Gold factor South Tyrol: How the Seiser Alm won Olympic victories

At the Olympic Games in Beijing, which ended on Sunday, such training camps were considered an absolutely crucial factor in advance, because all competitions took place at the Kuyangshu cross-country skiing and biathlon center in the northern Chinese province of Hubei at an altitude of at least 1700 m above sea level. M. instead.

Not only the particularly difficult, often dull routes in sometimes extremely cold conditions, but also the altitude presented the athletes with real challenges. Against this background, there was an even denser array of cross-country skiing superstars on the Seiser Alm trails than in other years: Not only regular guests, such as the Norwegian cross-country skiers, but also the outstanding teams from Russia and Finland were drawn to the Seiser Alm just before the New Year, where on almost 80 kilometers of trails at altitudes between 1800 and 2000 m above sea level. M. an ideal preparation for the sometimes borderline conditions in Kuyangshu was possible. The golden Alpe di Siusi The characteristic panoramic view from the Joch trail towards Sciliar dominated the Instagram channels of the cross-country skiing elite from the end of January: from Therese Johaug (three gold medals) and her teammate Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (two gold, one silver, one bronze) to Russia's superstars led by Aleksandr From Bolshunov (three gold, one silver, one bronze) to the Finnish siblings Kerttu and Iivo Niskanen (together one gold, two silver, two bronze), they were all in a good mood and obviously well-foundedly optimistic while training on the sunny Alpine cross-country ski trails . Gold thanks to optimal preparation: Therese Johaug. © APA/afp / TOBIAS SCHWARZ

For a total of 24 of the 36 medals awarded in the cross-country skiing competitions, altitude training on the Seiser Alm played a role in the immediate preparation. However, the success was not a sure-fire success: Despite favorable snow conditions, the preparations of some teams initially seemed to be ill-fated; the Norwegians in particular had positive Covid test results at the end of January, on a par with relay world champion Heidi Weng and two-time Olympic champion Simen Hegstad Krüger two top runners were eliminated.

The latter was only able to submit the negative tests required for participation a week late and arrived just in time for the ski marathon, which was shortened to 30 km, in which he was able to win a bronze medal that was almost sensational given the previous quarantine.

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Gold factor South Tyrol: How the Seiser Alm won Olympic victories

In cross-country skiing, altitude training is an essential part of preparing for a successful World Cup season. Training camps on the Alpe di Siusi in particular are a tradition among the leading cross-country skiing nations - which resulted in a real shower of medals in Beijing.

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