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Nordic Skiing/Biathlon Thread

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Oct 30, 2010
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Things aren´t looking too good for team Finland. Five skiers named to Sochi will not start this weekend because of health issues. Also Kerttu Niskanen has problems with her ankle although she will start today. Saarinen is the only finn at the women's race who is in fully fit. In men's race the U23 champion Iivo Niskanen is given a chance to compete today, since Jauhojärvi and Nousiainen are sidelined.

We will see extremely interesting races today. I'm especially interested to see norwegians battling for a place in the 15k race at the olympics.
 
Sep 25, 2009
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i know it's a crazy question, but i'm going to ask it anyway...

are there documented cases when a frustrated, out-of his/her-wits athlete tried to use a sporting weapon on real or imagined offenders ?

i sure never heard of any. but is it really a stretch to imagine, particularly seeing how emotional and angry athletes can be...

one thing i am sure, if the hokey allowed weapons, some players would use them -100%. then, the fights would not be as entertaining :p
 
Sep 25, 2009
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So much to say, so little time :eek:

justyna‘s 5th…a total surprise today. even more concerning was that the polish team was tight-lipped.

legkov…i predicted it. nothing else to say…except to suggest that if he bothered to ditch his ugly classic style for bauer’s or roenning’s, he’d be plain scary. that he can win a classic race in such a field with one of the least efficient styles speaks of the hugeness of his engine, and perhaps some luck with skis (but i got an impression all top places today raced with out the grip waxes)

northug vs. cologna …hard not to recall northug’s whining about being off schedule for sochi after a bug 2 months ago and being demolished by a guy who lost entire season and just had his 1st wc race after an injury. love it ! cologna rocks and i like his cool, friendly personality.

hellner…even more awesome than legkov, seriously. classic skiing is NOT his cup of tea plus he has never really excelled in longish classic time trials. marcus should be very happy today looking at sochi.

3 Swedes and only 2 norges in the top 10... and that’s WITH sudby and roenning and without olsson…no further comments :p

very impressed with Harvey’s harvest - the 5th is fantastic in this field.

...almost forgot - If japarov keeps this shape up till the team sprints, i don’t see much competition for him and vyleg, just as the demolition job they have provided everyone with one year ago in sochi. that vyleg is hiding and northug calls him his main rival should be very scary to everyone, indeed.

a fantastic day for a winter sports fan.
 
python said:
...almost forgot - If japarov keeps this shape up till the team sprints, i don’t see much competition for him and vyleg, just as the demolition job they have provided everyone with one year ago in sochi. that vyleg is hiding and northug calls him his main rival should be very scary to everyone, indeed.

don't you think Kriukov will get one of the spots in the russian team?
 
Sep 25, 2009
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search said:
don't you think Kriukov will get one of the spots in the russian team?

it's a good question for the russian sprint coach. it depends on the specialization (skate vs classic), the actual results of the pair on the VERY sochi course and the amount of experimentation the russians put into the team sprints - to me, there is only one answer.

here is why (i am speaking from memory, so forgive me, if my numbers are off a little)

there are 2 sprints competitions in sochi - a skating individual sprint (11 feb) and a classic team sprint (19 feb).

kriukov is a top choice for a skating sprint, though, i feel that the youngster usiugov is stronger at the moment given the elevation).

however, if you recall, a year ago in sochi, the russians - just as several other teams - a classic team sprint experimented with various combinations of a distance vs a pure sprinter 2-men teams. they wanted to see if the elevated oxygen demands of a longish 1800 m sochi sprint course (4+ min at 1500min) favoured the higher endurance of distance skiers.

the answer was unequivocal !
vyleg and japarov (both distance guys) beat everyone, including the usual petu-kriukov pair, by a huge 20 seconds !
they just ran away as i never saw before in a wc man's sprint. other teams also found that the distance guys did very well. of all pure sprinters only jonsson held his own on the demanding sochi course. and even that was because he loves longer classic races and frequently does very well in them.

hope that helped...
 
python said:
So much to say, so little time

justyna‘s 5th…a total surprise today. even more concerning was that the polish team was tight-lipped.

legkov…i predicted it. nothing else to say…except to suggest that if he bothered to ditch his ugly classic style for bauer’s or roenning’s, he’d be plain scary. that he can win a classic race in such a field with one of the least efficient styles speaks of the hugeness of his engine, and perhaps some luck with skis (but i got an impression all top places today raced with out the grip waxes)

northug vs. cologna …hard not to recall northug’s whining about being off schedule for sochi after a bug 2 months ago and being demolished by a guy who lost entire season and just had his 1st wc race after an injury. love it ! cologna rocks and i like his cool, friendly personality.

hellner…even more awesome than legkov, seriously. classic skiing is NOT his cup of tea plus he has never really excelled in longish classic time trials. marcus should be very happy today looking at sochi.

