FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011

The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 took place from 23 February to 6 March 2011[1] in Oslo, Norway, at the Holmenkollen National Arena. It was the fifth time these championships had been hosted in Holmenkollen, having been done previously in 1930, the 1952 Winter Olympics, 1966, and 1982. On 25 May 2006, the 45th FIS Congress in Vilamoura, Portugal, selected the Holmenkollen area over both Val di Fiemme, Italy, and Zakopane, Poland, with a vote of 12 to 4 to 0. These games coincided with the Holmenkollen Ski Festival as they have previously in 1930, 1952, 1966, and 1982.

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011
Official logo for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011.
Host cityOslo, Norway
Nations49
Events21
Opening23 February 2011
Closing6 March 2011
Main venueHolmenkollen National Arena
Venues
WebsiteOslo2011.no
← 2009
2013 →

Cross-country skiing was dominated by Norway; Marit Bjørgen won four gold and one silver, while Petter Northug won three gold and two silver. Canada, with Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey took its first-ever victory with gold in the men's team sprint. Austria dominated the ski jumping, winning all five events: Thomas Morgenstern took three golds and one silver, Gregor Schlierenzauer won three golds, and Daniela Iraschko won the women's event. In the Nordic combined, Germany took four of the six individual medals, but lost both relays to Austria.

Events edit

Cross-country skiing edit

Men edit

Event Gold Silver Bronze
15 kilometre classic
details
Matti Heikkinen
  Finland
38:14.7 Eldar Rønning
  Norway
+ 13.3 Martin Johnsrud Sundby
  Norway
+ 31.9
30 kilometre skiathlon
details
Petter Northug
  Norway
1:14:10.4 Maxim Vylegzhanin
  Russia
+ 0.7 Ilia Chernousov
  Russia
+ 1.2
50 kilometre freestyle mass start
details
Petter Northug
  Norway
2:08:09.0 Maxim Vylegzhanin
  Russia
+ 1.7 Tord Asle Gjerdalen
  Norway
+ 6.3
4 × 10 kilometre relay
details
  Norway
Martin Johnsrud Sundby
Eldar Rønning
Tord Asle Gjerdalen
Petter Northug
1:40:10.2   Sweden
Daniel Rickardsson
Johan Olsson
Anders Södergren
Marcus Hellner
+ 1.3   Germany
Jens Filbrich
Axel Teichmann
Franz Göring
Tobias Angerer
+ 5.7
Sprint freestyle
details
Marcus Hellner
  Sweden
2:57.4 Petter Northug
  Norway
+ 0.6 Emil Jönsson
  Sweden
+ 1.1
Team sprint
details
  Canada
Devon Kershaw
Alex Harvey
19:10.0   Norway
Petter Northug
Ola Vigen Hattestad
+ 0.2   Russia
Alexander Panzhinskiy
Nikita Kriukov
+ 0.5

Women edit

Event Gold Silver Bronze
10 kilometre classic
details
Marit Bjørgen
  Norway
27:39.3 Justyna Kowalczyk
  Poland
+ 4.1 Aino-Kaisa Saarinen
  Finland
+ 9.7
15 kilometre skiathlon
details
Marit Bjørgen
  Norway
38:08.6 Justyna Kowalczyk
  Poland
+ 7.5 Therese Johaug
  Norway
+ 8.8
30 kilometre freestyle mass start
details
Therese Johaug
  Norway
1:23:45.1 Marit Bjørgen
  Norway
+ 44.0 Justyna Kowalczyk
  Poland
+ 1:34.0
4 × 5 kilometre relay
details
  Norway
Vibeke Skofterud
Therese Johaug
Kristin Størmer Steira
Marit Bjørgen
53:30.0   Sweden
Ida Ingemarsdotter
Anna Haag
Britta Johansson Norgren
Charlotte Kalla
+36.1   Finland
Pirjo Muranen
Aino-Kaisa Saarinen
Riitta-Liisa Roponen
Krista Lähteenmäki
+59.8
Sprint freestyle
details
Marit Bjørgen
  Norway
3:03.9 Arianna Follis
  Italy
+ 0.2 Petra Majdič
  Slovenia
+ 0.5
Team sprint
details
  Sweden
Ida Ingemarsdotter
Charlotte Kalla
19:25.0   Finland
Aino-Kaisa Saarinen
Krista Lähteenmäki
+ 3.3   Norway
Maiken Caspersen Falla
Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen
+ 4.1

