The Olympic disappointment of the Sarner cross-country skiing ace

The “Azzurri” Olympic squad was announced on Monday. You won't find a cross-country skier from South Tyrol. Michael Hellweger, who was given good chances, is missing from the six-man squad for Italy's cross-country skiing men. He had already found out about his non-nomination a few days beforehand. “We were actually assuming 6 places. Then I would have been there,” said Hellweger. Instead, Italy only received 7 places for men and another 6 for women. “One reason for this was that smaller winter sports nations, like Colombia and Co., which have nothing to do with cross-country skiing, were taking up the places,” says the Sarner angrily. 6th place was actually “almost certain”.

But another reason bothers him. “The World Cups in France and Slovenia were canceled due to the pandemic. “I could have proven myself again in two sprints,” emphasizes the 2-year-old. The sprint at the start of the Tour de Ski at the end of 25 in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, was also Hellweger's last World Cup. And back then he narrowly missed qualifying for the quarter-finals of the top 2021 in 31st place. He ended up in 30th place at the same time as the American Logan Hanneman, but because the South Tyrolean is just behind Hanneman in the FIS sprint ranking, he was eliminated. “Who knows what else would have been possible back then,” says Hellweger.

Hellweger's best result this season in an individual World Cup race is a 23rd place in the freestyle sprint in Dresden. © pentaphoto

In the end, 6th place went to Paolo Ventura. He gives him the ticket. But it is also a fact: the 25-year-old Trentino native's World Cup results were worse this season than those of the Sarner native. He never made it into the top 30, except in the relay, when the “Azzurri” took 5th place at the World Cup in Norway at the beginning of December. This is exactly another reason for Hellweger's non-nomination. Italy relies on athletes who are strong over long distances and can be used in the relay. Hellweger focuses primarily on sprints. However, due to the pandemic, it could happen again and again that a strong distance runner is unavailable, which could be fatal in a relay team of four. “So it was probably about taking six good distance runners with us,” says Hellweger. In addition, there are more distance races than sprints on the program at the Olympics anyway. There is only a freestyle sprint - Hellweger's favorite discipline - and this time a classic team sprint, which is not necessarily his strength.

Nevertheless, he looks ahead: “Now it’s time to step on the gas in the World Cup.” There are still several stages to go, with a total of 2 freestyle sprints and 2 classic sprints. When it comes to the Olympics, the last train hasn't left yet. The man from Sarn has many years ahead of him and will be in a good age for the “Home Olympic Games” in Milan/Cortina in 2026.

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The Olympic disappointment of the Sarner cross-country skiing ace

Michael Hellweger's chances at the Olympics were good. His non-nomination came as a surprise to many. In the end, a lot of bad luck, questionable quota regulations and the favoritism of other athletes were the deciding factors. The backgrounds.

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