The eventful holidays are behind us and now it's time to find out which of the representatives of men's cross-country skiing is the most titled. But to begin with, by tradition, I remind you of the rating system on the basis of which the rating is compiled:

1st, 2nd, 3rd places at the Olympiad will "cost" 10, 8, 5 points respectively;

1st, 2nd, 3rd places in the overall standings of the World Cup - 10, 8, 5 points;

1st, 2nd, 3rd places at the World Championship - 5, 4, 2 points.

It should also be noted that for the victory and in personal race, and in the team the same number of points is awarded. I'll explain why. The rating is compiled solely on a formal basis, namely, by the number of titles earned by skiers throughout their careers. And in my opinion, he is also a title in Africa, regardless of the race in which he is won.

10. Mika Myllulya (Finland)

Olympic Games: champion of Nagano-98, silver medalist Lillehammer-94 and 4-time bronze medalist (2-1994, 2-1998).

World Cup: 2nd in 1996/1997 and 3rd in 1998/1999.

World Championship: 4 times winner (1997, 3-1999), 3 times silver medalist (2-1997, 1999) and 2 times bronze medalist (1995, 1997).

Total: 87 points.

The rating is opened by one of the most talented Finnish skiers Mika Myllulya. Throughout the 90s of the last century, he was consistently among the leaders of world skiing, and the peak of his career, of course, was the World Championships in Ramsau in 1999, in which Mika won 3 gold medals. Unfortunately, his career was overshadowed by a doping scandal in 2001, after which Myllulya was never able to reach his previous level and ended his career.

9. Juha Mieto (Finland)

Olympic Games: Champion of Innsbruck-76, 2-time silver medalist of Lake Placid-80 and 2-time bronze medalist (1980, 1984).

World Cup: 2 times winner (1975/1976, 1979/1980), 2 times finished the season in second place (1973/1974, 1976/1977) and won 3rd place in the 1974/1975 season.

World Championship: 2x silver medalist (1974, 1978) and 2x bronze medalist (1978, 1982).

Total: 89 points.

Another skier from Suomi, Juha Mieto, continues the rating. The Finnish giant with a memorable appearance (a huge beard) was one of the leaders of his team and was one of the elite skiers in the 70s of the XX century. The most memorable moment of his career was not even winning the Olympic Games in Lake Placid, but his loss to Thomas Wassberg in the 50K race. at OI-80 with a delay of one hundredth of a second.

8. Eddie Sixten Jernberg (Sweden)

Olympic Games: 4-time champion (1956, 1960, 2-1964), 3-time silver medalist (2-1956, 1960) and 3-time bronze medalist (1956, 1964).

World Championship: 4 times gold medalist (2-1958, 2-1962) and 2-time bronze medalist (1954, 1958).

Total: 98 points.

In eighth place is the legendary Swede Sixten Jernberg. One of the best athletes in Swedish history, he specialized in long distances and was famous for his enormous endurance and brutal training, the methodology of which formed the basis of the training of the next generation of Swedish skiers. It is also worth noting an interesting fact: Jernberg became the first athlete in history winter olympics who managed to win 9 medals.

7. Vegard Ulvang (Norway)

Olympic Games: 3-time Albertville-92 champion, 2-time silver medalist (1992, 1994) and Calgary-88 bronze medal winner.

World Cup: winner of the 1989/1990 season, 2-time runner-up (1988/1989, 1991/1992) and 3rd place in the 1992/1993 season.

World Championship: 2-time champion (1991, 1993), 2-time silver medalist (1989, 1993) and 4-time bronze medalist (1987, 1989, 1991, 1993).

Total: 108 points.

The sixth place in the ranking is occupied by the famous Norwegian Vegard Ulvang. The crowning achievement of this remarkable skier's career was the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, where he won 3 gold medals. After Ulvang left the track, he did not leave the sport, becoming a FIS functionary. And in his post, Vegard achieved success, because it was he who became one of the initiators and organizers of one of the most prestigious ski competitions, the Tour de Ski.

6. Thomas Wassberg (Sweden)

Olympic Games: 4 times gold medal winner (1980, 2-1984, 1988).

World Cup: winner of the 1976/1977 season and 4 times ranked second in the overall standings (1979/1980, 1981/1982, 1983/1984, 1986/1987).