3 Swedes and only 2 norges in the top 10... and that’s WITH sudby and roenning and without olsson…no further comments :p

very impressed with Harvey’s harvest - the 5th is fantastic in this field.

...almost forgot - If japarov keeps this shape up till the team sprints, i don’t see much competition for him and vyleg, just as the demolition job they have provided everyone with one year ago in sochi. that vyleg is hiding and northug calls him his main rival should be very scary to everyone, indeed.

a fantastic day for a winter sports fan.

This was an interesting day, and we got some good pointers on where the different guys and gals are form wise.

Justyna: Injured foot last week, so not that bad if her foot heals before the olympics. I think it mostly affects er classic skiing.

Legkov sking style is a cunundrum, but he seems to get the most of his upper body strenght. Perhaps it's what is optimal for him? It looks off to me to, just speculating. Annyway, he seems to have had a steady form buildup to the Olympics. He should be good.

Cologna was impressive(remember that he was with sundby for quite some time though).

Hellner finally got some positive feedback, and in Classic.:eek:

I think he will be very relieved tonight.

Sweden vs. Norway, don't get used to it, the Norwegian men weren't much better in Davos before Val di Fiemme;). The priority is to peak in the Olympics.

I'm just slightly concerned with Rønning, though he did enough to secure his place in the 15 classic.

The Norwegians see this as the end of camp, more than a race in itself. Except Dyrhaug and Østensen who are not going to the Olympics. So they are heavy from training at altitude.

Though I could of course be wrong.

Those who need to impress tomorrow are Jacobsen and Brun Lie, that are competing for a spot in the sprint. While Ola Vigen Hattestad I think needs to show something really special to get his spot.

It's been a fun day indeed.:)

search said:
don't you think Kriukov will get one of the spots in the russian team?

Afaik Kiriukov and Vyleg have already been selected. Japarov is doing everything he can to prove that he deserved a spot.
 
Lol, I miss the weekend's distance race which sounds like it was quite exciting, and I manage to be in to see the weekend's sprint (since every weekend seemingly has to have one distance race, whether it be 5k or 50k, and one sprint). Sod's law.

I'd like to see more of these sprints, if we have to persist with the "50% sprint, 50% distance" calendar mix, be mixed in technique so have a few more Classic sprints, at least on the tougher courses where it becomes more than just a double poling competition like we had at, say, Asiago. I know that at that point in the season just finding snow was a tough enough ask, but still, it was a very flat and unimpressive course, almost had to be Classic to give a chance of actual racing since it was so narrow they couldn't have passed one another in skate.
 
Interesting day today as well.

@MustIski
I just thought I'd mention that they were pulling out because they felt like they might get sick if they started.

It's really only a precaution.

@Python
I had time to check out the race again and get some information. Apearently the Norwegians used the same stuff(rub) that the women used, but apearently the conditions changed. so they were in trouble.

Harvey skied behind Legkov, so his good result might be influenced by it.

I'm still impressed with Hellner, and happy that he got a good result with good skiing.

As for the sprint selection for the Russians, I thought the same as you but the NRK expert said during Asiago(IIRC) that the choice had already been made.

Your reasoning for choosing Vyleg-Jap is good, however you have to remember that the Russians prioritized that race, and the other teams IIRC used more sprinters than they should have.

Now all the sprinters have had a Year to train their stamina, so that they are no longer such a huge liability.

I think the Russian reasoning is that they can not expect to ditch their competitors before the finish, so they want the guy who is the best finisher in classic as an anchor. So they will be using vyleg as an engine and kiri as the finisher. The other teams really need to ditch Kiri somewhere before the final, or perhaps tire him enough to have a chance.

@Libertine
This is an olympic year, so the schedule is likely much easier than it would otherwise be.

