Olympic ski relay champion Veronica Stepanova believes it’s time to change the image of ski racing, and soft trash talk is an essential part of the show.
Stepanova won five medals at the Spartakiad: three gold and two silver. Skiers competed in Tyumen.
— The well-known and authoritative Norwegian journalist Ernst Lersveen recently raised this. In one of his latest articles he asks directly: “OK, there is a crisis of interest in a ski career among young people – but how do you ‘sell’ ski racing to the TikTok generation in principle?” Because if you don’t sell them, who will look at them in 10 years?
I have known Ernst for several years. And he made up stories about me, and now we correspond. But I’ll ask him a question here: “How do you imagine teenagers being interested in the life and successes of 32-year-old Jessie Diggins or Heidi Weng?” Or Astrid Slind, 35 years old? The Krish or Lewis Hamilton examples don’t fit: they have professional media teams targeting zoomers.
I also have an answer for Ernst: we need to change the image, make skis cool not “in general”, but cool in the understanding of my peers. Build and set up competitions, focusing on scoring techniques and approaches. Not just television, but millionaire bloggers. There is a lot here that will disappoint and anger the older generation. But not for us, we grew up with it.
And yes, soft trash talk in the spirit of “go get me” is an element of the show, as we are used to seeing it. In popular MMA, they can usually say something like “I’ll knock you out in the first minute, you won’t blow your legs out.” And in our skis the journalists are straining: “Well, Vasya, are you going to tear it with a hard blow ?!” “Of course,” Vasya says, and then everyone walks 30 kilometers to the finish line.
An athlete must want to stand out. Preferably in several ways at once. I am convinced that this is our job. Like a comedian on stage, like a clown in a circus arena.
I am most happy when I am the center of attention – for whatever reason. If only the last name wasn’t confused with an online star (trash talk!). My peers understand my desire to be true to my character, they see and understand what I do. And if you don’t like it, then there is always the possibility of expressing yourself on social networks or on the air. At least when most of the leaders in ski racing are 23 or younger, there’s a chance to take something in a modern direction. I am waiting for a video in which Zhenya Krupitskaya shows in close-up how she rubs her feet with Capsicam. And then the cancan dances from the burning sensation – this is what we call “waste and smoke” in our generation. Especially the frenzy,” Stepanova wrote in her column on the website.
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.
