What you don't know about the Winter Olympics: Cross-country skiing, why is it called a "snow marathon"?

Urumqi, 20 Jan (Xinhua) -- From the perspective of a drone, the National Cross-Country Skiing Center in the Zhangjiakou Division of the Beijing Winter Olympics is like a silver dragon lying on its back, waiting for the upcoming competition for speed and perseverance. As a traditional Winter Olympic competition, what are the characteristics of cross-country skiing, which is known as the "snow marathon"? What will the competition pattern be?

How much does the "Snow Marathon" weigh?

Cross-country skiing, as the name suggests, is a sport that uses skiing equipment to use basic techniques such as mountaineering, downhilling, turning, and sliding on the snowy slopes of the hills. Because of its origins in Northern Europe, cross-country skiing, also known as Nordic skiing, is one of the oldest sports in the history of world sports.

In 1924, cross-country skiing was included in the first Winter Olympic Games. Today, there are men's and women's events, which are divided into traditional, freestyle, racing, mixed chase and relay races, with the winner first to reach the finish line. Cross-country skiing, known as the "snow marathon," is similar to the marathon at the Summer Olympics because of its long running distance, and because of the 12 sub-events.

As a traditional event of the Winter Olympics, the weight of cross-country skiing is reflected in the distribution of gold medals. Cross-country skiing at the Beijing Winter Olympics will produce 12 gold medals, second only to 14 for speed skating and 13 for freestyle skiing.

As a traditional event of the Winter Olympics, the weight of cross-country skiing is also reflected in the competition schedule. According to the schedule, the first gold of the Beijing Winter Olympics will be born in the cross-country skiing women's double pursuit event. As a convention of the Winter Olympics, cross-country skiing award ceremonies for men's 50 km and women's 30 km were held at the closing ceremony.

It is a technical contest and a contest of science and technology

Cross-country skiing is physically demanding on athletes, and the finish sprint is fiercely competitive, and people are often seen falling to the ground. But not every fall is physical weakness, it is also used as a collision tactic.

This is a microcosm of the cross-country skiing technical and tactical competition. From the perspective of the starting method of the competition, it is divided into interval departure and collective departure, while the combination of traditional technology, free technology and different distances and different numbers constitutes a cross-country skiing project group, and the competition route requires uphill, downhill and flat land to account for about one-third.

Miko Vertanin, who served as the head coach of the Chinese cross-country skiing team from 2015 to 2016, said that cross-country skiers have three factors to achieve good results, one is physical fitness, the other is technology, and the third is ski equipment.

Snowboard waxing is an essential service in cross-country skiing events and training, which can help athletes obtain appropriate friction resistance when sliding on the snow surface, thereby saving physical strength, improving the level of competition, and achieving excellent results. Wang Yan, deputy leader of the national cross-country skiing training team, introduced that in the past, when going to foreign competitions, he usually set up a stall in the open space next to the venue to wax; in the better conditions, there were containers as temporary waxing rooms.

It is worth mentioning that at this Winter Olympics, the domestic snow wax car will be put into use for the first time, this 20-meter-long van truck vehicle, involving new energy power, photovoltaic power generation, 5G and other technologies, with green environmental protection, high degree of intelligence, large body space and other characteristics, six waxing operation tables in the carriage, for six waxers to wax the snowboard at the same time.

The birth of the first domestic snow wax car reflects a new breakthrough in the manufacture of winter sports equipment in the mainland. "Now with this snow wax truck, the working environment of waxers has been greatly improved and the work efficiency has also been greatly improved." Wang Yan said.

What is the competition pattern?

On cross-country skiing, Norway dominates the sport – winning a total of 121 medals at previous Winter Olympics, 41 more than second-place Sweden.

Cross-country skiing is the weakness of the Chinese team, and there is a big gap with the strong team from the previous results, especially in individual events. In 2018, China's cross-country skiing established China's first cross-country skiing national training team by selecting talents across disciplines from bicycles, marathons, rowing and other projects.

The Chinese team's strategy is similar to that of track and field sprinting, to relay individual events, especially seeking to break through in the women's event. Born in 2001, Diniger Yilamujiang, a Uyghur girl, won three women's championships in the women's five events of the International Snow Federation Points Race Hot Spring Station in November 2021.

The cross-country skiing training team has qualified for the Beijing Winter Olympics. When it comes to the events that may be brilliant at the Winter Olympics, Zhang Bei, the leader of the Chinese cross-country skiing training team, said that what makes her most proud is that the long-distance events that used to be difficult to participate in are now eligible for the men's 50 km and the women's 30 km.

"At the Beijing Winter Olympics, we want to create a new history of cross-country skiing, so in every training, we strive to be the ultimate and leave no regrets." Zhang Bei said.