World Championship: 3-time champion (1982, 2-1987), 3-time silver medalist (1985, 2-1987) and winner of the Seefeld-85 bronze medal.

Total: 111 points.

The outstanding Swedish skier Thomas Wassberg continues the rating. One of the leaders of the world cross-country skiing of the late 70s - 80s of the last century climbed to the highest step of the podium at 3 (!) Olympiads in a row. And his victory in 1980 over Finn Mieto entered the history of sports as one of the most dramatic moments.

5. Thomas Alsgaard (Norway)

Olympic Games: 5 times champion (1994, 2-1998, 2-2002) and Lillehammer-94 silver medal winner.

World Cup: winner of the 1997/1998 season, finished 2nd in the 2001/2002 season and 3rd in the 2000/2001 season.

World Championship: 6-time champion (1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2-2003), 2-time Ramsau-99 silver medalist and Trondheim-97 bronze medalist.

Total: 121 points.

On the fifth line is the amazing Norwegian athlete Thomas Alsgaard. The winner of five Olympic gold medals and 6-time world champion is rightfully considered one of the greatest skiers in history, which he repeatedly proved throughout his brilliant career.

4. Petter Nortug (Norway)

Olympic Games: 2-time champion, silver medalist and bronze medalist at Vancouver 2010.

World Cup: Twice ranked 1st overall (2009/2010, 2012/2013), finished 2nd twice (2008/2009, 2010/2011) and 3rd in 2011/2012 .

World Championship: 9-time winner (2007, 3-2009, 3-2011, 2-2013) and 3-time silver medalist (2-2011, 2013).

Total: 131 points.

Our rating is continued by the current World Cup holder and another representative of the Norwegian ski school Petter Northug. Petter is the undisputed leader of recent years and the main contender for the Sochi-2014 gold medals. Along with his great compatriot Daly (who will be discussed below), he holds the World Championship record for the number of gold medals won, of which there are already 9. Nortug became famous for his work on the finish line, from which it takes your breath away.

3. Vladimir Smirnov (USSR/Kazakhstan)

Olympic Games: Champion of Lillehammer-94, 4-time silver medalist (2-1988, 2-1994) and 2-time bronze medalist of Calgary-88.

World Cup: 2-time winner (1990/1991, 1993/1994), 3 times runner-up (1992/1993, 1994/1995, 1995/1996) and 3 times finished third (1985/1986, 1991/ 1992, 1997/1998).

World Championship: 4 times winner (1989, 3-1995), 4 times silver medalist (1987, 1991, 2-1993) and 2 times bronze medalist (1991, 1995).

Total: 151 points.

The top three most titled skiers in history are opened by the only representative of a non-Scandinavian country - the famous Soviet and Kazakh athlete Vladimir Smirnov. Throughout his career, he won a great many awards, including the World Cup, but the gold of Lillehammer and the triumphant 1995 World Cup, in which Smirnov won 3 gold, stand apart.

2. Gunde Svan (Sweden)

Olympic Games: 4-time winner (2-1984, 2-1988), silver and bronze medalist in Sarajevo-84.

World Cup: 5 times winner (1983/1984, 1984/1985, 1985/1986, 1987/1988, 1988/1989), 2nd twice (1982/1983, 1989/1990) and finished 3rd line season 1986/1987.

World Championship: 7-time champion (2-1985, 1987, 3-1989, 1991), 3-time Val di Fiemme-91 silver medalist and Seefeld-85 bronze medal winner.

Total: 173 points.

"Silver" of our rating goes to the outstanding Swede Gunde Svan. Undoubtedly best skier 80s of the XX century, during which he won many different medals at the World Championships, the Olympics, and, of course, one cannot fail to note the magnificent collection of 5 World Cups won. The youngest Olympic champion in cross-country skiing quite unexpectedly ended his career in 1991 at the age of 29, which did not allow him to compete for the first place in the ranking.

1. Bjorn Daly (Norway)

Olympic Games: 8-time champion (3-1992, 2-1994, 3-1998), 4-time silver medalist (1992, 2-1994, 1998).

Points: 112.

World Cup: 6 times winner (1991/1992, 1992/1993, 1994/1995, 1995/1996, 1996/1997, 1998/1999), 2 times runner-up (1993/1994, 1997/1998) and 2 times third (1989/1990, 1990/1991).