@Bavariander
Congratulations!:)

He has been more consistent this year, and I think his stamina has improved.
 
Sep 25, 2009
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another beautiful day packed with xc skiing…

several interesting happenings. ..I first thought of using the word ‘unexpected’ happenings but on the second thought figured it was not all that unpredictable.

- that bjoergen won is a no brainer, but randall only 5th in a skating sprint:confused: well, unlike marit, she is a human.:p
- before the final heat, i would bet on brandsdal before hattestad. the 2 purposely colluded to make me wrong :) both are forgiven... one thing i would definitely not guess before the toblach sprints that northug would be dead last in a quarter final heat ! wtf. either he is bluffing again, or he really is tired from yesterday. whatever the reason, i can not understand why would he even consider to be on a starting line before the olympics in which he plans 5-6 starts

- some interesting observations from the junior worlds…really huge gaps in the abilities of front runners vs. also-rans. top boys and girls from norway, sweden and russia stand out in almost every element. during one of the camera shots of the boys 10 k today, i could not help but notice almost a perfect fluidity of one of the russian boys shown from the rear just past a control point…he happened to be a winner (can’t recall his name exactly but when i tried to pronounce it gave me a mouth pain)

@torebear
you are right about harvey skiing behind legkov for a while but harvey lead him to the finish when legkov could easily lose 2.5 seconds w/o seeing Harvey’s back in front. so, they likely helped each other involuntarily. Also, cologna sat behind sundby and even admitted it was a huge help. part of racing. Aanyway, the latest news is that lego after triumphantly winning yesterday is….out of the Olympic 15k interval. said his choice. it is rather unexpected, but, if true, would indicate he is finally becoming smart(er).

….about legkov’s style…forgive me the association, but i call it 'orangutang on skis'. it is true that his forward leaning classic style, while not pretty, works for him due to his upper body strength. but it is still inefficient from the point of proper striding and loading in most snow conditions. in this regard, i have a curious observation - that his best classic performances seem to be on no-wax (‘zero’) skis. recall the toblach 5k interval he won 2 years ago, i believe (almost sure) he was also on ‘zeros’. what does that mean? perhaps, his awesome power is more pronounced when his major competitors are on more or less the same skis and only a glide wax is part of the equation ? that would be similar to a skating situation which we all know is his real strength.

About vyleg- kriu vs. jap-vyleg. i hear you. there is probably another reason. kriu is their national hero, a golden boy with second-to-none record in the very classic sprints. The whole nation will simply not understand if he was excluded, as the Norwegians would not accept northug not being the anchor in a team relay they almost always win with him
 
python said:
another beautiful day packed with xc skiing…

several interesting happenings. ..I first thought of using the word ‘unexpected’ happenings but on the second thought figured it was not all that unpredictable.

- that bjoergen won is a no brainer, but randall only 5th in a skating sprint :confused: well, unlike marit, she is a human.§§§
- before the final heat, i would bet on brandsdal before hattestad. the 2 purposely colluded to make me wrong §§§ both are forgiven... one thing i would definitely not guess before the toblach sprints that northug would be dead last in a quarter final heat ! wtf. either he is bluffing again, or he really is tired from yesterday. whatever the reason, i can not understand why would he even consider to be on a starting line before the olympics in which he plans 5-6 starts

- some interesting observations from the junior worlds…really huge gaps in the abilities of front runners vs. also-rans. top boys and girls from norway, sweden and russia stand out in almost every element. during one of the camera shots of the boys 10 k today, i could not help but notice almost a perfect fluidity of one of the russian boys shown from the rear just past a control point…he happened to be a winner (can’t recall his name exactly but when i tried to pronounce it gave me a mouth pain)

@torebear
you are right about harvey skiing behind legkov for a while but harvey lead him to the finish when legkov could easily lose 2.5 seconds w/o seeing Harvey’s back in front. so, they likely helped each other involuntarily. Also, cologna sat behind sundby and even admitted it was a huge help. part of racing. Aanyway, the latest news is that lego after triumphantly winning yesterday is….out of the Olympic 15k interval. said his choice. it is rather unexpected, but, if true, would indicate he is finally becoming smart(er).

