Comment Frost and heat torment China – it’s a dangerous combination for skiers

It would have been more humane for the athletes if the skiing and biathlon competitions had started earlier in the day at the Olympics, writes Tero Hakola, the news producer of HS’s sports editorial office.

Beijing the olympics have been excellent in their arrangements, as might have been expected in advance.

Athletes have generally praised the venues, and no other arrangement has been criticized, unless very strict corona measures are counted as such.

Except it’s cold.

Skiing and snowboarding are still open-air sports, and the venues for the Beijing Games were located in the inland mountains at an altitude of 1,600 to 2,000 meters. The climate there is continental and the frosts match it.

The coldness hardly came as a surprise to anyone, as every team has certainly studied the weather statistics of the competition venues carefully.

Finnish skiers have not complained terribly about the frost, but have taken it more as a circumstance. Iivo Niskanen noted that in cross-country skiing it rarely gets cold, but in the cold the lungs get hard.

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However, the men’s royal distance shortened on Saturday to 30 miles was the only option. The strong wind combined with the -15 degree frost is dangerous for athletes, especially during long runs.

Biathlon absolute the cold struck in the past, for example Mari Ederiin. An Italian star of the species Dorothea Wierer claimed in turn In an interview with Aftonbladetthat he has never competed in such a cold, although he has visited Kontiolahti, which is famous for its frost races, numerous times.

No wonder at home his plans were for Gin Tonic and dinner at a top restaurant in Milan.

Wiererin the argument must be understood. Compared to cross-country skiing and snowboarding, biathlon was in a poor position in terms of frost.

The weather in Zhangjiakou, which hosts skiing and snowboarding, is characterized by the sun often shining from the clear sky.

This way, the frost readings will remain reasonable until well into the afternoon and the mood will be brisk in beautiful weather.

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However, as the sun begins to set after 4 p.m., the air cools rapidly and soon it is -10 to -20 degrees below zero. In addition, the breeze blowing from the mountains towards Siberia increases the bite of the frost.

Biathlon started at the Olympics mainly at 5pm local time and took place in the evening light. At that time, the frost meter was already pushing down.

The windy shooting site certainly had time to get cold when skiing paused for a moment. The difference to the World Cup in Europe could have been considerable.

Snowboarders also had tense frosty days, but there was also plenty of sun and sports performance was shorter.

Clock In the 15 starts, the frost was even gentle at times a couple of hours before the start.

On the best ski days, the water dripped from the eaves at noon, but during the awards ceremonies, the cold was already freezing.

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Then there is the blessing and curse of modern sports, that is, television.

For athletes, the most humane thing would have been for the skiing to have started at local time in the afternoon and the biathlon at 2pm, for example.

But how many Europeans would have been able to wake up to watch the Games on TV?

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Column modified at 7:45 p.m. Added information about shortening the men’s 50km race.

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