Nordic skiing at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing: disciplines, schedule, favorites
Created: 01/13/2022, 09:45 AM
Cross-country skiing at the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang © Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva / dpa
Nordic skiing combines the two skiing sports of cross-country skiing and ski jumping, which originated in Norway and have spread from Scandinavia to the whole world.
Beijing - Nordic skiing combines two of the most popular winter sports of all: cross-country skiing, which is carried out on groomed trails in the lowlands, and ski jumping on imposing jumps.
In the Nordic Combined athletes compete in both disciplines.
Nordic skiing: the sports and their development
Cross-country skiing as a sport has developed from a tried and tested method of locomotion in the snow.
Even in the early days, people slid on wooden boards over snow-covered surfaces and the Nordic peoples even worshiped a goddess of skiing.
The first competitions in modern cross-country skiing were held in Norway in the 19th century and from there found their way to the rest of Europe.
Ski jumping, the second discipline in Nordic skiing, looks back on a similar history.
As early as the late 18th century, Norwegian soldiers jumped on skis from artificial snow hills and measured the distance.
Shortly afterwards the first competitions took place and in 1892 the ski jumping hill at the legendary Holmenkollen in Oslo was inaugurated.
Since the first Olympic Winter Games in 1924, competitions in all three disciplines of Nordic skiing have been held for men.
The women have been able to compete in cross-country skiing since 1952 and in ski jumping since 2014.
The combination is still reserved for men.
Curiosity on the side: Although biathlon also comes from Norway and includes cross-country skiing, it does not fall under the term Nordic skiing.
Nordic skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics: competitions and dates
A total of 20 Nordic skiing competitions will be held at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
The venue is the Nordic Ski and Biathlon Center Kuyangshu in the Chongli district 180 kilometers from Beijing.
Chongli is one of the few modern winter sports destinations in China.
The competitions and their dates at a glance:
Cross-country skiing
Skiathlon women: Saturday, February 5, 8.45 a.m. (CET)
Men's skiathlon: Sunday, February 6, 8 a.m. (CET)
Sprint women freestyle: Tuesday, February 8th 9:00 a.m. (CET)
Sprint men's freestyle: Tuesday, February 8, 9:50 a.m. (CET)
10 km women classic: Thursday, February 10, 8 a.m. (CET)
15 km men classic: Friday, February 11, 8 a.m. (CET)
Women's relay 4 x 5 km: Saturday, February 12, 8:30 a.m. (CET)
Men's relay 4 x 10 km: Sunday, February 13, 8 a.m. (CET)
Team Sprint women classic: Wednesday, February 16, 10:00 a.m. (CET)
Team Sprint men classic: Wednesday, February 16, 10.40 a.m. (CET)
50 km men's mass start: Saturday, February 19, 7 a.m. (CET)
30 km women mass start: Sunday, February 20, 7.30 a.m. (CET)
Ski jumping
Women's single normal hill: Saturday, February 5th, 11:45 am (CET)
Men's single normal hill: Sunday, February 6th, 12 noon (CET)
Mixed normal hill: Monday, February 7, 12:45 p.m. (CET)
Men’s single large hill: Friday, February 12th, 12 noon (CET)
Men's team large hill: Friday, February 12th, 12 noon (CET)
Nordic combination
Men’s single normal hill + 10 km: Friday, February 12th at 12 noon (CET)
Men's single large hill + 10 km: Tuesday, February 15, 9 a.m. / 12 p.m. (CET)
Men's team large hill + 4 x 5 km: Thursday, February 17, 9 a.m. / 12 p.m. (CET)
Nordic skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics: The favorites
In all disciplines of Nordic skiing, the Norwegians are considered safe medal contenders.
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Therese Johaug compete in cross-country skiing, with the latter having a strong competitor in Sweden's Charlotte Kalla.
In Nordic combined, Jarl Magnus Riiber is the measure of all things.
The situation in ski jumping is not that clear.
In addition to the Norwegians Marius Lindvik and Robert Johansson, the Japanese Ryōyū Kobayashi was able to trumpet most recently, but the Germans Karl Geiger and Markus Eisenbichler are also hoping for precious metals.
Nordic skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics: broadcast on TV
The competitions in the three disciplines of Nordic skiing at the 2022 Winter Olympics will be shown on the public broadcasters ARD / ZDF.
In addition to being broadcast on television, they are also available online as a stream.