Year 1, Chapter 4- Ski Season Begins
"Greenland is Ice, but Iceland is Nice"
-D2: The Mighty Ducks
"Now on course, our first skier, Austria's own Nicole Badem!" A huge roar went up in the crowd around me, and the event was underway.
We were in Solden, Austria, for the start of the world cup ski season. 82 women were about to head down the mountain in two Giant Slalom runs. We were, of course, keen to see how our Icelandic athletes would do. We were also excited because we had, for the first time in recent memory, been given 2 spots at this event, thanks to some cancellations in some of the bigger delegations. So we were looking to see how Julia Leifsdottir and Karen Vilhjalmsdottir would do.
Julia had been given full funding in our high-performance program and had gone to the Olympics last season, largely because she was capable of skiing all 5 disciplines. Karen was a slalom specialist, and coaches said she was having a great start to training so far this year and that she could possibly surpass Julia in the slalom events this year.
Was that going to happen? Well, we would see. Eventually. Little-known fact is that in skiing, they generally let the top-seeded skiers go first, and the lower-seeded skiers go last. Ours were seeded 80th and 81st today, unfortunately, so it was going to be a while.
Austria's Marie Fiser blistered the course early in a time of 1:19.00, which looked like the time to beat...for all of about 3 racers. Then Anna Rosenberg, also from Austria, set down a 1:18.75, and nobody else seemed to be able to touch it. As we got into the lower rated skiers, a lot of 1:21s and 1:22s were coming down. Then, finally, it was time.
"Now in the starting gate...Karen Vilhjalmsdottir, Iceland" Katja and I cheered, and there was some polite clapping in the crowd around us, but there was no big contingent of Icelandic ski fans to make noise on this day. The coaching staff would be excited, of course, but most of them were at the top of the mountain, and we certainly couldn't hear them down in the stadium.
Karen's image flashed onto the video board. How was she feeling behind those ski goggles? Nervous? Excited? It was her first world cup race at age 26, so probably a mixture of both. The starting gate countdown beeped, and she pushed off and took off down the hill.
Tentatively. It was very clear she was tentative. Earlier skiers had slid aggressively through the gates. Karen was arcing more carefully, traversing the course safely, but definitely not with the kind of edge that others before her had shown. She bobbled and stood up in her stance a bit at one point, then recovered.
Still, she made it down. The time clock, though, wasn't kind. 1:23.05. Last in the first run, and with only two skiers left, that wasn't too likely to change.
One of those skiers, though, was Julia Leifsdottir. Two years older than Karen, but possessing some actual world cup and Olympic experience, she was the next starter, and when she pushed off from the starting gate with a yell, she looked like she meant it.
She skied like it, too. Much tighter line, much more purpose, much more nuance. Still, though, that doesn't always translate into the leaderboard. She didn't have the speed that the Austrians and Swiss carried down the pitch, and while the time of 1:21.65 was solid, it was not going to be anywhere near a Top 30 finish that would get world cup points.
It was, however, good experience, which was the whole point of this weekend. Normally, a World Cup giant slalom would only allow the Top 30 from the first run to take a 2nd run. Today, however, was a special dispensation, and all 82 would get a 2nd run. On top of that, Iceland had been given 2 athletes today via special dispensation, rather than the 1 that would typically be allowed on the world cup. So we would take it.
*******
A few hours later, and we had an Icelandic athlete back in the gate again. This time, Julia was up first, and she strode down the course with the same sense of purpose as before. Unfortunately, the course was breaking down and getting choppy (the winners had already taken their 2nd runs and held their victory ceremony), and she wasn't able to match her first run time, coming in at 1:22.07 for her second trip down the hill. That would be good for 66th place on the day, a result that the coaches would later told me that felt was acceptable.
Now, it was Karen's turn. Would the second run be better? She hovered in the gate...still nervous? I couldn't tell via my view from a video screen. She pushed off from the gate, and immediately, things were different this time. That much was clear. Straddling gates tightly...taking an aggressive line....this was a much better run. That was immediately clear. She built up speed, continued arcing through her turns with precision, and got to the bottom with a fist pump. 1:22.01 was substantially better! In fact, she had even beaten Julia's time on the second run, and had been one of the few late skiers to ski faster on the worsening course conditions. The surge had moved her up 3 notches, finishing in 79th place. Certainly a positive building step.
