DESPITE THE RAIN: SUCCESSFUL FIRST DAY OF COMPETITION

The local OC was very nervous when the starting signal for a cross-country skiing World Cup race in Goms was given today for the first time in 24 years. But despite the rain, especially in the second half of the race, the competition went off without a hitch. Meanwhile, the Swiss star Nadine Fähndrich made an exclamation mark.

In the morning, the weather seemed to be kind to the organizers, spectators and especially the athletes: The sun kept shining through the clouds. But just as the starting shot was fired, the rain began to fall. Nonetheless, the course held up and made for an exciting and fair competition for all teams competing in the mixed relay over 4 x 5 kilometers.

Sweden 1 took first place. The two women in the team, Frida Karlsson and Linn Svahn, both ran the fastest times from their relay. Sweden 2 and Norway 1 completed the podium. 

The Swiss finished in a good 6th place with the first team. Nadine Fähndrich in particular was able to gain confidence for tomorrow's sprint, her showpiece discipline: she ran the second-fastest section time. Beda Klee was also fast with the fifth-best section time.

Only one place behind Switzerland 1 was Switzerland 2 in seventh place. You can find the complete ranking list here: https://data.fis-ski.com/pdf/2024/CC/2287/2024CC2287RL.pdf

400 pupils got a taste of cross-country skiing

The event for the Goms school classes also took place on the Friday before the elite competition between 10 am and 3 pm. The event was attended by 130 pupils from the Münster day school and 270 from the Fiesch day school. The program included fun cross-country skiing lessons to introduce them to this wonderful winter sport. Afterwards, the pupils stayed on the course to soak up the World Cup atmosphere and cheer on the top athletes with Swiss flags.

In addition to the children, there were also numerous other fans along the course: despite the rather unfavorable weather and the fact that today was a working day, over 2200 tickets were sold to spectators. This makes us confident that the target set by the local organizing committee of 

of 10,000 fans at the track over the whole weekend. Especially as the exciting sprint will continue tomorrow and the weather forecast is for plenty of sunshine.

Information on the next competitions, the supporting program, tickets and much more can be found here: www.weltcup-goms.ch

Contact for queries: medien@weltcup-goms.ch

Photo: Nordic Focus