Inequity on the Course: 50 km at Holmenkollen

Arguably the most distinguished race in the Nordic skiing world is the 50 km, and although it is included  every year in the World Championship competition elsewhere, it's home is Holmenkollen. Oslo 2011 Sports Director John Aalberg concludes that "everyone in the cross-country skiing community will see the winner of the 50 km as the toughest skier of the season and of the World Championship." The course is notorious for long climbing sections this year won't disappoint: the route creeps awfully close to the 2000 meter upper limit of the allowed elevation gain window. Competitors will race 52.8 km with 1998 meters of elevation gain this February in Oslo.

photo courtesy of sports.yahoo.com

Yet a huge percentage of racers at the World Championships won't get the chance to prove themselves on the course of all courses. Why? Cause they're girls. The women will be racing 30 km, as has been the case for many years. Most races on the World Cup circuit are like this- besides sprints, women always race shorter distances than men, usually with less climbing.


Professional female skiers like Norwegians Marit Bjørgen and Kristin Stormer Stiera are questioning these race layouts. In January 2010, Stiera says it is a "little strange" that girls are almost always going shorter distances than the boys.

So why is it that women race shorter distances and climb less than the men?

Marit Bjørgen, photo courtesy of dagbladet.no

In a dialog after a recent article, Martin Hall claims that "Bjørgen doesn't know what she is talking about" when she claimed that "It's really no tougher for us (women) to race 50 k than it is for the guys, and we are totally prepared physically to race it." He writes:

"...men are stronger, they have more muscle mass, they carry less fat, men have bigger hearts and lungs, and biomechanically men are built so they can go faster then women—it was our goal to make it so there would be the least amount of comparisons."

Is the inequity a calculated decision to keep things as even as possible, to challenge the women at the same level as the men, taking into account different gender physiology? Has FIS decided to maintain the status quo because it keeps the racers closer together, making for a more entertaining race? Or is it because officials are concerned with male racers getting "girled"? If the latter is the case, get over it. It is obvious that women ski racers are strong- why shouldn't they get the opportunity to seek the prestige of the Holmenkollen 50 km?

Photo courtesy of usskiteam.com

And what do the FIS officials think? At the beginning of last year, Vegard Ulvang, a Norwegian former cross country skier and current FIS Chairman, supported and agreed with the voices of women racers calling for equality in race distances. He says he is considering extending the length of women's races but will need help from national associations to make meaningful changes.


Marit Bjørgen asked that her comments "serve as an intial request" to the FIS Committee to include women in the 50 km. Whatever the driving force behind the inequity is, here's to hoping that the voices of women racers at the World Championships are heard and respected. 




For more information and perspectives on the topic:

Nordic Commentary Project
Nordic Ski Racer