Davos Sprint Recaps

One reason why nordic skiing is great: you can see chunks of the sprint races in Switzerland on the website of an Estonian tv network, with the Norwegian and Slovenian race winners giving their interviews in English.

Another, better reason: you can see extra-grainy, needlessly sountracked videos of the sprint finals on YouTube.

On the basis of the footage of the mens' final, I hereby submit that Ola Vigen Hattestad's speed is entirely due to the aerodynamic advantage created by the massive gap in his teeth.


On the other hand, Petra Majdic's new skating prowess is due to the fact that she is bigger, stronger, and more fit than all the other pipsqueak female racers. I hear that she eats Therese Johaug's weight in muesli every morning. For entertainment, watch Natalia Matveeva (Russia) slide all the way down the field. The contrast between Majdic and Matveeva on the last climb (ca. 3:40) is incredible.