  The Norwegian guy was Amazing! They truly rule in these events! 

[mtlchick]

1 hour ago, ceecee said:

Nobody else is watching the individual sprints in cross-country skiing?  The Norwegian guy was Amazing! They truly rule in these events! 

I'm trying to but most of the events happen overnight so I can only watch a bit of  live.  I did manage to see a bit of the sprint semis this morning. 

[SophiaD]

They're going to show more cross-country in about two hours.  I'm looking forward to it!

[SophiaD]

WOW, Klaebo!  How did he SPRINT up that hill in SKIS?  What an amazing race!

[Dandesun]

8 hours ago, SophiaD said:

WOW, Klaebo!  How did he SPRINT up that hill in SKIS?  What an amazing race!

Seriously, I was like "I just watched a Norwegian run up a mountain and now I'm exhausted!!"

[SophiaD]

Not to be shallow or anything, but he's also a total cutie.  ;)

[meep.meep]

19 hours ago, SophiaD said:

WOW, Klaebo!  How did he SPRINT up that hill in SKIS?  What an amazing race!

He bounded up!  I've never seen anything like that.

Makes me proud to be Norwegian!  Of course when I watch speed skating, it makes me proud to be Dutch.

[Dandesun]

10 hours ago, SophiaD said:

Not to be shallow or anything, but he's also a total cutie.  ;)

Yes, he is. He very much is.

[MyAimIsTrue]

This Washington Post article about everyone's favorite Tongan athlete might be behind a pay wall (I have a subscription) but if you are able to read it please do so as it showcases a wonderful person, shirtless and oiled or not.

[Good Queen Jane]

Some compete for the pure joy of it, including everyone's favorite Tongan.

[kittykat]

I loved Pitas enthusiasm.  He was just glad he didn't hit a tree.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetorch/2018/02/16/586332388/tongan-skier-finishes-strong-in-olympics-after-just-12-weeks-of-training-in-snow

[walnutqueen]

1 hour ago, Good Queen Jane said:

Some compete for the pure joy of it, including everyone's favorite Tongan.

 

26 minutes ago, kittykat said:

I loved Pitas enthusiasm.  He was just glad he didn't hit a tree.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetorch/2018/02/16/586332388/tongan-skier-finishes-strong-in-olympics-after-just-12-weeks-of-training-in-snow

To me, these moments represent the very best of the Olympic spirit.

[galaxygirl76]

That story warmed my heart. They showed him on NBC and all the guys in the back of the field were waiting for the last competitor to finish, they seemed the have bonded and it was so wonderful. They said the winner of the race showed up too to welcome the last ones to the finish. This is what the Olympic spirit is about and made my heart grow three sizes.

[mtlchick]

I feel that cross country is a pretty tight knit community because they know it's not an easy sport to compete despite looking somewhat easy.  So I'm wondering if that's the appeal for people from warmer climates who rather not do anything that involves a track.  Nice to see they stick up for each other. 

[Quickbeam]

I’m watching the women’s relay on time delay. OMG it is painful to hear our US announcers try and do the fuzzy math to get the US a medal. We just aren’t good enough ok? Let it go and enjoy the race. *shakes head* 

[galaxygirl76]

10 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

I’m watching the women’s relay on time delay. OMG it is painful to hear our US announcers try and do the fuzzy math to get the US a medal. We just aren’t good enough ok? Let it go and enjoy the race. *shakes head* 

"all the other countries are going to try to stop the US from medaling because they all are looking at them"

*eyeroll* I'm sorry, they did good but I doubt the regulars in the top of this event(Norway, Russia*, Sweden) were too worried.

[selkie]

The US women have gotten to be a top 5 program in the past few years (the US men are still lucky to crack top 15) and have picked up a non-flukish number of big event podium spots along the way. Medals here were a bit aspirational but not unrealistic. 

[galaxygirl76]

"there is no way Bjorgen will win a sprint against Nielsen"

"Bjorgen is racing for silver" 

"if she doesn't lose her on this final hill Nielsen will win" 

 

And Norway wins. 

Bjorgen is a beast. So was the Norwegians third skier and the second Swedish one. 

[walnutqueen]

4 hours ago, galaxygirl76 said:

"there is no way Bjorgen will win a sprint against Nielsen"

"Bjorgen is racing for silver" 

"if she doesn't lose her on this final hill Nielsen will win" 

 

And Norway wins. 

Bjorgen is a beast. So was the Norwegians third skier and the second Swedish one. 

YES!  All that stuff about how her older muscles couldn't handle the strain as efficiently as her much younger competitor, and how Nielsen was the obvious winner because of her amazing sprint capabilities; but Bjorgen made them eat their words.  I loved it!

