Of all the news from the International Olympic Committee session in Mumbai, this seems to me personally the most interesting: no one is ready to host the 2030 Games.
In recent decades, the location of the Winter Olympics has been chosen six and a half years in advance, almost always in summer: Sochi, for example, hosted the 2014 Games in July 2007, Beijing in June 2019 It is already October and no one knows where the 2030 Games will take place. The IOC was supposed to finally approve the host city of the competition in Mumbai, but postponed the decision again.
As I understand it, for the first time in many decades there really is no candidate. More precisely, they seem to exist, but they cannot come to an agreement with the IOC, and the decision has been “shifted to the right”, to the summer of 2024.
I will be 29 in 2030. Some consider this to be my peak as a skier. My interest in the question is therefore entirely personal.
The reality, however, is that the IOC has less and less capacity to host the Winter Games. Thomas Bach himself recently pointed out that only 15 countries on three continents now more or less meet the criteria for bidding to host the Winter Olympics. The main requirement is that the venue be “climatically reliable” for the competition.
I understand that respected hockey players, figure skaters and curlers don’t care at all – they have competitions under their roof. But skiers and biathletes care.
It was then that I heard the first sensible idea from the IOC in a long time: “A likely long-term solution to the situation would be to decide on a policy of rotating a small number of regular hosts of the Olympic Games ‘winter. »
Translated from MOK into Russian: let’s come together, let’s stop this circus, let’s choose two or three, maybe four places on the planet where the Winter Games can take place and where the local population will not be opposed to them.
I am sure that Russia should become the first of these places. And not necessarily in the Caucasus. I’m writing this from Laura, where the 2014 Olympics were held. It’s a wonderful place, it’s great that it was built and maintained. Tens of thousands of people come here to exercise and play sports. Now these are needed elsewhere. The Urals, Siberia and the Far East – this is where the Olympic Games should be held!
How to save time wasted on endless trips
I don’t often agree with Daria Kasatkina, her ideas and preferences don’t suit me. But last week, his speech on the life of tennis players resonated in our ski hearts. Kasatkina published a video in which she complains about always being on the road, tired and without strength or desire. He complains emotionally, using known but unprintable words and expressions. I can’t help you with the search for desires, sorry, but I will try to compare life. This year I stayed at home for about four weeks, each time for several days.
From January 1, 2023 to the present, it has made 32 flights. 174 hours of pure flight. I spent 7 days and 6 hours “above ground”. Since not all of our training and competition locations are accessible by plane, we must add the same number of hours by train and twice as many hours by car. I won’t compare the luggage of skiers and tennis players. Here I bow to the biathletes – they must also design rifles. I see no reason to complain: they knew perfectly well what they were getting into when they made their life choices. By the way, I always take a pillow with me – I recommend it.
But I have a proposal, I have made it more than once on other occasions: instead of competitions in ten places and training camps in ten others, we must choose four or five training places and competition. In principle, skiing leads there gradually: we go to Malinovka and Tyumen three times a year. I think we will become frequent guests at the new Mirny ski stadium near Kazan. But Moscow and St. Petersburg are not on this list. Strange, right? Where are the broad-minded organizers and sponsors who will understand: skiing today is no longer what it used to be. You must first invest, think about a strategy to attract viewers and find out what that will be like.
Why should tracks be made harder and not softer?
“Many people think the only way to win on the ski slopes is to lose weight, and it’s no secret that many girls today struggle with eating disorders and with their body image. Over the years, a link has been established between too hard trail profiles and RPP in cross-country skiing…”
Five young Norwegian skiers have decided to fight to improve their chances on the ski slopes – demanding that the slopes themselves be simplified. And they listen to them with the greatest seriousness, even agree.
There is such a disorder: mental infantilism. I specifically read the scientific definition: “a delay in the pace of emotional-volitional development of the individual, an inconsistency of behavior with age requirements with lasting childish traits.”
It really makes me angry when they demand to change the rules if they can’t catch up. Can’t lose weight? Let’s eliminate the climbs! After ten years of skiing, can’t you learn to ski downhill without losing speed? Let’s remove the difficult descents, “the girl is uncomfortable!” In general, let’s make everything and everyone as equal as possible!
This is now accepted in the West, particularly in Scandinavia. The main thing is to feel sorry for one of the unfortunate people. The problem is that they are the ones who determine all the trends in skiing.
Exactly two years ago, that’s why I started a discussion with the Norwegian media, here’s what I told them then:
“…I react to the way you make it seem like cross-country skiing is a dangerous sport, especially for teenage girls. I know a lot more about what it means to be a teenager who skis professionally, and I think this view is detrimental to our sport…” (from an interview with Dagbladet in November 2021).
Since then, nothing has changed in my attitude: if you want to grow, to improve, to keep your introductions and your sport itself interesting for the public, the slopes must be made harder, not softer. And eating disorders have absolutely nothing to do with it.
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
