SPORTS
Schmoldt says: Nordic combined event brings together best of both ski worlds
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by Eric Schmoldt
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Schmoldt's take:
While figure skating and Alpine skiing seem to dominate the popularity aspect of the Winter Games, I have become more of a fan of the seemingly smaller events. To go along with hockey, I've enjoyed watching curling, cross-country skiing and ski jumping.
I don't think I've enjoyed watching a single Olympic moment more than the 4 X 10 kilometer cross-country skiing race. Yes, it did take a few hours to finish, so we didn't get the benefit of watching the entire race, but to see the end was phenomenal. In case you missed it, Italy's Christian Zorzi, who had an enormous 30-second lead coming down the stretch, stopped to grab an Italian flag from a fan and crossed the finish line with a finger to his lips and an enormous ovation from the raucous home crowd.
And I am mesmerized by the ski jumpers. To see them flying through the air down this huge hill in the position that they are in is incredible. Then I realized that to learn just about every sport, you have to stumble along the way. I can't imagine smacking the snow at those speeds and falling for the first time, only to get up and do it again.
So logically, my favorite Olympic event combines the two of those sports — the Nordic combined, a sport that many people probably don't even know about, and if they do, they probably don't realize what it involves. For those who don't know, it consists of one ski jump and one 750-kilometer cross-country race with a staggered start based on how each athlete did in the ski jump.
The difficulty is that you get just one jump, so you better make it good or you'll find yourself in a 90-second hole to start the second portion of the event; but it was fun to watch Tuesday's winner win in spite of starting 54 seconds behind the leader in the ski sprint.
So there you have it. I like a sport that tests an athlete on more than one level, both of those levels very difficult. It's too bad that it's over and done with.