As the season moved on, we would have to choose between the two skiers and decide which to send to each World Cup slalom event, but for today, there was some experience for them both.
Katja and I chatted amicably as we left the venue and headed back towards the hotel. Back to Reykjavik tomorrow, but we would be on the road again soon....since it was Bobsled time!
Code:
Alpine Skiing: Women's Giant Slalom
2:37.76|2|1|97(0)|000045853 |Anna_Rosenberg |*1|Austria
2:38.05|1|1|99(0)|000045851 |Marie_Fiser |*1|Austria
2:39.09|2|1|97(0)|000012190 |Roberta_De_Luca |*1|Italy
2:39.52|4|2|92(0)|000007746 |Manon_Duclos |*1|France
2:39.85|2|2|96(0)|000045861 |Nicole_Badem |*1|Austria
2:40.15|3|3|94(0)|000032108 |Aurora_Maurer |*1|Switzerland
2:40.21|4|3|91(0)|000058396 |Tanja_Zupan |*1|Croatia
2:40.26|4|3|91(0)|000032113 |Melissa_Wolfisberg |*1|Switzerland
2:40.36|1|3|99(0)|000074179 |Sara_Zupan |*1|Slovenia
2:40.38|3|3|93(0)|000032046 |Sofia_Ziegler |*1|Switzerland
2:40.40|2|3|96(0)|000032117 |Leonie_Maurer |*1|Switzerland
2:40.41|3|3|93(0)|000007728 |Aline_Petit |*1|France
2:40.68|1|3|99(0)|000012180 |Roberta_Colombo |*1|Italy
2:40.88|4|3|90(0)|000007731 |Soline_Badeaux |*1|France
2:40.89|4|3|91(0)|000034993 |Leah_Haugen |*1|Norway
2:40.97|3|3|94(0)|000001536 |Susan_Howard |*1|USA
2:41.00|3|4|95(0)|000012172 |Martina_Mancini |*1|Italy
2:41.09|4|4|91(0)|000013986 |Jessica_Jonsson |*1|Sweden
2:41.14|4|4|90(0)|000004185 |Irina_Solovyov |*1|Russia
2:41.34|3|4|93(0)|000012199 |Federica_Moretti |*1|Italy
2:41.34|4|4|91(0)|000012174 |Gaia_Rossi |*1|Italy
2:41.44|5|4|87(0)|000009885 |Sofia_Schulz |*1|Germany
2:41.47|4|4|91(0)|000032034 |Lena_Huggel |*1|Switzerland
2:41.47|5|4|86(0)|000001507 |Ava_Hall |*1|USA
2:41.52|4|4|91(0)|000045857 |Sarah_Rainmayr |*1|Austria
2:41.55|3|4|93(0)|000032098 |Aurora_Abdi |*1|Switzerland
2:41.65|4|4|91(0)|000001518 |Susan_Ramirez |*1|USA
2:41.72|4|4|91(0)|000045870 |Marie_Steggall |*1|Austria
2:41.74|4|4|90(0)|000007725 |Doriane_Durand |*1|France
2:41.95|5|5|88(0)|000023932 |Emma_Lavoie |*1|Canada
2:41.96|4|5|90(0)|000009897 |Lina_Becker |*1|Germany
2:41.98|4|5|90(0)|000023938 |Sophia_Roy |*1|Canada
2:42.08|4|5|91(0)|000009895 |Sofia_Schmidt |*1|Germany
2:42.16|4|5|90(0)|000007715 |Marion_Coron |*1|France
2:42.16|5|5|86(0)|000009888 |Lina_Hoffmann |*1|Germany
2:42.16|5|5|86(0)|000013975 |Maja_Svensson |*1|Sweden
2:42.21|3|5|94(0)|000045900 |Hannah_Wiesner |*1|Austria
2:42.26|4|5|90(0)|000074203 |Sara_Kotnik |*1|Slovenia
2:42.32|4|5|90(0)|000034994 |Linnea_Hansen |*1|Norway
2:42.32|5|5|89(0)|000013992 |Nilla_Olsson |*1|Sweden
2:42.35|5|5|88(0)|000001519 |Isabella_Cox |*1|USA
2:42.48|3|5|93(0)|000045847 |Nina_Fiser |*1|Austria
