Former Sovoet Olympic gold medalist Nikola Anikin has arrived in Utah to help the U.S. Ski Team's cross-country racers and coaches, team spokesman John Bower said Friday.
Anikin helped the Soviets win the gold medal in the men's cross-county skhibg relay at the 1956 Winter Olympics, at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.He also captured the bronze medal in the men's 30-kilometer race at the 1960 Winter Games at Squaw Valley, Calif., and skied on the Soviet's bronze-medal relay team at Squaw Valley.
Following the 1960 Olympics, Anikin retired from racing and was named head coach of the Soviet men's national team in 1962. After seven years in that job, he directed the Soviet cross-country program for junior racers.
"He is now working as a cosultant witd the U.S. Ski Team," said Bower, the team's nordic program director. "Nikolai brings with him an intimate knowledge of the entire Soviet system."
He will work with the U.S. coaches and several of the team's top competitors through April, said Bower.
"He'll be traveling around the country doing clinics for coaches, to coach the coaches," Bower said. "He's got a real good personality for this because he's really outgoing.
"Nikolai has been very open with us in sharing what the Soviets are doing. And, hopefully, he can give us a little higher profile."
One difference between Soviet nordic racers and their American counterparts, Anikin said, is the Soviets spend about 200 days a year training in groups, about twice the time spent by members of the U.S. Ski Team.
"Usually, if you train alone, you don't train so hard," he said. "If you train together, it's more emotional and more interesting."