Illinoistocht

I've enjoyed watching international competitions and the world championships of various winter sports on Universal Sports over the airwaves of the new DTV-landscape where I live (free over the air--see where to watch).  Its great to see the best athletes at many different events, wherever they happen to be from.  But I'd be remiss without congratulating a few notable efforts by US athletes as the winter season ends. 

First off, in the popular sport of alpine skiing, Lindsey Vonn became the first American to win back-to-back World Cup overall titles.  But what's really great about Universal Sports is to see the less followed sports (at least in the USA) on not just a live webcast but on a televised program as well.  In speed skating, newcomers JR Celski and Trevor Marsciano skated well and should continue to develop in the future while Shani Davis continued to be the best in the world at the middle distances and set new world records in early March for the 1,000 and 1,500 meter events (Universal Sports didn't cover the Salt Lake meet on television but did televise the following week's event at the Vancouver Olympic site). 

Luge: Erin Hamlin won the first American gold medal in women’s singles luge in a world championship or Olympics in front of a crowd in Lake Placid, N.Y. that included about 100 people from her nearby hometown of Remsen, NY.

Nordic Skiing, Nordic Combined, and Ski Jumping:  Before this year, the most medals Americans took home from a Nordic skiing world championships was one and the most gold medals won at a worlds was also one. In Liberec, Czech Republic from Feb. 20 to March 1, the Americans claimed six medals, including four gold.  That number exceeds by one the total amount of medals American Nordic skiers have won at every world championship and Olympic Games going back more than 80 years.  Todd Lodwick, competing this year after a two-year sabbatical from the sport, claimed two golds and Bill Demong added another, all in Nordic combined.  Lindsey Van won gold in the debut of women’s ski jumping.  Finally, in nordic skiing, Anchorage native Kikkan Randall won silver in the women’s cross-country skiing sprint, making her the first American woman to win a world championship medal in cross-country skiing. 

Bobsled:  The four-man team driven by Steve Holcomb was golden in winning the first American bobsled world title since 1959.  (If you haven’t seen it yet, the Bud Greenspan film about Salt Lake has a sequence about Todd Hays winning the first Olympic medal by an American in bobsled in 46 years when he took silver at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.)  

Chart per IEEE Spectrum magazine, Feb 2009.  

While I'm not contemplating another ice skating marathon this winter, I still am training a little.  This past weekend I got out the cross-country skis and enjoyed a few good days at Royal Gorge in the Sierras in California.  After a series of storms, the snow was fresh and deep, with the resort reporting over 9 ft (2.75 m) of snow depth.  While I enjoyed some cross-training for the skating marathons this past winter at nearby Tahoe Donner and at Kirkwood, Royal Gorge is the granddaddy of them all with over 200 miles (320 km) of groomed trails and stunning scenery.  Plus, on Sunday, I had a good combination of the right wax and nice snow so the skiing was extra special.