Nordic combined edit

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Individual large hill/10 km
details
Jason Lamy Chappuis
  France
25:31.6 Johannes Rydzek
  Germany
+6.7 Eric Frenzel
  Germany
+7.0
Individual normal hill/10 km
details
Eric Frenzel
  Germany
25:19.2 Tino Edelmann
  Germany
+11.9 Felix Gottwald
  Austria
+18.4
Team normal hill/4 × 5 km
details
  Austria
David Kreiner
Bernhard Gruber
Felix Gottwald
Mario Stecher
48:07.8   Germany
Johannes Rydzek
Björn Kircheisen
Tino Edelmann
Eric Frenzel
+0.4   Norway
Jan Schmid
Magnus Moan
Mikko Kokslien
Håvard Klemetsen
+40.6
Team large hill/4 × 5 km
details
  Austria
Bernhard Gruber
David Kreiner
Felix Gottwald
Mario Stecher
47:12.3   Germany
Johannes Rydzek
Björn Kircheisen
Eric Frenzel
Tino Edelmann
+0.1   Norway
Mikko Kokslien
Håvard Klemetsen
Jan Schmid
Magnus Moan
+40.6

Ski jumping edit

Men edit

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Men's individual normal hill (HS106)
details
Thomas Morgenstern
  Austria
269.2 Andreas Kofler
  Austria
260.1 Adam Małysz
  Poland
252.2
Men's individual large hill (HS134)
details
Gregor Schlierenzauer
  Austria
277.5 Thomas Morgenstern
  Austria
277.2 Simon Ammann
  Switzerland
274.3
Men's team normal hill (HS106)
details
  Austria
Gregor Schlierenzauer
Martin Koch
Andreas Kofler
Thomas Morgenstern
1025.5   Norway
Anders Jacobsen
Bjørn Einar Romøren
Anders Bardal
Tom Hilde
1000.5   Germany
Martin Schmitt
Michael Neumayer
Michael Uhrmann
Severin Freund
968.2
Men's team large hill (HS134)
details
  Austria
Gregor Schlierenzauer
Martin Koch
Andreas Kofler
Thomas Morgenstern
500.0   Norway
Anders Jacobsen
Johan Remen Evensen
Anders Bardal
Tom Hilde
456.4   Slovenia
Peter Prevc
Jurij Tepeš
Jernej Damjan
Robert Kranjec
452.6

Women edit

Event Gold Silver Bronze
Women's individual normal hill (HS106)
details
Daniela Iraschko
  Austria
231.7 Elena Runggaldier
  Italy
218.9 Coline Mattel
  France
211.5

Organization edit

In 2002, the Association for the Promotion of Skiing and Oslo Municipality started the process of applying for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009.[2] The city council decided to grant NOK 52.8 million to upgrade Holmenkollen, including Holmenkollbakken, for the 2009 World Championships.[3] Oslo lost the vote in the International Ski Federation (FIS) against Liberec, Czech Republic, on 4 June 2004. The Norwegian Ski Federation subsequently stated that they would apply for the 2011 World Championships.[4] The Association for the Promotion of Skiing stated that they wanted a new hill in Rødkleiva instead of expanding the existing ski flying hill in Vikersund, Vikersundbakken. Holmenkollbakken would then be used for the last time during as a large hill during the 2011 World Championships, and would then converted to a normal hill.[5] In May 2005, the general assembly of the Norwegian Ski Federation voted to build a new ski flying and normal hill in Rødkleiva ahead of the 2011 World Championships.[6] Following Vikersundbakken being awarded the FIS Ski-Flying World Championships 2012 in 2008, the general assembly of the Norwegian Ski Federation that year decided to terminate the plans for a ski flying hill in Rødkleiva.[7]

On 22 September 2005, FIS stated that an all-new Holmenkollbakken would have to be built if Oslo was to host the world championships and World Cup tournaments. FIS stated that similar reconstructions had been done with Schattenbergschanze in Oberstdorf, Germany, and Bergiselschanze in Innsbrück, Austria.[8] In December 2005, the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage gave permission for the tower to be demolished, on the condition it was replaced by a new in-run with a similar architectural quality and retain its function as a landmark. They stated that it was the activity itself that is worthy of preservation, not the structure itself.[9] The city council made the final decision to apply for the world championships and build a new hill on 1 March 2006. A new hill was at the time estimated to cost NOK 310 million, and the state was willing to finance NOK 70 million of those.[10] Oslo was awarded the 2011 World Championships in May 2006.[11]