World Championship: 9-time winner (2-1991, 3-1993, 1995, 3-1997), 5-time silver medalist (3-1995, 1997, 1999) and 3-time bronze medalist (1993, 1997, 1999) ).

Total: 269 ​​points.

And, finally, the winner of our rating is the Norwegian Bjorn Daly, the legend of world skiing! An absolutely incredible athlete who owns a huge number of records, among which stand out the largest number won World Cups, which accumulated 6 (!), 9 victories at world championships (Bjorn shares this record with Nortug), and the most monumental, in my opinion, achievement is 8 Olympic gold medals, which not only not a single skier has achieved, but in general, none of the athletes who took part in the winter Olympics.

P.s. C names and surnames of the Scandinavians are just a disaster. Having spent a lot of time looking for the correct transcriptions, I am by no means sure that they are still correct)) So do not pay special attention to the correct spelling of names.

Thank you for your attention.

In the men's ski 30-kilometer skiathlon, the entire podium went to the Norwegians Simen Hegstad Kruger, Martin Jonsrud Sunnby and Hans Christer Holunn. But the main sensation of the race was still the Russian athlete Denis Spitsov. Spitsov, who was not already considered a real contender for a high place, gave the impression that he had lost all chances for a successful performance, falling into a blockage at the start and breaking his ski. However, in the end, having caught up with the leading group, he lost only to the winners. With details from Pyeongchang - Alexey Dospekhov.

Russian ski team, seemed to come to Pyeongchang doomed to be on the second or even third roles due to the harsh purges of the International Olympic Committee, which wiped out virtually all of its stars - in the men's team, which lost Sergey Ustyugov, Alexander Legkov, Maxim Vylegzhanin, so for sure. But what is surprising is that she does not look hopeless at the end of two competitive days. On Saturday, Natalya Nepryaeva entered the top ten in the women's skiathlon, and on Sunday Denis Spitsov performed even more brightly in the men's skiathlon, despite the fact that the name of the young athlete was not mentioned at all in the lists of potential contenders for awards. In the World Cup, 21-year-old Spitsov made his debut only this season, and his track record seemed too modest against the background of track record those with whom he was to fight.

But what happened to the Russian at the very beginning of the race makes Spitsov’s Pyeongchang performance especially striking. At the start, the Norwegian Simen Hegstad Kruger, stumbled, made a blockage, which included Denis Spitsov and his compatriot Andrei Larkov. Spitsov suffered from the fall, perhaps the most. All 15 km of the classic, as it turned out, he ran on a ski with a broken tip.

Those who closely follow the ski races, of course, wrote it off without even knowing about this trouble. Classics and somehow not the style in which Spitsov is good. And besides, because of the blockage, he decently lagged behind the leading group. The lag is at some point very close to 40 seconds.

Denis Spitsov, of course, was a little lucky that the pace of the race was not extremely high. But in any case, the fact that he managed to close the gap looked something incredible - with his experience. And in the skating part, yesterday's junior Spitsov, whose capabilities no one guessed, suddenly found himself in the forefront of the peloton and held himself there so confidently, as if the Korean Olympics were not the first for him, but, say, the third in his career and he has a whole bunch of medals. He was clearly not afraid of anyone.

From left to right: Norwegian skier Hans Christer Holund, Russian skier Denis Spitsov and French skier Maurice Manifica

Spitsov, talking about how the race developed for him, was surprised himself how he got out of this situation. He admitted that he thought: contact was lost ... But he decided that he needed to fight to the last, and, already watching the skating part, the audience suddenly discovered with amazement that the stubborn Russian skier was next to the leaders and even led the peloton himself. It was like a miracle.

Denis Spitsov did not get into the top three, which was made up exclusively by the Norwegians (and the first was the not-so-highly quoted "author" of the blockage, Simen Hegstad Kruger, who rushed in the last kilometers, and not the famous Martin Jonsrud Sunnby). But his fourth position ahead of such monsters as Frenchman Maurice Manifica, Swiss Dario Cologna, Canadian Alex Harvey was, of course, also a colossal achievement. An achievement that made the great skier Elena Vyalbe, president of the Russian Ski Racing Federation, cry. “From happiness, of course,” she clarified for some reason. Well, yes, according to today's alignment, this fourth place was, of course, a great happiness.

