Norway is back on top! The men's relay skied to victory this afternoon at Holmenkollen in a race that kept us all guessing until the last kilometer. Various European ski superstars all had their chance in the mix, from Alexander Legkov of Russia to Marcus Hellner of Sweden and many in between. While Hellner couldn't quite keep up with Petter Northug's kick at the end (more on that below), the Swedes still walked away with a not-too-shabby silver medal. Team Germany was third. North America was represented as well, with the Canadians in 12th and the American team finishing in 14th place.
How does the relay work? Each leg is 10K. In this "mixed" relay, the first two racers ski classic technique, and the final two competitors skate.
The race went back and forth constantly. The play-by-play would be way too much for the casual reader, but if you are interested, you can find it
here. The "newsworthy" section comes down to the last kilometer. Northug had been sitting back during his entire 10K leg, letting the others do hard work in front. On the final climb into the stadium, he made his infamous move, regaining control over the field and turning on the afterburners that the Norwegian fans had been waiting for all day. Northug had enough of a lead that he was able to ham it up with the crowd, mimicking Alex Harvey's "Shush" to the crowd from
Day Seven's team sprint. The real stunt was as Northug was about to cross the finish line. Instead of the classic arms-up celebration, the feisty Norwegian slammed on the brakes, snowplowed to nearly a complete stop and waited until Hellner was almost beside him to step across the line. (See video
here.)
Of course, a media frenzy broke out over the move. A Swedish TV Commentator said that Northug is "a wolf along the tracks, but at the finish, he is a pig." Others claim that if he was strong enough to have that much time to spare, he deserves to have his fun at the finish line.
My opinion? I was really starting to gain a new respect for Northug! I felt like he was busting his way out of the bad-boy persona that he had been pigeonholed into, especially with his gracious comments toward Hellner on the
first day of the Championships. But I just can't feel good about this move. All it was missing was a stuck-out tongue and a "Na-na-na-na-boo-boo!" There is plenty of ways to celebrate a great ski, especially when you are on your home turf with thousands of spectators cheering for you. In the sake of good sportsmanship (and common decency), grow up.
There is only one more men's race- the 50K on Sunday. We will see if these antics will make it any easier for Northug to get a little help in the tracks. Something tells me he will be fighting an uphill battle.
Others agree.
Additional Links:
Full
Results
FasterSkier's play-by-play
Video of the final climb and finishing antics
Recap of yesterday's Women's relay
Recap of Day Seven: Team Sprints (Women and Men)
Hi, Kate - cool Blog! I feel the need to explain something about Petter Northug's popularity among Norwegians: We have always been used to our athletes being graceful in both vicory and defeat. But we are also, more often than not, used to them being on the losing end whenever there are some kind of millimeter finishes or rough racing. In Northug, we have for once gotten a no-remorse, ruthless guy that also can get victory out of a close race. And his arrogance is mostly aimed at the Swedes, which every Norwegian feel is well deserved :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you for the insight! It is awesome to have a Norwegian viewpoint on the topic.
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