HOLMEKOLLEN/AKERSGATA (Nettavisen): On Saturday, women's cross country will test their strength over the five miles in Holmenkollen.
Heidi Wing recently criticized girls who traveled the same distance as boys.
Now his colleague Astrid Auer Slind comes up with a clear answer.
-I think it's an honor to walk five miles in Cullen. It will be a bit like Vasaloppet. I think it would be like walking three miles, and I don't understand why people are so negative.
She told Nettavisen about this and explained:
– This is what we trained for.
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– It became embarrassing
On Saturday, it's the women who walk the distance, before the men go to press on Sunday. But in the initial race calendar for next season, the five-mile race in Holmenkollen has been omitted.
This comes from the WC in Trondheim, held just before, which also includes a five-mile final race. Aware Slynd reacts to what's happening:
-I think he's a nerd. The Femmila in Kollen is the largest, and is a World Cup memorial. This is the race where there is the most atmosphere around the slopes.
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-You don't get the same atmosphere as you get in a 10 km race. It's about tradition and creating a folk festival.
The 36-year-old has had a distinguished career from the long-running circus, among other things winning the Vasalopette in 2022. The Swedish classic is a race of the full nine miles.
– I think it's defensive when racers don't want to go two weekends in a row, because we can do that just fine. It's all about behavior, so I think it's boring when skaters get so awkward.
Wong's opinion
In 2022, the International Ski Federation (FIS) has decided that women and men must cover the same distances.
This means that the three-mile distance has been abolished in favor of the five-mile distance, although there is not a large majority among women in favor of it.
– This is something that was decided two years ago, but personally I think it could still be three miles, as it was before. I've also heard that others think so, but I don't know what will happen in the future. This was Heidi Wong's opinion a few weeks ago.
Lotta Udnes Weng completely agrees with her teammate when Nettavisen asks.
– I don't feel like it's a matter of us not being able to walk five miles. It's almost insulting that we have to “prove it” too. But it's about the product. She asked herself what was the point of walking five miles.
-I think three miles is more than enough.
On Saturday, the women's five-mile race begins, with them doing six laps on the classic Holmenkollen trails. The race starts at 10:30 and is shown on TV 2.
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