Alexey Dospekhov

Again Ski races for the World Cup were won by the Norwegians ... All the prizes went to them ... And the Russian team is not even in the top ten! The question is why? Ours, that they don't ski well? Didn't hit the ointment? Is the inventory old? Coaches are weak? Is the training base bad? Or maybe "bronzed"?
Vitaly Leontievich Mutko, probably already "bent" for this, and he has already received a "soft plug" for the skiing team. And rightly so!
But not everything is so simple in the modern world of sports. There are undercurrents, shoals, reefs, whirlpools, hurricanes that can either destroy an athlete or lift him on the crest of a wave to unprecedented heights in sports.
Let's pay attention to Norwegian skiers, not those from a joke, but modern ones. Who are asthmatics - athletes: Sports Heroes or Slick Rascals?
One of the most common and complex diseases of an allergic nature is bronchial asthma. From year to year, the number of cases is steadily increasing. Today their number is about 6-9% in the entire world community. Athletes are not immune from asthma, among masters of sports international level this figure reaches 10%.
Bronchial asthma- chronic inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, the main manifestation of which is shortness of breath, wheezing, shortness of breath, a feeling of congestion in the chest. The disease is a dangerously severe complication - asthmatic status, in which edema of the bronchioles occurs, accumulation of thick sputum occurs, suffocation and hypoxia increase. The condition requires emergency care, with fatal cases occurring in 5% of cases.
Properly selected treatment gives patients the opportunity not only to endure physical exercise but also do sports achievements and even set records in various types sports. Bronchial asthma and sports are perfectly compatible, with the exception of extreme diving at great depths.
According to the documents, the most asthmatic athletes in Norway, famous biathletes Turu Berger and Ronnie Hafsos, for example, are also among them. Hafsos commented on his failure in Beitostolen in 2010: “During the races, I felt problems while breathing, because I could not exhale properly. The muscles filled with lactic acid faster, and I was instantly tired.
The medical bulletins of almost all Norwegian biathletes indicate that they suffer from asthma, which justifies the use of anti-asthma drugs that dilate the bronchi and airways. Research institute pulmonologists confirm that the use of such drugs improves performance in running on long distances, in marathons, cross-country skiing, biathlon. An ordinary skier begins to suffocate at the 15-20th minute of the start, as a result of the fact that the bronchi narrow, less oxygen enters. And for those who use anti-asthma drugs, a “second wind” opens up, that is, the body perceives stress more easily. Whether such a measure is necessary or whether it gives athletes an additional advantage remains to be seen by specialists. In the meantime, the President of the World Biathlon Union, Andersen Besseberg, comments on the situation with the presence of asthmatic biathletes as follows: “Their illness is a confirmed medical fact. They can use drugs even if they contain banned ingredients.”
Notable Norwegian skiers include asthmatics Marit Bjorgen and Thor Arne Hetlanda. Marit Bjorgen was born in 1980. In 2005, she was recognized as the "Best Female Athlete of the Year" in Norway. She has won the most Olympic Games ah in Vancouver in 2010, where she received 5 medals, 3 of which were gold. At the same time burst loud scandal associated with taking drugs containing doping components. The fact is that Marit was allowed to use the potent drug Symbicort based on the banned salbutamol. After that, in 2010 she won, which was in sharp dissonance with her failure in 2009, when she came only twentieth in a row.
Bjorgen's invincibility - a great achievement for an asthmatic person, or the result of doping? Head coach commented on what was happening: “Marit did a good job on technique and her psychology. But the most important thing was the permission to take medicinal product for the asthma she needs." The doctor of the Norwegian team confirmed: “This medicine is the best way to increase the airways. Marit does not lack oxygen, so her muscles become stronger.” At the same time, doctor Stockke published data on the results of the examination of the skier, from which it follows that she experiences respiratory limitation by 20%, compared with a healthy skier. Salbutamol only partially compensates for this deficiency. Whether this is actually so, no one can say for sure. The situation is complicated by the fact that asthma is not fully understood, and there are no general methods of its treatment. Because of this, the topic of asthmatics in professional sports sharply exacerbated.
Tor Arne Hetlanda, Norwegian skier. The Norwegian skier Thor Arne Hetlanda, who won 3 gold medals at the World Championships and won the sprint at the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, officially made a statement that he was sick with asthma. However, illness and permanent injuries forced him to end his career at the age of 35.
In order to finally understand the urgent problem, in the near future it is planned to organize a center in one of the countries of Europe, where athletes with diagnosed asthma will undergo examinations with a certain frequency. The idea of ​​introducing limited quantity quotas for the participation of asthmatic athletes in competitions of various levels.
And it turns out that asthmatics, in principle, are sick people, participating in competitions under the influence of medications, whether they want it or not, but receive certain profitable terms that make it easier to endure physical activity, compared with athletes who do not use these drugs. Is this not a kind of doping? What is painfully long understand this Western experts.