….about legkov’s style…forgive me the association, but i call it 'orangutang on skis'. it is true that his forward leaning classic style, while not pretty, works for him due to his upper body strength. but it is still inefficient from the point of proper striding and loading in most snow conditions. in this regard, i have a curious observation - that his best classic performances seem to be on no-wax (‘zero’) skis. recall the toblach 5k interval he won 2 years ago, i believe (almost sure) he was also on ‘zeros’. what does that mean? perhaps, his awesome power is more pronounced when his major competitors are on more or less the same skis and only a glide wax is part of the equation ? that would be similar to a skating situation which we all know is his real strength.

About vyleg- kriu vs. jap-vyleg. i hear you. there is probably another reason. kriu is their national hero, a golden boy with second-to-none record in the very classic sprints. The whole nation will simply not understand if he was excluded, as the Norwegians would not accept northug not being the anchor in a team relay they almost always win with him

I think Randall just used the wrong tactic. She didn't want to lead on the downhill, but she was leading at the top so she slowed down to get someone in front of her. That meant she lost speed and she was eventually shut out from those coming from behind.

I actually think it's a good result for her, since it gives her less pressure from an audience at home that likely wont know much about the sport.

Same for Musgrave who failed to qualify.

On the Bransdal/Hattestad contest, the question is who had this race as a goal. Hattestad was told after NM that he was a reserve, so doing well in this sprint, was the only way to get into the Sochi sprint.

The coaches have a problem selecting now. After NM Bransdal, Glørsen and Krogh were said to have already been selected according to the media, and Northug had to compete with Hattestad for the spot. In reality I think they had already selected Northug. He won on the course last year, so he might be called a favorite. Not selecting Northug would not be very popular, since most people are aware of what Northug can do.

About Northugs shape. It's pretty normal to be very unpredictable in the first few days after altitude camp. Also Northug said it made him seig(don't know how to translate this) for a few days after come down from altitude. He said this was easier to camouflage in a long distance race, but in a sprint there was no hiding it.

I think Krogh had this, and had a real off day since he failed to qualify. Also, I haven't heard anything, but I suspect this might also be why Hellner failed to qualify.

On selecting the Nor sprint team I'm unsure what is smart. I suspect the others are focused both mentally and physically for next week, and I think one of the reasons for leaving out Hattestad is that they are unsure if he can go through the course in sochi 4 times.


I didn't really watch the juniors races in individual, since I really didn't expect to learn that much about the athletes skills, since you only get to see them a short time. And there was so much else going on, so I kinda let that one slide.

Pronouncing "Roman" gave you problems? Really Python, I think you should go to the dentist.;)



Good point about the ending, I didn't think about that. It could also be that Harvey did a lot of work in the downhill sections. Legkov is one of those skiers you don't want to ski too close to to while going downhill, so it's a sensible precaution as well.

Interesting choice by Legkov(if it was his choice that is...). It might be a good idea to rest up for the Relay two days later, where the Russians will likely need him to go full gas to have a chance.also the Russians have a lot of good skiers available for that race.

About Legkov's style, I think 'orangutang on skis' is the perfect way to describe his style!:D

About the conditions, he certainly needs a good grip for his poles. I don't have much of an idea if your theory is correct, since there would be so many variables to account for. I think for example the Toblach, 5k was the day after the sprint, or second day after the sprint, so Legkov would be well rested, while his main competitors were not. I also remember the Russians having very good skis while the Norwegians did not have so good skis. It's difficult to asses whether it's the no-wax, since we can only compare his performance to the other starters usual performances. And we don't know the situation for them that day.

It might take a little studying of him to get any Idea if it's true or not. I really haven't studied Legkov so closely, since the Orangutang on skis is more likely to make me want to look away, than studying his style. :p

Good point about the politics. Though the Norwegians not selecting Northug is very theoretical. It hasn't happened, and I think he would tell the coaches if he should not compete. Though there might be some discussion about the sprint selection. The coaches are being criticized for naming the sprinters so early.

There was also discussion on Jacobsen being given a spot on the skiathlon. I think thats all forgotten now, since she didn't really impress this weekend.

Also, I don't think it's a bad idea to select Kiri. Lets say Jap and Vyleg go up against Rønning and Northug. I don't see either of the Russians being able to drop either of these to before the finish, and Vyleg vs. Northug, seems like a very unfavorable matchup for the Russians.

With Kiri, Northug might need to drop him, but if he can't Kiri would be the favorite.




Anyway the Junior relays were very interesting. If you haven't watched them, try to find a torrent or something.