 
The new hill during construction; the ski stadium is in the foreground

The municipality issued an architectural design competition to rebuild the hill; Julien De Smedt's proposal was selected among 104 entrants.[12] At the time, it was estimated that the new national arena would cost NOK 653 million.[3] Demolition of Holmenkollbakken started on 16 October 2008.[13] The World Cup tournament in 2009 was held at Vikersundbakken instead of Holmenkollen because of the reconstruction.[citation needed] When the decision to reconstruct the national arena was made by the city council in 2007, it was estimated to cost NOK 653 million. By 2008, the cost had accelerated to NOK 1.2 billion, and by the following year it had reached NOK 1.8 billion. City Commissioner For Business and Culture, Anette Wiig Bryn of the Progress Party, had to leave her position because of the cost overruns. A consultant report ordered by the municipality concluded that the pressure to find cost savings to stay within the budget, which was underestimated to start with, resulted in slower progress, which again resulted in higher costs.[3] The costs of the new large hill were NOK 715 million, while total costs for the upgrade of the national arena and infrastructure ended at NOK 2,426 million. This included the construction of a new ski stadium next to Holmenkollbakken, and Midtstubakken, and upgrades to the Holmenkollen Line.[14]

 
The ski stadium
 
Petter Northug receiving his silver medal after the men's sprint
 
Marit Bjørgen at Frognerseteren during the women's 15 km pursuit, which she ultimately won

Venue edit

Holmenkollbakken is a large ski jumping hill with a hill size of 134 and a construction point (K-spot) of 120. It has a spectator capacity for 30,000. The current structure dates from 2010 and consists of a 64 meters (210 ft) tall superstructure. The top of the structure is 420 meters (1,380 ft) above mean sea level. It is the first hill in the world with a permanent wind screen, which is able to restrain 45 to 50 percent of the wind.[15] Midtstubakken is a normal hill with a hill size of 106 and a K-point of 95. It has a capacity for 16,000 spectators and was completed in 2010.

Medal ceremonies were held at Universitetsplassen, a square in the city center.

Transport is based on that no spectators will use private cars to the venue. Instead, all spectators must use the Holmenkollen Line of the Oslo Metro.[16] Holmenkollen Station is located within walking distance of the large hill and cross-country stadium, while Midtstuen Station is closest to Midtstubakken. Holmenkollen Station is the only one on the line with platforms long enough for six cars, which allows a capacity of 9,000 per hour.[17] "Chaotic" and "spectators stood in line for many hours to get into the arena" and "sheep are treated better", were some of the claims by Verdens Gang, in regards to the treatment of spectators on 26 February.[18] A number of people were not admitted into the arena (in time to see Marit Bjørgen win) on 26 February.[18] The director of the event, promised that the organizers would refund some tickets, after reviewing individual claims.[18]

Organizing committee (VM 2006–2011 AS) edit

2006 edit

In the 6 September 2006 edition of the FIS Newsflash, the first orientation meeting of the local organization took place in Oslo on 4 September 2006. Included in the meeting were representatives from the Norwegian Ski Association, the FIS, Skiforeningen (The Holmenkollen organizing committee), NRK (Norwegian TV), and the European Broadcasting Union. Discussions involved were liaisons among the various groups, marketing of the event, arena and ski jump reconstruction, and testing of the new constructed sports arena that is scheduled for completion in 2010. Åsne Havnelid was appointed as chief executive officer of the event during the week of 2 July 2007, starting on 1 September 2007.[19] The first official coordination group of Havnelid, Adelheid Sæther as Chief Operations Officer, and Stein Opsal as chief financial officer officially met on 13 November 2007. One of the key items discussed was the updated plans for the Holemkollen ski jump and the FIS requirements for the future of the ski jump. Construction of the ski jump has not started with the Oslo City Government and the City Council having review the project in more detail, especially the costs involved.[20] In an August 2008 interview, Hanevild stated that the attendance goal for the championships was 400,000.[21] During the week of 15 September 2008, it was reported that team is developing working practices and responsibilities of the different committee roles.[22]

