The event: The U.S. Nordic Ski Festival
The competition: Cross country, ski jumping and Nordic combined
The venues: Soldier Hollow for the cross country events and the cross country competitions of the Nordic combined events; Utah Olympic Park for the ski jumping events and the ski jumping competitions of the Nordic combined events
The disciplines: World Cup cross country skiing gets sole focus this week at Soldier Hollow. The World Cup ski jumping and Nordic combined circuits visit Utah Olympic Park and Soldier Hollow Jan. 19-21, with the overlapping competition schedule designed to simulate the event scheduling for the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Games.
The schedule:
Wednesday, Jan. 10
Women's 5K classic individual start
Women's 5K freestyle pursuit
Men's 30K mass start
For coverage of Wednesday's events, see today's Sports section
Saturday, Jan. 13
Men's 15K classic, 9:30 a.m.
Women's 4x5K relay, noon
Sunday, Jan. 14
Women's sprint qualifications, 9:30 a.m.
Men's sprint qualifications, 10 a.m.
Women's and men's sprint heats, 1 p.m.
Friday through Sunday, Jan. 19-21
World Cup ski jumping and Nordic combined events at Soldier Hollow and Utah Olympic Park
Women to watch: Russia often features some of the top women's skiers — Julija Tchepalova leads the current FIS overall standings while Larissa Lazhutina, who captured four golds and a silver at the 1998 Nagano Games, was one of three Russians to finish in last year's top-five final standings. Also keep an eye on Norway's Bente Skari Martinsen, last year's overall winner who is currently ranked second — she's the daughter of former Olympic and world champion Odd Martinsen.
Men to watch: After finishing in the top five of last season's overall leaders, Sweden's Per Elofsson and the Norway duo of Thomas Alsgaard and Odd-Bjorn Hjelmeset are atop the World Cup leaderboard so far this young season. Johan Muehlegg, the German native who skis from Spain and won last year's overall title, is hanging among the top five this season as well. Alsgaard and Finland's Mika Myllylae are Olympic gold medalists in the men's 30K, which will be contested at Soldier Hollow. Relegated to spectator status so far this season because of back woes is Norway's Bjorn Daehlie, winner of eight Olympic golds in Nordic skiing and 12 medals overall.
Americans to watch: Key cogs in the small U.S. cross country contingent include Nina Kemppel, Justin Wadsworth and Marcus Nash — all who have stayed pretty much in North America this season while gearing up for the World Cup on their home training grounds. At last week's U.S. Championships in Idaho, Kemppel swept the three women's events — the 1.4-kilometer sprints, the 5K classical and the 15K freestyle — en route to her record-breaking 15th national title. Wadsworth and Nash are seasoned Olympians who have attended and skied for the University of Utah. Confident following his summer training at Soldier Hollow with the Norwegian national team, Wadsworth broke a six-year national-title drought with a pair of wins, including a 30K freestyle triumph by 0.9 seconds over Nash.
World Cup cross country rankings
2000-2001 current leaders
Men's top 3 overall
1. Per Elofsson, Sweden
2. Thomas Alsgaard, Norway
3. Odd-Bjorn Hjelmeset, Norway
Women's top 3
1. Julija Tchepalova, Russia
2. Bente Skari Martinsen, Norway
3. Stefania Belmondo, Italy
Final 1999-2000 standings
Men's top 5 overall and top U.S. finishers
Rank, name, nation (points)
1. Johann Muehlegg, Spain (948)
2. Jari Isometsae, Finland (708)
3. Odd-Bjorn Hjelmeset, Norway (586)
4. Per Elofsson, Sweden (536)
5. Thomas Alsgaard, Norway (461)
92. Marcus Nash, USA (15)
122. Justin Wadsworth, USA (1)
Women's top 5 and top U.S. finisher
Rank, name, nation (points)
1. Bente Skari Martinsen, Norway (1,176)
2. Kristina Smigun, Estonia (1,165)
3. Larissa Lazhutina, Russia (1,008)
4. Olga Danilova, Russia (880)
5. Nina Gavriljuk, Russia (857)
57. Nina Kemppel, USA (26)