Olympic Winter Games in 73 Days

These two competitions open a season that will lead many of the competitors here in Östersund to the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games in just 73 days. Every nation, regardless of medal chances has made special efforts to have their athletes in top shape this year.  Sweden’s Staffan Eklund commented on this quadrennial phenomenon, “All of the small nations are making very good training camps this year because the Olympics are the goal.”

Jonsson Defends

With that goal in mind, the number of potential victors in the Opening 15K Individual probably increases. However, in a field of 116 women, the obvious favorites have not changed much since last December.  Hometown favorite Helena Jonsson comes in as defending champion. Her win last December over Germany’s Kati Wilhelm and Magdalena Neuner ironically set the tone for the year, as Jonsson won the overall World Cup over Wilhelm, with Neuner in fourth place.

These two women would be solid bets as having podium potential on Wednesday evening. Still, others deserve more than a passing glance. Anna Carin Olofsson-Zidek of Sweden is in good form according to Eklund. World Championships Silver medalist Teja Gregorin of Slovenia and Bronze medalist Tora Berger of Norway have both had good summer training according to their coaches.

Controlling Nerves

From there, the list goes on: Khvostenko and Semerenko of Ukraine, Tofalvi of Romania, Zaitseva of Russia, and Domracheva of Belarus could all be in the mix. As Finland Coach Jonne Kähkönen commented today, “All of the work has been done; now it is all about who can control their nerves.”

Around 7 PM, Wednesday evening, everyone will know who controlled their nerves and passed the first test on the way to Canada.

Conditions Stable on the Tracks

International Referee for Course Christoph Vassallo (FRA) feels good about Östersund’s tracks that wind through the surrounding forest. In training several days ago, athletes complained about soft uphills, icy downhill slopes and dangerous turns. Vassallo feels these problems have been resolved. “With the new snow, grooming, and temperatures that have stayed below freezing all day, the tracks are in good shape. We widened the sharp turn and banked it, making it easier to negotiate. I covered 24K over the day and feel good about the conditions for the competitions. Conditions have remained stable all day and the athletes that I have spoken to confirm that it is good out there.”

Good Crowd Expected

“All of the publicity surrounding Helena Jonsson winning the Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal today can only help fill the stadium tomorrow evening,” commented Press Chief Patrik Jemteborn. He continued, “It has been all over the news today and will be the top story in the morning papers, so people some people will probably decide at tomorrow to come out and see Helena.” Even though the stadium is not sold out, the premium VIP tickets which cost 995 SEK (roughly 95 Euro) are sold out. VIP tickets include entrance to the Stadium, a grandstand seat, free food, and beverages.