IN modern sports it is impossible to win without resorting to medicine, Vladimir Drachev, then the captain of the Russian national team and Honored Master of Sports, believed back in 2002, back in 2002 - In order to consistently show high results, it is necessary to use so-called restorative drugs throughout the season. This is not doping, but just various vitamins and minerals that allow you to expand the capabilities of the human body. They cost crazy money. For the program of "leading" to the competition of one biathlete, it is necessary to pay at least five thousand dollars. Not only the vast majority of Russian athletes do not have such amounts, but even our national federation. Foreigners, as you understand, have no problems with financing - that's why they beat us more often than we would like. But our opponents did not think that this advantage was enough. Somewhere since the season before last, Norwegian biathletes began to use drugs that ... I myself have seen more than once how, shortly before the start, they splashed some kind of aerosols into their throats. Later I found out: Norwegians take anti-asthma drugs that dilate the bronchi and airways, which makes it easier to breathe and, accordingly, run faster. In all respects, this is dope! However, they use it quite officially! In the medical bulletins of almost all Norwegians, including the famous Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, it is written that they ... have asthma. Nice little deal! Asthma is life-threatening, all asthmatics are under the constant supervision of doctors, periodically go to hospitals. And Bjoerndalen and Co. for ten months a year - if not more - experience colossal physical exertion and do not cause any harm to health! I declare with all responsibility: Norwegians are normal, healthy people. And all their asthma is fake. Deception. (And this deception has been going on for more than 15 years!...)
Here it is confirmation of the main Olympic slogan of athletes - "Citius, Altius, Fortius" - "Faster, Higher, Stronger" ...

Reviews

For the first time I hear about asthmatic biathletes, but I have no reason not to believe.
What big sport became the scene of a fight between the best pharmacists in the world, an undeniable fact. But they are professionals, it's their job. But the fact that the athletes themselves and their leaders agree to this is a spit in the viewer. Who still believes in a "fair fight".
DISHONESTY has become the norm. Athletes in team sports at the most high level stealthily beat rivals, knowing that everything is filmed on 10-15 video cameras. But if the judge did not immediately punish (overlooked), then repetitions cannot be the basis for punishment.
This topic is endless, dear Petrovich.
Last case. Blackmail of the footballer Valbuena by a group of footballers, among whom was, allegedly, Benzema. Whether this is true or not is not the point. But ONE of these very good football players LIE!
Good luck!

Before posting excerpts from the training diaries, I want you to read excerpts from an interview with Bjorn Daly. This interview is almost 20 years old, but views on training process and the motivation of the athlete are very relevant in our time. Yes, perhaps something has been revised in the training methodology and his training plans seem outdated. But this is only at first glance. Daly's commitment to the final result, his desire to constantly improve, not to stand still is striking.

Bjorn Daly is a famous Norwegian skier, eight-time Olympic champion and nine-time world champion.

Several times during testing, a documented MIC of 96 ml/kg/min. One of the highest rates in the history of testing.

He always wanted to be a skier. Systematic training began at the age of 15 years. He did not win a single race in the Norwegian Junior Championship. However, at the age of 20, he finally got into the national team of Norway. It took him another 4 years to shoot in the main team. And since 1991, the triumphant period of the athlete began.

So excerpts from the interview in the form of a question-answer:

training volumes.

• Which training volume every year? About 800 hours effective workouts in year.
• What month has the highest volume? September, October and November. About 90-100 hours per month.
• When do you exercise the least? April. About 30-40 hours.
• How often do you exercise? Twice a day.
• How many workouts per week in the fall? 12-14 workouts every week.

Remote training.

