FIS News In Brief - Week 3, August 18
Nordic Combined started its summer competitions in Oberwiesenthal – for the first time with both ladies and men, meanwhile the Ski Jumping Summer Grand Prix continued in Frenstat (CZE) for the ladies. Many big names of the Cross-country world were active at Toppidrettsveka in Norway.
FIS Ski Jumping Summer Grand Prix Frenstat (CZE)
Sara Takanashi (JPN) remained unbeaten in this year’s Summer Grand Prix winning the both competitions of the FIS Grand Prix in Frenstat (CZE). For the 21-year-old, this was her 23rd win in a Grand Prix. Yuki Ito (JPN) and Maren Lundby of Norway followed in second and third places.
Takanashi jumped 98 m and 102.5 m and with a total of 253.1 points, eight points ahead her teammate Yuki Ito.
"I'm happy with the result. It was a nice weekend for me here in Frenstat. I don't think that the wind conditions were difficult today", Takanashi said after her win.
Ito was satisfied with her second place: "I'm satisfied with my jumps today. Yesterday I made a big mistake in the second round, today I did better. Now I will go back to Japan to train and I will not compete in the Grand Prix again this summer."
Takanashi now leads the overall ranking of the Grand Prix with the maximum possible 400 points.
The Ladies Grand Prix continues on 9th September in Chaikovsky (RUS), where the men will also be competing.
Successful Ladies’ Nordic Combined Summer Grand Prix premiere
The first-ever Nordic Combined Summer Grand Prix level competitions for ladies were held last weekend in Oberwiesenthal (GER) and a small but representative field of ladies competed for the first summer title in the discipline. In the end, last winter’s Continental Cup overall winner Stefaniya Nadymova (RUS) shared the crown with Tara Geraghty-Moats (USA), each with a win and a second place to their names. Local hero, 16-year-old Jenny Nowak (GER), claimed third place by finishing third on both competition days.
FIS Race Director Lasse Ottesen: “After last winter‘s first Continental Cup events for the ladies, we can see that the level, motivation and spirit for Nordic Combined Ladies is growing. This first-ever Summer Grand Prix event gave us and the spectators two exiting competitions, of which the first one almost had a photo finish for the victory. We are looking forward to the coming winter season event with anticipation. At the same time, we would like to thank our organisers in Oberwiesenthal who showcased the ladies and men in the best of ways duringthe past weekend.”
Toppidrettsveka (NOR)
Norwegians Heidi Weng and Magnus Stensås won the final standings of Toppidrettsveka 2018, a three-day mini tour in Orkda, Aure and Trondheim (NOR) from 16th - 18th August.
There were four competitions scheduled as part of this year's editions of Toppidrettsveka, skiathlon, mass starts classic, sprint free technique and pursuit in classic technique. Weng showed she's been in a good summer shape and won the total ladies’ event. Tiril Udnes Weng was 2nd with +56.6 seconds gap, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen who recorded the fastest time of the pursuit secured third place.
There were 13 athletes separated by only 5,5 seconds in the finish of the men's pursuit. It was Magnus Stensås who was fastest in the finish to claim the overall win +0.7 sec ahead of Mikael Gunnulfsen and +1.7 sec in front of Frenchman Jean-Marc Gaillard.
Results
Complete results of all the competitions
Northernmost roller ski track opened in Hammerfest, Norway
The northernmost roller ski track has officially opened in Hammerfest on the Finnmark coast in Norway. Hammerfest municipality built a 2.7 km track including a Biathlon stadium with ten targets in Reindalen and the local ski club has developed the facility, also with the help of many sponsors.
Many spectators took a trip to Reindalen for the official opening which was conducted by Alf E. Jakobsen, the mayor of Hammerfest. The opening was celebrated with a roller-ski race with over 30 participants, which was part of a youth training camp.
