Surely many of you have already come across the mention of such a type of cross-country skiing as a skiathlon. "What it is?" - you will want to find out and, of course, understand the rules of the competition. Well, let's try to get to know them better, especially since the skiathlon is a very entertaining, very intense and interesting competition.
How did the skiathlon come about?
Skiathlon is a sport that, despite its modern name, is still not new. Existing since 1924, the ski pursuit race in 2003 acquired a modern format, called a pursuit. And in June 2011, it was renamed by the decision of the FIS Council in Ljubljana to make it convenient to distinguish these competitions from those related to the pursuit of handicap races.
Skiathlon is included in the program of the Olympic Winter Games, as well as in the Scandinavian FIS World Ski Championships.
What is a skiathlon
Skiathlon, previously called, as already mentioned, by a pursuit or duathlon, refers to the pursuit, as it consists of two stages. Moreover, the position of athletes at the start of the second part of the race is determined by what results were shown to them in the previous part of the competition.
Unlike handicap races, where the time of the leader of the races is taken from the time of each skier and in the second round he is released after the leader through this interval, the one who starts to change skis faster and has time to change shoes is the first to start in the skiathlon.
In the first race, skiers run the so-called classic style, and in the second - skating.
There is no break between the runs in the skiathlon. Athletes after completing the first part of the race in one style (classic) arrive in a specially equipped area where they change skis and immediately go to overcome the second part, this time with a freestyle.
The final result in the pursuit race described is equal to the finish time of each skier.
Women in a skiathlon, as a rule, cover a distance of 7.5 km at a time, and men - 15 km.
What is a classic skiing style?
As you already understood, the races in each stage of the competition are held in different ways of skiing.
Let's see the classic style in the skiathlon race - what is it? In skiing, they call the movement of athletes along a previously prepared ski track (two specially rolled parallel tracks).
In this style of skiing, hands are the main “driving force”, since it is impossible to focus on cross-country skiing - it is convenient only for sliding. When running, the athlete’s skis are directed forward, and the legs are involuntarily more passive than the arms.
The classic style is divided into different ways of walking, depending on how the skier is repelled by sticks and how many steps he takes in one cycle. Alternating or simultaneous pushing away with sticks at the same time is combined with a two-piece and one-step move, depending on the type and topography of the area.
Free skiing jogging style - what is it?
Free style means that the skier chooses any method of transportation that is convenient for him. But due to the fact that the skating style is the fastest, they use it most often - under the free style, as a rule, they mean exactly the skating move.
During the ridge course, both the athlete’s arms and legs are involved. At the same time, the skier moves, pushing his foot, turned at an angle, off the track, which looks very much like a normal ice skating (hence, by the way, the name of this style appeared).
Incidentally, this method of skiing was the first to be demonstrated in 1981 by the Finn Pauli Siitonen. And he was already over 40 at the time of the competition, but he (largely thanks to the new style) won the 55 km race. Like this!
The most common in the free style are simultaneous one-step and simultaneous two-step skating.
What do all pursuit races have in common
Pursuit in all sports have similar general rules. First of all, these competitions are held in several stages, and in most cases a break is made between them. More often they are carried out in two days, less often the interval is several hours. Athletes in each next stage (and in biathlon, for example, in the first race), take up a position at the start depending on the previously shown results, that is, the strongest starts first.
Ski skiathons are carried out without interruption, including during the race and the period required for a ski change.
In all pursuit races, equal results of two athletes at the finish are not allowed. If it is not possible to determine during timekeeping which of the participants came first, this is done with the help of a photo finish.
By the way, the only precedent for the award of medals with one virtue was the biathlon gold medals at the World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk (2003), divided between Frenchwoman Sandrine Bailly and German Martin Glagov. In this situation, the shutter of the photo-finish camera turned out to be closed by the body of the person present just during the finishing of the first skiers, so it was not possible to establish the winner unambiguously.
Features of skiathlon
Skiathlon is a race that is particularly serious and difficult. Skiers here not only meet with high-speed overcoming the track, but they still need to have time to change their skis in special boxes, remembering precious seconds, since the stopwatch does not stop at this time.
Men, as already mentioned, run twice in 15 km in a circle with a length of 3.75 km. Their total distance is 30 km. And women - 7.5 km in a circle of 2.5 km, and their total distance is a result of a length of 15 km.
The track for skiers in this race, as a rule, is laid so that it passes several times through the stadium.
Skiathlon: Sochi 2014
In Sochi Olympic competitions in skiathlon were held at the Laura ski and biathlon complex, and they made a strong impression on the composition of the participants. There were Olympic champions, and winners of the World Cup, and world champions. But the leaders were longtime favorites in cross-country skiing - the national teams of Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.
So, for example, 68 athletes from thirty different countries of the world took part in the skiathlon race (men).
In this case, the Swiss turned out to be the strongest Dario Colognier, who thus became a two-time Olympic champion. The silver medal went to the Swede Marcus Hölner, and the bronze went to the Norwegian Martin Jonsrud Sundby.
Skiathlon Competitions
To better understand the skiathlon - what it is, you should definitely watch the competition. After all, the named sport makes high demands on the ability of athletes - to be universal. It is by no means a secret that every skier prefers one style of skiing. Someone is impressed by the classic, but someone feels especially confident precisely during the skate race.
The need for versatility makes every skiathlon competition especially intense and spectacular. So, in Olympic Sochi, both the gold and bronze medals went to the Norwegians: Marit Borgen and Heidi Weng - and the Swedish skier Charlotte Kalle became the silver medalist. And at the World Championships held in Falun (2015), the previously unbeaten Bjorgen was already on the sidelines, while the first place was taken by her teammate from Norway, Teresa Johaug.
Skiathlon is a race that is worthy of attention and will never let a fan get bored!