• What percentage is distance training? On time - 80%. I am switching at competitive speed while working remotely.
• What is the pulse during distance training? 130 on average, 140-150 while going uphill.
• What is the maximum duration of distance training? 5 o'clock. I do 3 - 3.5 hour running training every week.

Intensity.

• How often do you do interval training per week? From May to August, one interval training per week. From September to November, two interval training sessions per week. During competitive season, no interval training per week. Too many races.
• Can you give me an example of a typical interval workout? 4 x 6 min. uphill running intervals. 5 x 5 min. cross-country intervals. Tempo work - 10 km for the time.
• How heavy are the intervals? Within the maximum heart rate at the end of each interval.

Power training.

• Do you work with weights? Yes, light weights and lots of reps.
• Work for special simulators? Yes, on a skateboard. On the treadmill before strength training as a warm-up.
• What exercises do you use the most? Squats. Back exercises and abs. And of course the main thing is work on a skateboard.
• How often do you do power training? Three times a week in summer and autumn. In winter, less or even stop before important competitions.
• How many repetitions during strength exercises? 10-50, sometimes more.
• How many sets do you do? Usually three sets of several exercises.
• Do you do special strength training on rollerskis or skis? When I was younger I did special work on ski rollers in the rise, using DP. But now it's part of my regular distance training, as I predominantly use modern moves both flat and uphill. This is my typical special strength work.
• Have you used the help of third-party specialists in strength training? Yes, before the 1994 Olympic Games we worked a lot with specialists speed skating under a special strength program.

Control and tempo workouts.

• What part do control and tempo workouts take? In the summer I often participate in roller ski and ski shows. In the fall, I do 1-2 test workouts a month. The length of the control workout is usually about 30 minutes.

Speed ​​work and explosive power.

• What exercises do you use to develop explosive leg strength and increase repulsion power? I use jump simulation for short sections, with ski poles and without. Very often I do interval training in the form of jumping imitation with sticks. This great exercise to develop the power of the legs and besides one of the best exercises for the development of the cardiovascular system.
• Do you use track work in the stadium to increase your speed? Every summer when national team in June or July they hold a ski camp, we conduct a control training in a 3000 m run around the stadium. My best time 8 minutes 18 seconds. And no one has surpassed him yet. We have a couple of guys with track and field backgrounds and they set the pace for these workouts. A couple of years ago I ran the 800m against Thomas Alschgort at the Bishlet Stadium. In the presence of a huge number of spectators, he won in 1:59, I ran in 2:01. He won a car that he donated to charity.

intensity and heart rate.

• At what intensity do you train? For all of us who train a lot (800-850 hours per year, excluding gymnastics and flexibility exercises, work on technique), most of the work is done at a low heart rate. My maximum heart rate is 190 beats per minute. I do remote work on a pulse of 130. On lifts, the pulse rises slightly to 140-150. I often accelerate during distance training to competitive speeds so that the body does not forget that I am a racer after all. Approximately 10% of the total is hard work, which includes racing, interval training, test starts. In the fall, I do two interval workouts a week. When I do intervals, it's really, really hard work. For example, here is my last interval workout. I did 4 x 3.5 km uphill at maximum effort. Used roller skis. At the end of the intervals went to maximum heart rate 190.
• What do you think of monitors? heart rate? Yes, this is a good device for beginner athletes, which helps to determine the maximum heart rate and helps to feel the training zones. However, to me, as elite athlete He doesn't give much. I have gone through so many MIC and lactate tests in so many different conditions that I know my body perfectly. Wearing a heart rate monitor and being maniacally dependent on what heart rate zone I am in is not for me. I focus on my well-being and knowledge of my body. I believe that young skiers should also use heart rate monitors less to learn how to feel their body and not become a slave to these devices. I believe that the younger generation who use monitors and calculated recommended intensity zones are training too little, which does not develop enough aerobic capacity.

Technical training.

• Do you continue to work on the technique of skiing? Yes, I continue to study videos of my movements and the movement of opponents. I also do a lot of joint training with Thomas Ahlschgort to improve my skating style of movement. We work together, one after the other, trying different options at different speeds, trying to find the best technique for various conditions movement and terrain. An important part of my training is working on cross-country skis. I specially prepare skis with uncertain grip and hone the technique of movement in these difficult conditions.

Other training methods.

