Olympic champion Bolshunov called himself a dinosaur among “normal” skiers

Let us leave unnecessary disputes whether men and women are equally strong by nature. For example, IOC sporting director Mick McConnell is clear on the question: “As part of the pursuit of gender equality, the FIS equalization proposal was supported for all distances in cross-country skiing at the Italian Olympics.”

Yes, at first it was the FIS who decided to equalize the distances of men’s and women’s races at the World Cup and World Championships. The men’s 30 km race, which has been held at the World Championships since 1926, has become completely affected – that is, completely deleted from life. Now she doesn’t exist at all.

What is there? Until now, the race with a separate start for men was held at a distance of 15 km, skiathlon – 30 km, marathon – 50 km. Women have the same disciplines: at distances of 10, 15 and 30 km. In the men’s relay, the athletes ran 4 stages of 10 km, in the women’s – 4 by 5 km. Now: a race with a separate start for men and women will be held at a distance of 10 km, a skiathlon – 20 km, a marathon – 50 km. In the relay, athletes will run 4 stages of 7.5 km.

Last season FIS experimented with the same rights for all ski races in the World Cup. Then she admitted – everything is fine, good. Yes, and the question itself, they say, is not debatable: they added kilometers for women, they decreased for men. Gender equality is a priority. But the World Cup was still without equality: cutting of 10 and 15 km, skiathlons of 15 and 30 km, marathons – 30 and 50 km, stages of classic relay races – 5 and 10 km.

There were no Russian skiers at the World Championships. And the world did not see the new king of skiing, the winner both in the skiathlon and in the 50 km race: the skiathlon remained in Slovenia for Simen Kruger, the marathon for Paul Golberg. So Alexander Bolshunov, who won both distances at the Beijing Olympics, remained the last of the traditional kings.

So the three-time Olympic champion San Sanych said: “We talked to the guys – it turns out that we are the last dinosaurs who caught “normal” distances at the Olympics. We are the last Olympic champions in “normal skiing”, it turns out like this.”

Well, something like that, probably, although the new distances will become normal as soon as the world gets used to them. If you get used to it. And, be that as it may, who fought on the track for equality, he got it. Although the initiators were clearly not athletes. Moreover, the arrows of criticism flew at those who came up with the equalization, like bullets in biathlon. More than 70 percent of the skiers surveyed wanted everything back.

Many famous athletes spoke in the spirit of Tiril Weng, who said that most athletes wanted to leave everything as it was. We were supposedly asked, but not heard. Although the athlete still assumed that maybe it would be interesting: after all, something new appears. “Perhaps it will be great. But I don’t think a 50K marathon will generate interest.”

And the FIS, clinging to the changes with a stranglehold, resolutely pulled the IOC along with it. And already in June he appealed to him with a call: study the new one and accept it, we ask for changes. Heard the IOC call not quickly, but very quickly.

Our experts were inclined and are inclined to believe that the classics of cross-country skiing, which existed before the innovations, still had to remain. And the equalization of women and men in races of 20 and 50 kilometers can be considered “a bias towards older athletes who are more prepared and able to have high endurance.” In women’s competitions, at best, a dozen skiers will compete. And their gap from the main group will be huge. “This will not bring any interest in the development of cross-country skiing, since young people and juniors will not be ready for such distances,” says, for example, coach Yuri Borodavko.

Elena Vyalbe calls the changes “a hasty decision.” And I don’t agree that the women’s 50-kilometer marathon is exactly the distance that the fan was really eager to see. Yes, and the logic of this decision raises questions from the head of the FLGR: why, for example, were the distances made shorter for men and longer for women? Because men are weaker?

However, it is necessary to keep up with international rules, even if for the time being our athletes, due to suspension from competitions, can even afford to ignore them at domestic competitions. FLGR still plans to change distances. And it is clear why: you need to move along with the decisions that the FIS and the IOC make, so that when you return, you will not be surprised. So that, as Borodavko says, “for us it was not some kind of revelation.” However, he clarifies: “we know what to prepare for both in terms of training and competition.”

Whether someone likes the changes or not is no longer a question. Because the changes have been adopted, no one will cancel them, in any case – until some tangible harm is proven or protest movements on the track begin. And this is not the first change. Experts have already calculated that since 1924, only the men’s 50 km marathon has remained unchanged in the Olympic program. And, for example, the men’s 15 km race was for some time a pursuit race, not a cut-up. And 30 km turned from cutting into a skiathlon …

The desire of both the FIS and the IOC to keep pace with the gender imperative of the times is obvious. As well as their attempts to grope for new formats that will attract TV, viewers and, in general, bring some kind of life into the established processes. Does she need? And is the path chosen so swiftly? Everyone may have their own answer, but the ski tracks, views and sponsors will show the truth.

… And in mid-June, a meeting of the leadership, coaching and refereeing teams of the FLGR took place in the Malinovka ski center. It was there that the experts discussed the 2023/2024 season. How and by what rules to live?

The stages of the Russian Cup will again take place in the Top of Tyoi, Tyumen, Chusovoy, Kirovo-Chepetsk, Kazan, Tyumen and the final in Kirovsk. A mass start will be added to the program of the final stage of the Russian Cup compared to last season.

Changes in distances at the stages of the Russian Cup will be introduced, but not all: skiers will run the same distances of 10 km for separate races, for skiathlons – 20 km. The Russian Championship will be held in accordance with the classics.

The main start of the season is the All-Russian Winter Sports Contest. The entire national team will take part in the competition. Competitions will be held according to the program of the 2026 Olympic Games, changes in distances are possible. The Spartakiad will be held from February 9 to 18, 2024, 108 sets of awards in 16 disciplines.

All the strongest will perform, will represent their regions, as the coaches say,

The Spartakiad is a return to the good things from the past: in the USSR, this start was as high as the national championship. The Ski Spartakiade is organized by the Krasnodar Territory, Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen Regions and the Krasnoyarsk Territory. And if you remember how busy the past season was for our skiers (Cup stages, Champions Heights in Malinovka, the Russian Championship in Tyumen, the Russian Cup final in Kirovsk), then there is no doubt that everyone is already preparing for the next season – from athletes to sponsors.