It certainly gave me a clearer understanding, of whether Augdal could have beaten Chervotkin regardless of the delay in the skiathlon.
 
Sep 25, 2009
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ToreBear said:
I He won on the course last year, so he might be called a favorite.
this is as relevant to the coming sochi sprints in one week as the last year's snow in sochi ;) sorry your fanboism asked for it:p because in the same post you do not apply the same logic to jap/vyleg who decimated everyone last year. in the race you argue they should not be selected for.
ToreBear said:
Not selecting Northug would not be very popular,
things may not be all that rosy when norway that supposed to brim with talent, starts mixing sport and politics. northug, despite everyone realizing his potential, has not selected himself by right for the nowegian sprint team. that very phrase tells me norway is insecure and their man's team may be heading for the Olympic showing far below the expectation they create and hype...

ToreBear said:
About Northugs shape. It's pretty normal to be very unpredictable in the first few days after altitude camp.
no, it is not normal nor uniform. everyone responds individually. as far as i understand, the entire norwegian team was at altitude. if after so many years, northug has not learned his body sufficiently to figure that he should not have entered sprints when his very own selection was at stake, then either the noewegian public was lied to about him not yet being selected or he's stupid/vain.

i am a fan of the sport... my posting record is clear - i try to be fair to northug whenever he deserves. one thing i don't appreciate is the double standard his fans apply to him and everyone else.

norway's man's team may still have a good showing.

but judging by what i have seen in recent weeks - an orangutang on skis beats the creme of norge's classic skiers, a barely recovered cologna did the same, a never shining in the classic hellner delivered a message too. and on the top of it, political rather than sporting selections, huge amounts of hype and a bunch of the usual references to bad skis etc instead of giving the opponents credit and stopping spreading saliva...
 
python said:
this is as relevant to the coming sochi sprints in one week as the last year's snow in sochi §§ sorry your fanboism asked for it§§ because in the same post you do not apply the same logic to jap/vyleg who decimated everyone last year. in the race you argue they should not be selected for.

On last year. The sprint vs. the teamsprint were very different propositions.

Firstly, I think the Russians, were putting a lot into doing well in sochi, so they had aimed for a peak there, while I think most of the others were more interested in getting a feel for the course.

Secondly, most of the teams for the teamsprint were surprized at how tough it was. In fact it seems only the Russians had two alrounders, while the others had either one or two sprinters.
http://data.fis-ski.com/dynamic/results.html?sector=CC&raceid=20708

Of all the teams, I think the only 2 distances racer teams were the Russians and Germans. Sweden used 2 sprinters(impressive that they got second btw).

Norway for example had both teams with one of each.

That is why I say the result in the Team sprint last year is a bad measure of this year.


python said:
things may not be all that rosy when norway that supposed to brim with talent, starts mixing sport and politics. northug, despite everyone realizing his potential, has not selected himself by right for the nowegian sprint team. that very phrase tells me norway is insecure and their man's team may be heading for the Olympic showing far below the expectation they create and hype...

I'm sorry if I'we been unclear, or giving the wrong impression, I watched the superbowl last night, and that made me a bit tired today. When I'm tired I'm not as concious of what I write as I usually am.

I don't think there is or will be any politics involved in the selection, I was more speculating on media pressure. The coaches know that they have backing from the top to decide what they think is best. The media will wine and stuff, but AFAIK, I don't think anyone has been replaced for not selecting someone.

But you are right, there is some politics in the selection process, but that has more to do with what is conveyed in the media.

The thing is Northug left the national team, and got his own sponsor. This might hurt the National team, since their sponsoring value could be smaller.

Hence there has been a lot of politics on whether Northug should be allowed to go to sochi or not. That was decided last year, but due to the unpopularity of the move the Ski association has said in the media that his selection for the games were not clear, or what events he could go to unless he showed enough to convince the coaches he would be top shape.

I think they are convinced he is good to go.




python said:
no, it is not normal nor uniform. everyone responds individually. as far as i understand, the entire norwegian team was at altitude. if after so many years, northug has not learned his body sufficiently to figure that he should not have entered sprints when his very own selection was at stake, then either the noewegian public was lied to about him not yet being selected or he's stupid/vain.
That's kinda my point I, if it was unclear, sorry(Too little sleep). Everyone responds differently, but they tend to learn how their body reacts once they get more experience. Being up and down after altitude is pretty normal, but some are not effected by it as well. It's variable.

