3 minute read

SAS NORGE SUMMARY

…UND AUF DER LENZERHEIDE

This year Norway and SAS Norge sent the biggest team of Nordic skiers in recent history to the Universiade. The team consisted of 10 skiers, 4 women and 6 men, a majority of whom ski for universities in the United States.

The 2023 games were hosted by the State of New York, in the small idyllic town of Lake Placid, that hosted the 1980 Olympics. To get there most of the athletes flew into the arrival city, Albany, and were shuttled the roughly 3 hours by bus to the Nordic events accommodation – Paul Smith College. The team is pretty used to the college dorm setting and quickly settled into their double rooms and

The opening ceremony was held in the 1980s hockey arena where the legendary Olympic final between the US and Soviet Union USSR took place. Parading through the opening and being met by ice dancers and thousands of cheering people was truly a magnificent experience. The ceremony featured a spectacular ice show and an address by the governor of New York, along with the lighting of the Universiade Olympic flame. 1

The following day we had our very first race, the classic mixed team relay. As an opening distance, it could not have been more difficult. Each team consists of one woman and one man, and each person sprints 1.5 km before exchanging with his partner, and they each go 3 times. From the semifinals, the 2 best teams advance, and then the next best 6 teams from any final advance based on time. In the morning it was raining heavily, which made the tracks wet and soft with grainy snow. But right before the start of the first semifinal, it switched over to sleet, then snow. The worst possible conditions to wax for in classic skiing. Wax teams were scrambling, athletes were rushing back to the trailers to get their skis rewaxed. It was total chaos. Despite the challenging conditions, our first team with Andreas Kirkeng and Karianne Dengerud pulled through and managed to place on the podium for our first medal of the games! 2 took advantage of the dining hall which was available at almost all hours. The college was inconveniently located almost 45 minutes from the stadium and 35 minutes from downtown Lake Placid, which the team got to see in all its glory the first evening during the opening ceremony.

Luckily the mood of the weather gods turned around and we had 3 beautiful race days following the opening distance:

1. The freestyle sprint where Kristoffer Karsrud ended up in a blocked position in the final and was denied a podium he very much wanted.

2. The thrilling 10 km classic individual start where Magnus Bøe and Andreas Kirkeng fought their way to 2nd and 3rd place, while all the other guys placed within the Top 25. Followed by a thrilling pursuit where Andreas Kirkeng battled the unbeatable Japanese Hirose to secure another silver medal. 3

3. The team relay, the event everyone had been waiting for. The night before, the women put bows in their hair, and the men chanted their war cries after the team meeting. The dream for any cross-country skier from Norway is to be awarded the chance to represent his country in the relay at a championship event. After a rocky first leg with mixed and challenging conditions the women fought their way back to a silver medal. 4 & 5 And after a ferocious battle with an incredibly strong French team, the men also secured the silver medal, which definitely felt like a win.

That night we celebrated with all of Team Norway and invited Team Suisse over for Norwegian waffles. However, the waffle iron was made for a European 220 volt outlet, but the US outlets only provide a measly 110 volts. As such the waffles were made at glacial speeds, and only a few lucky Swiss got to try them. One of these lucky Swiss is seen below. 6

The last day of the games was the ultimate strength test – and at this time due to the incredible strain on the athletes of all the races over the course of the last week, many fell sick before the last distance. The 15 and 30 km freestyle mass start is truly the crowning achievement of a championship. Selma Andersen gave everything she had and placed 8th 7

While Magnus Bøe almost caught up with the fading American Johnny Hagenbouch snagging another silver, rounding out his total to 3 silver medals at the games. 8

All in all, an impressive 7 total medals for the team made for some nice overweight luggage back home. 9

None of this would have been possible without the support of SAS and SAS Norge. After the last competition, the team huddled up and thanked SAS for their support. We are tremendously grateful. 10