2:42.49|5|5|87(0)|000058381 |Fata_Kovac |*1|Croatia
2:42.50|4|5|90(0)|000045858 |Claudia_Shiegl |*1|Austria
2:42.54|4|5|91(0)|000032089 |Ladina_Inler |*1|Switzerland
2:42.56|4|5|92(0)|000004191 |Olga_Sokolov |*1|Russia
2:42.57|5|5|88(0)|000001555 |Abigail_Gomez |*1|USA
2:42.58|5|5|86(0)|000009890 |Mia_Becker |*1|Germany
2:42.72|5|5|89(0)|000032032 |Milena_Neumann |*1|Switzerland
2:42.73|5|5|87(0)|000074199 |Lucija_Potocnik |*1|Slovenia
2:42.82|5|6|89(0)|000012188 |Melania_Russo |*1|Italy
2:42.83|5|6|87(0)|000074153 |Eva_Bizjak |*1|Slovenia
2:42.90|5|6|88(0)|000004183 |Anastasia_Petrov |*1|Russia
2:43.04|4|6|92(0)|000032112 |Elina_Spycher |*1|Switzerland
2:43.15|4|6|90(0)|000009859 |Joern_Schneider |*1|Germany
2:43.23|5|6|88(0)|000001546 |Olivia_Green |*1|USA
2:43.25|6|6|85(0)|000004192 |Dariya_Vasilyev |*1|Russia
2:43.27|5|6|86(0)|000036681 |Simona_Katetov |*1|Czech_Republic
2:43.30|5|6|87(0)|000012178 |Giulia_De_Luca |*1|Italy
2:43.31|5|6|86(0)|000007747 |Jade_Joubert |*1|France
2:43.38|5|6|87(0)|000009892 |Monika_Meyer |*1|Germany
2:43.42|5|6|88(0)|000012181 |Giorgia_Colombo |*1|Italy
2:43.44|5|6|86(0)|000013977 |Alice_Johansson |*1|Sweden
2:43.66|6|6|85(0)|000034992 |Sahra_Johnasen |*1|Norway
2:43.69|5|6|89(0)|000001523 |Maria_Myers |*1|USA
2:43.72|6|7|84(0)|000041950 |Jessica_Singh |*1|New_Zealand
2:43.72|7|7|78(0)|000070456 |Julia_Leifsdottir |*1|Iceland
2:43.75|5|7|87(0)|000012201 |Giulia_Giordano |*1|Italy
2:43.76|5|7|89(0)|000045843 |Leonie_Pirktl |*1|Austria
2:43.79|5|7|87(0)|000001468 |Margaret_Carter |*1|USA
2:43.85|6|7|85(0)|000007768 |Doriane_Galopin |*1|France
2:44.35|6|7|85(0)|000007767 |Marion_Morel |*1|France
2:44.38|5|7|89(0)|000058385 |Nika_Turk |*1|Croatia
2:44.39|6|7|85(0)|000023925 |Ava_Smith |*1|Canada
2:44.50|5|7|86(0)|000014010 |Lotta_Lindberg |*1|Sweden
2:44.51|6|7|84(0)|000071328 |Mia_Schneider |*1|Liechtenstein
2:44.54|6|7|85(0)|000058402 |Lara_Kovac |*1|Croatia
2:44.72|7|8|77(0)|000006068 |Isla_Smith |*1|Great_Britain
2:44.96|6|8|85(0)|000058398 |Dragica_Zupancic |*1|Croatia
2:45.06|7|8|79(0)|000070452 |Karen_Vilhjalmsdottir |*1|Iceland
2:45.35|6|8|82(0)|000017680 |Isabella_Carter |*1|Australia
2:45.44|7|8|80(0)|000040530 |Vasiliki_Panousis |*1|Greece
2:45.46|7|8|79(0)|000049631 |Ruby_Doyle |*1|Ireland
[END Year 1, Chapter 4]
As always, remember that you can help improve Iceland's fortunes! With any comments you make on this post, you get Dynasty Points that you can spend at a later date to increase Iceland's budget. I update this thread once each week! Next week...Bobsled time! (Also, have not had any time to squash the aforementioned bugs...that's still an ongoing problem