2007 edit

Ski-vm 2007

2008 edit

Ski-vm 2008

2009 edit

The organizing committee for the 2009 championships in Liberec met in Oslo with the organizing committee of the 2011 championships on 20 April 2009 to discuss lessons learned. In the presentation was a comprehensive and frank analysis of the critical areas of Liberec's organization. Key success factors were detailed and lessons learned were elaborated, including several recommendations to both the 2011 championships and the organizing committee for the 2013 championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy. Besides the 2009, 2011 and 2013 organizing committees in attendance, other attendees included the Norwegian Ski Federation, the European Broadcasting Union television, FIS, and the APF marketing partners.[23] At a coordination group meeting in Oslo on 3–4 September 2009, construction progress was shown on the ski jumps at Holmenkollen and Midstuen along with the renovations for the cross-country stadium and tracks.[24] Given current construction, the organizing committee states that World Cup events will go as planned for March 2010 to serve as test events for the 2011 championships.[24] As of September 2009, the organizing committee employed 20 people while host broadcaster NRK are taking advantage of the 3-D modeling for perfect camera angles for the event that will take place in February–March 2011.[24] On 23 December 2009, the organizing committee announced that Statoil, an energy company based in Stavanger, will be joining Aker Solutions, Intersport, and Swedish-based Craft as a sponsor to the championships.[25]

2010 edit

Test events at the Holmenkollen took place the weekend of 12–14 March 2010 in all three disciplines. Prior to the competition, the organizing committee entered a deal where a Nissan dealership in Oslo supplied 33 vehicles during the test events.[26] Switzerland's Simon Ammann, who won gold medals in both individual ski jumping events at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver the previous month, won the ski jumping test event on 14 March.[27] Nordic combined has two test events that took place with the Norwegian team of Petter Tande, Mikko Kokslien, Jan Schmid and Magnus Moan winning the team event on the 13th[28] while France's Jason Lamy Chappuis, gold medalist in the 10 km individual normal hill event at the 2010 Winter Olympics, won the 10 km individual large hill test event on the 14th.[29] For the cross-country events held that weekend, Norway's Marit Bjørgen, who won five medals at the 2010 Winter Olympics, won both the sprint[30] and the 30 km events.[31] In the men's cross-country events, the sprint was won by Norwegian Anders Gløersen[32] while the 50 km was won by Gløersen's fellow countryman Petter Northug.[33]

On 15–16 April 2010, the 2011 Coordination Group met in Oslo after the broadcasters' meetings.[34] Among items discussed were the organizational review from the World Cup held at the Holmenkollen the previous month along with that of success of the ski jump following its renovation.[34] The city of Oslo itself was praised for its management of the World Cup event the previous month. Introduced to the organizing committee was John Aalberg as sports director after previously serving as Nordic director for the Winter Olympics at Whistler Olympic Park.[34] Marketing plans are underway for the event in Norway in 2011.[34] Final schedule was determined at the FIS Council meeting in June 2010.[34]

2011 edit

It was announced on 4 January 2011 that Maria Mittet would perform the official theme song "Glorious" for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011.[35] A number of cultural events and outdoor concerts took place in Oslo from 23 February with the Opening Ceremony, and then a WC-show every day from 26 February to 5 March. The music group Polka Bjørn & Kleine Heine, scheduled to perform at every show,[36][37] released an unofficial theme song called "I like to ski", featuring Norwegian trumpet virtuoso Ole Edvard Antonsen.[38]


Medal table edit

Top nations edit

  *   Host nation (Norway)

Medal winners by nation
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  Norway (NOR)*86620
2  Austria (AUT)72110
3  Sweden (SWE)2215
4  Germany (GER)1438
5  Finland (FIN)1124
6  France (FRA)1012
7  Canada (CAN)[1]1001
8  Poland (POL)0224
  Russia (RUS)0224
10  Italy (ITA)0202
11  Slovenia (SLO)0022
12   Switzerland (SWI)0011
Totals (12 entries)21212163

^[1] Canada won its first ever gold medal at a Nordic World Ski Championships.[39]

Top athletes edit

All athletes with two or more medals.

RankAthleteGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  Marit Bjørgen (NOR)4105
2  Petter Northug (NOR)3205
3  Thomas Morgenstern (AUT)3104
4  Gregor Schlierenzauer (AUT)3003
5  Andreas Kofler (AUT)2103
6  Felix Gottwald (AUT)2013
  Therese Johaug (NOR)2013
8  Eric Frenzel (GER)1214
9  Charlotte Kalla (SWE)1102
  Ida Ingemarsdotter (SWE)1102
  Marcus Hellner (SWE)1102
12  Johannes Rydzek (GER)0303
  Tino Edelmann (GER)0303
14  Justyna Kowalczyk (POL)0213
15  Aino-Kaisa Saarinen (FIN)0123
16  Krista Lähteenmäki (FIN)0112
Totals (16 entries)2320750

