Nordic World Championships - More Results
It was quite a weekend at the Nordic World Championships in Obertsdorf, Germany.
In the women's 15km pursuit - in which the skiers use the classic or "diagonal" style over the first half of the race before switching skis to use the freestyle or "skate" style over the second half - Julia Tchepalova of Russia won handily, relegating Norwegians Marit Bjorgen (the World Cup leader) and Kristin Steira to second and third, respectively. Bjorgen had led over much of the first 10km, but Tchepalova outmaneuvered her at the ten-k mark and skiied away to victory. Tchepalova had finished second by less than two seconds in the 10km race earlier in the week.
On the men's side, Italy continued to make a strong showing, with Giorgio Di Centa taking silver in the 30km pursuit. However, Frenchman Vincent Vittoz won that race in thrilling fashion, beating Di Centa and Frode Estil of Norway (who finished third) by just eight-tenths of a second. Vittoz's win gave France its first-ever cross-country gold. Just two weeks ago, Vittoz had been accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, but further testing exonerated him.
On the jumping hill, Austria surprised many by winning the HS100 team competition, leaping beyond Germany and Slovenia. Finland, which has two of the top jumpers in the world on its squad, managed only fourth after its ace, Janne Ahonen, received poor style points on his 97-meter jump in the final round. (Ahonen has notoriously bad form, but rarely is punished with low style points.) The Austrians were led by Thomas Morgenstern, who landed the day's only 100-meter jump, and Martin Hoellwarth, who answered a 99-meter German leap with a 97.5-meter soar that clinched the gold medal.
In the women's 15km pursuit - in which the skiers use the classic or "diagonal" style over the first half of the race before switching skis to use the freestyle or "skate" style over the second half - Julia Tchepalova of Russia won handily, relegating Norwegians Marit Bjorgen (the World Cup leader) and Kristin Steira to second and third, respectively. Bjorgen had led over much of the first 10km, but Tchepalova outmaneuvered her at the ten-k mark and skiied away to victory. Tchepalova had finished second by less than two seconds in the 10km race earlier in the week.
On the men's side, Italy continued to make a strong showing, with Giorgio Di Centa taking silver in the 30km pursuit. However, Frenchman Vincent Vittoz won that race in thrilling fashion, beating Di Centa and Frode Estil of Norway (who finished third) by just eight-tenths of a second. Vittoz's win gave France its first-ever cross-country gold. Just two weeks ago, Vittoz had been accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, but further testing exonerated him.
On the jumping hill, Austria surprised many by winning the HS100 team competition, leaping beyond Germany and Slovenia. Finland, which has two of the top jumpers in the world on its squad, managed only fourth after its ace, Janne Ahonen, received poor style points on his 97-meter jump in the final round. (Ahonen has notoriously bad form, but rarely is punished with low style points.) The Austrians were led by Thomas Morgenstern, who landed the day's only 100-meter jump, and Martin Hoellwarth, who answered a 99-meter German leap with a 97.5-meter soar that clinched the gold medal.
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