• You are using alternative methods training? Yes, in the summer I do a lot of cycling and kayaking on the lakes.

Getting to the top of the form.

• What are you doing to reach your peak? sportswear? Since 1990, the Norwegian national team has been very successfully using the highlands in their preparation and reaching the peak of form. For me it works very well. For me, the number of camps in the mountains, their duration, rest periods and the final camp in the mountains were calculated. Everything is calculated and aimed at achieving maximum performance for the main starts of the season. In addition, it saves us from unnecessary communication and gives us the opportunity to fully focus on the preparation. Naturally, the overall load is reduced.
• How many rest days do you take when you are in peak shape? Not at all. I train every day, but with a smaller load.
• How much rest do you have while preparing in the fall? Not at all. I usually have one day of rest per month, very rarely two.
• What do you focus on in the last week before the main competitions? I don't have a formula for success. I listen to my body and correct work. I mainly use medium intensity and short accelerations.

Nutrition.

• What is your diet? Regular Norwegian food with many variations. I eat a lot of bread, potatoes, pasta, vegetables, fish and meat. I take a lot of fluids in the form of water and sports drinks. It is important for me that the food is natural and tasty. I don't eat what they say may be good for me if I don't like the taste.

Tips for young skiers.

• Can you suggest an example of interval training for juniors? I think the following work will be useful - uphill intervals of 2 min + 3 min + 5 min + 1 min. Rest between intervals is half the time of the interval.
• What is your advice for ambitious juniors? Train as varied as possible. Try not to do the same interval work. Remember the interval can be 1 minute and 15 minutes, and everything in between. Use the terrain that is available to you and squeeze the most out of it. You don't need to copy the workouts you heard about from someone else, it could be a completely different terrain, different elevations, different lengths. Use what is around you. More advice. Gradually increase the load to reach maximum volumes by the age of 20. This allows you to integrate into adult sports without stress. I also want to note that I started to specialize in cross-country skiing only at the age of 15. Before that, there was a versatile, diverse training.

Summer preparatory work.

What other secrets are there in the "Norwegian" ski training system?

• The truth is that Norwegians do a huge amount of low-intensity work. They wind up kilometers for hours at a “conversational” pace.
• Intensity during interval training really very high.
• They avoid training at an average pace. Two poles. Either slowly or very quickly.
• They do a lot of strength work.
• Use competitions, summer and winter, as part of the training program.
• They eat well and properly. They prefer natural products.

Two days before the start of the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, the media reported that the Norwegian team had brought more than 6,000 doses of various asthma medications to the Games. Among them are medicines partially prohibited (WADA). Team doctor Mona Kjeldsberg tried to justify the prohibitive amount of anti-asthma drugs in the first aid kit: “The number of doses we brought with us may seem huge to someone. But if you break this volume into shares, you will understand that the volume is not so big. ” Why Norwegian biathletes and skiers suffer from asthma indiscriminately, but at the same time win - in the material.

Among the medicines in the first-aid kit of the Norwegian team, there were 1800 doses of Symbicort, 1200 doses of Alvesco, Salbutamol and Atrovent, as well as 360 doses of Ventolin. At the same time, a number of anti-asthma drugs have an effect similar to anabolics that increase physical strength. For example, salbutamol has been under a partial ban by WADA since 2017. This means that an athlete can consume no more than 1600 micrograms per day, and even then only if there is a therapeutic exception. So how fair is it to take asthma medication professional athlete? According to an immunologist-allergist at the Kremlin Hospital, salbutamol, which dilates the bronchi for a short time and increases the heart rate, can cause a burst of energy and a feeling that a person can easily perform any physical exercise. Symbicort also treats bronchial diseases, while being a hormonal agent, which means it increases the overall tone of the body. Such effects do not make drugs doping, which means that, purely formally, there are no complaints against the Norwegians. But is it really so transparent?

Asthma is a common disease among Scandinavian athletes. There are asthmatics in Finland and Sweden, but only Norwegians bring such incredible quantities of medicine to Pyeongchang. By the way, there is an opinion that asthma is an occupational disease of athletes who spend a lot of time in the cold and breathe cold air.