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Tentative dates and programs for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011. — accessed 12 March 2008.[dead link]
  2. ^ Kirkebøen, Stein Erik (9 October 2002). "Kommunen sier ja til Kollen-reprise". Aftenposten. p. 33.
  3. ^ a b c "Gratulerer, trøndere, Osloborgere betaler: Budsjettsprekk, stor bakke". Vårt Land (in Norwegian). 19 February 2011. p. 24. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  4. ^ Hole, Arne (4 June 2004). "Kollen søker VM i 2011". Aftenposten Aften. p. 30.
  5. ^ Kirkebøen, Stein Erik (14 January 2005). "Vil flytte Kollen-brølet". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  6. ^ "Skitinget valgte Rødkleiva". Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (in Norwegian). 28 May 2005. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  7. ^ "Vikersund fortsatt nasjonalanlegg". Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (in Norwegian). 7 June 2008. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  8. ^ "Holmenkollbakken gått ut på dato". Drammens Tidende (in Norwegian). 22 September 2005. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  9. ^ Skjellum, Hanne (29 December 2005). "Full jubel for Kollen-riving". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  10. ^ Gulseth, Hege Løvdal (1 March 2006). "Uavklart om Holmenkoll-bakke". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  11. ^ "Kollen kan rives til VM". Adresseavisen (in Norwegian). 26 May 2006. p. 28.
  12. ^ "Her er nye Holmenkollen". Teknisk Ukeblad (in Norwegian). 4 September 2007. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  13. ^ "Kollen rives i det stille" (in Norwegian). Norwegian News Agency. 16 October 2008. p. 28.
  14. ^ Hagesæter, Pål V. (21 February 2011). "Prislapp for VM: 2,4 milliarder". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  15. ^ "Faktaark om Holmenkollen" (PDF) (in Norwegian). Skiforeningen. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
  16. ^ Synstad, Alexander (18 April 2008). "Målet er å lage en knirkefri folkefest". Akersposten (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  17. ^ "T-bane med tredobbel kapasitet!". Oslo 2011 (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  18. ^ a b c Ski-VM betaler tilbake etter kø-skandalen – VG Nett om Ski-VM 2011
  19. ^ FIS Newsflash 135. 11 July 2007.
  20. ^ FIS Newsflash 153. 14 November 2007.
  21. ^ FIS NewsFlash 192. 13 August 2008.
  22. ^ FIS Newsflash 197. 17 September 2008.
  23. ^ FIS Newsflash 228. 22 April 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
  24. ^ a b c 8 September 2009 report on the Coordination Group meeting in Oslo on 3–4 September 2009. – accessed 11 September 2009.
  25. ^ "Oslo 2011 enjoys great sponsor interest, Statoil". FIS 23 December 2009 article accessed 25 December 2009.
  26. ^ "Cooperation agreement with major car dealership". – Oslo2011.no 4 March 2010 article accessed 14 March 2010.[dead link]
  27. ^ FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Oslo 14 March 2010 results. Archived 24 May 2012 at archive.today – accessed 14 March 2010.
  28. ^ FIS Nordic Combined World Cup Oslo 13 March 2010 HS 134/ 4 x 5 km results. – accessed 14 March 2010.
  29. ^ FIS Nordic Combined World Cup Oslo 14 March 2010 HS 134/10 km results. Archived 30 July 2012 at archive.today – accessed 14 March 2010.
  30. ^ FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Cup Oslo 14 March 2010 women's sprint freestyle results. Archived 24 May 2012 at archive.today – accessed 14 March 2010.
  31. ^ FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Cup Oslo 13 March 2010 women's 30 km freestyle mass start results. Archived 24 May 2012 at archive.today – accessed 14 March 2010.
  32. ^ FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Cup Oslo 14 March 2010 men's sprint freestyle results. – accessed 14 March 2010.
  33. ^ FIS Cross-Country Skiing World Cup Oslo 13 March 2010 men's 50 km freestyle mass start results. – accessed 14 March 2010
  34. ^ a b c d e "Oslo 2011 enters final preparation phase." FIS 21 April 2010 article accessed 24 April 2010.
  35. ^ Urfremføring av VM-sangen på NRK 8. januar : Oslo Ski-VM 2011
  36. ^ Celebration, culture and free concerts, Official site of Oslo2011, 5 May 2010.
  37. ^ Nå blir det VM i kultur (Norwegian), Dagbladet, 15 February 2011.
  38. ^ Polkabjørn & Kleine Heine – i like to ski, YouTube.
  39. ^ Canada wins men's relay gold at Nordic worlds

External links edit