[meep.meep]

And  Johannes Klaebo did it again.  Klaeboing up what they are now calling the Klaebo slope - the uphill section just before the finish line.   He anchored the gold medal relay for Norway.  You have to see him sprinting up the hill, it's like he's on helium.

[walnutqueen]

13 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

And  Johannes Klaebo did it again.  Klaeboing up what they are now calling the Klaebo slope - the uphill section just before the finish line.   He anchored the gold medal relay for Norway.  You have to see him sprinting up the hill, it's like he's on helium.

Just put that uphill on a loop; then send me a royalty for the inspirational edge it gives to anyone watching.

[Quickbeam]

So proud of the US team for finally winning a cross country event. Jesse Diggins especially. Take nothing away from Sweden and Norway but maybe we can now stop talking about Bill Koch’s accidental waxing victory (silver) a million years ago. 

[Good Queen Jane]

Yay, for the American women! It's nice to see  that one of the athletes who got so much hype before the Olympics to win the gold. Not that this is a slam on Jessie Diggins or any other athlete. It's just that cross country skiing seems to get no respect from the US broadcasters, so I appreciated first Jessie getting the commercials and then coming through with a win.  (with Kikkan Randall).

[mtlchick]

Nice to see a North American team to medal in any cross country event, period! 

[Souris]

Honestly, that women's cross-country women’s team sprint freestyle finish was the most exciting thing I've seen in the Olympics so far. How did Jessie Diggins do that at the end???? It didn't seem like enough time/distance left for her to overcome the leader but she did it!! I even knew when I was watching that the U.S. won gold, but it didn't look like it was going to be possible! (At least to my untrained eye.) Way to go!

[galaxygirl76]

That was a great race but lol at the reporter that asked the one lady(sorry, don't know the names) if she would be the one on posters in kids rooms now because I'm sure that's the main thing on her mind right now. Maybe in a while but right now it's probably more like 'omg we won gold, we won gold, we won gold'

[selkie]

Jessie Diggins has a final kick that would make the coach of a Kenyan runner proud. It's one of the reasons why she's such a joy to watch in the sport. 

[greyhorse]

3 hours ago, Souris said:

Honestly, that women's cross-country women’s team sprint freestyle finish was the most exciting thing I've seen in the Olympics so far. How did Jessie Diggins do that at the end???? It didn't seem like enough time/distance left for her to overcome the leader but she did it!! I even knew when I was watching that the U.S. won gold, but it didn't look like it was going to be possible! (At least to my untrained eye.) Way to go!

I just watched online at work and even knowing the outcome, it was so exciting and I shed a tear.  That call from the announcer was so great, he probably peed his pants.

I'm a little ashamed to admit that the only reason why I knew about Jessie Diggins was because in the first few days of the Olympics, I came across her photo on some story about "Olympic athletes on Tinder".  She's smoking hot and she reminds me of Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Marisa Miller.  But she's shown she's more than just a pretty face.  3 Top 6 finishes and now a historic Olympic Gold.  I hope she gets a chance to carry the US flag at the closing ceremony.

[legaleagle53]

6 hours ago, greyhorse said:

I just watched online at work and even knowing the outcome, it was so exciting and I shed a tear.  That call from the announcer was so great, he probably peed his pants.

I'm a little ashamed to admit that the only reason why I knew about Jessie Diggins was because in the first few days of the Olympics, I came across her photo on some story about "Olympic athletes on Tinder".  She's smoking hot and she reminds me of Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Marisa Miller.  But she's shown she's more than just a pretty face.  3 Top 6 finishes and now a historic Olympic Gold.  I hope she gets a chance to carry the US flag at the closing ceremony.

I'll bet she's on a Wheaties box, too.

[Quickbeam]

I love that they changed up the Diggins commercial to include her victory. So thrilled for her and Randall who has spent so long in cross country. Seeing her undo Jessie’s bindings and poles after the finish, it was very touching. 

[roamyn]

That was the most exciting race I’ve seen in a long time.  That poor announcer was so hoarse at the end - it was one of the few times I liked an announcer.  The joy and enthusiasm for the sport were infectious.

I’d like to see both women carry the flag.  Jessie for that final leg, but Kikkan for carrying the sport all these years.

[mtlchick]

On 2/6/2018 at 8:38 AM, mtlchick said:

As a Canadian who isn't a die hard but pays enough attention to events, I really hope Alex Harvey finally has his Olympic breakthrough. 

Welp, there goes that plan.  I did manage to watch part of the final men's event and I was bummed that he was so close in the 50k.  Ah well.  I hope he inspires the team for Beijing.

[kayma]

When the first Russian closed the gap during the 50km, I couldn't help wonder what they spiked his glucose stuff with. It's pretty awful that I have such little faith in Russian sports that I immediately discount his achievements and the silver and bronze medal.