Run shoot

The Norwegian biathlon team first came to the Olympic Games in 1960, but failed to win a single award. At the 1964 Games, Olav Yordet, the future four-time champion world won bronze for the team. In 1968, the team won the first gold medal: five-time world champion Magnar Solberg succeeded. However, a short string of victories gave way to a hopeless black streak: from 1976 to 1994, the Norwegians remained at the Olympic Games without awards.

In 1998, the team suddenly made a breakthrough and won five awards at once at the Games in Sweden, including two gold ones. In 2002, the then rising star of Norwegian sports became the absolute Olympic champion, bringing four gold medals to the team's treasury at once. At the Games in Turin, the athlete won three awards (two silvers and bronze), in Vancouver - silver and bronze, in Sochi - two more golds. At the same time, the star of the Norwegian biathlon was suspected of using anti-asthma drugs throughout his sports career. When in December 2015 the chapter International Union biathletes Andres Besseberg was asked if Bjoerndalen had asthma, the official answered uncertainly: “No. Not anymore".

While Bjoerndalen hides his sores, other Norwegian athletes with asthma have officially been running and shooting for the national team for twenty years. Many of them become champions. One of the first was Egil Yellann - two-time champion world (1998, 2005) and Olympic champion Salt Lake City. Following him, Ronnie Hafsos performed with the disease and won the gold of the World Military Championship in 2008. From 2012 to 2016, with problems with the bronchi, Syunneve Sulemdal won four gold medals in world championships. The most titled athlete performing with asthma was the eight-time world champion. The biathlete has three Olympic medals. After the gold in Vancouver, the Norwegian's illness worsened: “I don't want to talk about it. Although it is true that in wet weather it becomes harder for me to breathe. However, she continued to train and managed to win gold and bronze medals at the Sochi Olympics.

IN this moment The Norwegian biathlon team has at least one athlete with asthma: Tiril Eckhoff has already won two world championship golds and a full set of awards at the Sochi Games. Now she goes to Pyeongchang for awards. To the accusations of foul play representatives of the Norwegian team have an undeniable argument. “This is not doping, because medicines can only help to rise to a normal level, to which an athlete is not physically able to reach without them. Therefore, if an athlete uses medication to get to the same level as athletes who do not have asthma, this is normal, this is fair, ”says four-time Olympic champion Emil Hegle Svendsen.

Light medicines

The Norwegian ski team also has a history of victories with an abundance of bronchial diseases. According to VG, of the 61 medals won by skiers at the Olympics from 1992 to 2014, asthmatics account for 44. Among them, presumably, multiple Olympic champions Thomas Ahlsgaard and Vegard Ulvang. A Polish skier also drew attention to this: "Since 1992, at least 70 percent of the Olympic medals for Norway have been won by asthmatics."

Since 2001, the asthmatic Tur Arne Hetland has become world champion three times and also won gold at the Salt Lake City Olympics. Maiken Kaspersen Falla won four world championship golds and first place at the Sochi Games. In an interview, the athlete stated: “Without asthma medication, I would not have competed in cross-country skiing. I am completely dependent on him. I don't feel there is anything wrong with this. The drug just brings me up to normal levels. Before, I couldn’t run as many races as everyone else because I had terrible lung problems.”

norwegian star skiing also suffers from severe asthma. Doctors allowed the athlete to take symbicort, which includes the partially banned salbutamol. sixfold Olympic champion and the eighteen-time world champion isn't afraid to talk about her medications: “If those with asthma don't take their medication, they'll have lung problems. I think that many will end their careers if the asthma drug is banned.”

Doctors tried to prove that Sundby had been ill since childhood, which means he had the right to use the drug. However, the investigation found that in the skier's doping test, its content was found to exceed the permissible medical norm by 35 percent. When it came to Sports arbitration court The skier was found guilty. However, the Norwegian was suspended for only two summer months, when the main ski competition are not carried out.

The scandal after the incident gained momentum. Former Norwegian skier Siri Halle admitted that during sports career anti-asthma drugs were offered to healthy skiers. The TV2 channel anonymously received information from Norwegian skiers that the national team offered anti-asthma drugs to all athletes, even those who did not suffer from diseases.

And while Russian athletes suffer from doping “use”, Norwegian doctors are finding ways to get around the ban and find ways to use stimulants legally. Whether a bag of medicines will bring victory to the Norwegians this time and whether WADA will embark on the path of fighting asthmatics is still unclear.