I don't know whether this applies to all, but the Norwegian team came on Wednesday or Thursday, while Northug came on Saturday(same as both Hellner and Calla I think). There might have been individual differences within the team, but I have no information of this.

That his selection was at stake, was kind of a lie. IIRC he had to show his form was as it should be during the weekend. This he did on the 15k. While Hattestad was told he was a reserve privately, but in the media it was said he was competing with Northug.




python said:
i am a fan of the sport... my posting record is clear - i try to be fair to northug whenever he deserves. one thing i don't appreciate is the double standard his fans apply to him and everyone else.

norway's man's team may still have a good showing.

but judging by what i have seen in recent weeks - an orangutang on skis beats the creme of norge's classic skiers, a barely recovered cologna did the same, a never shining in the classic hellner delivered a message too. and on the top of it, political rather than sporting selections, huge amounts of hype and a bunch of the usual references to bad skis etc instead of giving the opponents credit and stopping spreading saliva...

I don't really think I'm especially fond of Northug. But he is a controversial figure in the media, and this affects peoples views of him. I just try to explain my understanding(which is based on what I hear in the media and my ability to process that material).

Now If I come across as a fanboy, that might have more to do with there being so much animosity towards him. Also since there is so much animosity towards him, old truths and half thruths seem to be repeated enough that people think it's fact. The idea that Northug has no engine for example, or that he can't/ couldn't excel unless it was a mass start.

As for skis. The fact that the entire team performed so far below expectations tells me that it was skis or something to do with how the training was set up, and a combination of the two.

If it were training, there would have been some who skied at their normal level. There was not, they all underperformed to some degree. That tells me that the skis were a big part of it. For example Golberg, he has showed what he can do in a 15k c before. On saturday he was number 45 2:39 off the pace. While on Sunday he went to the sprint final.
http://data.fis-ski.com/dynamic/results.html?sector=CC&raceid=22380

Also the head of the waxers said they made a bobo.


As for the rest, I thought I was giving the opponents credit? They would not have skied slower if the Norwegians had better skis. Though they might have lost some of their places.


So take a deep breath and relax, or let it all out, whatever feels better.:)


And I'm not concerned about the mens team. I'm concerned about the skis though, since Sochi seems to be an easy place to screw up. But that is a problem for everyone.
http://www.tv2.no/2014/02/02/sport/vintersport/nystad/sotsji/5280676
 
Yea, typical Marit Bjørgen World Cup race. Very impressed with Kalla, disappointed that Johaug didn't medal, but it just seemed like the final climb never really gets steep enough to generate separation from a tempo attack, it had to be a real power surge, and Kalla was clearly the one to deliver that. I figure Johaug expended too much energy leading that climb every time.
 
Sep 25, 2009
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i seriously think that kalla's silver was not appreciated not only by little therese, but the norwegian xc ski team as a whole. superior for sure the norwegian performance was, but not a dominant sweep as most expected...

tomorrow, i expect sundby to win - or vyleg, if his hiding was productive.
 
python said:
i seriously think that kalla's silver was not appreciated not only by little therese, but the norwegian xc ski team as a whole. superior for sure the norwegian performance was, but not a dominant sweep as most expected...

tomorrow, i expect sundby to win - or vyleg, if his hiding was productive.

They didn't get a 1-2 win, but 1,3,4 is pretty dominant. Also Bjørgen looked like she was just out doing a regular training session. Also, impressive race by Saarinen, she managed to hang on to Johaug/Weng, even though she looked pretty done on the last hill.
 
It's a long Olympic program. No point expending more energy than you need to in the win. I presume that's the reason for some of the disappointing results like Tchekaleva and Steira too, nobody remembers the places outside the top few, so save energy for a better shot at a medal in the other races.
 
Good performance on a difficult day for the Norwegian Women. Astrid Jacobsen lost her brother yesterday. It was very sudden, and the womens team are in both shock and sorrow. Astrids brother was also her training mate, and it would not surprise me if he also trained with some of the other girls since they live in the same area.

Some handled it differently, I think Therese had it very tough. Her skiing technically was not up to par.

Well done to Charlotte! I think the Norwegian women are quite happy for her since they have trained together and know each other well.
 

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