Statistics show that ski competitions, or rather races, are watched by a lot of spectators both on TV and live. This sport is most interesting to our compatriots. President Vladimir Putin himself tells reporters that he also enjoys watching these competitions. The secret of such popularity is probably its closeness to the common people. Surely most people have skied and skated more than once and know what duathlon is, unlike curling, which we have little studied.

Let's talk in more detail about this sports discipline - duathlon. You can do it in summer (cycling, running) and in winter. The competition takes place in several stages. In the summer season, the athlete first runs, then rides a bicycle, and at the third stage, runs again. In this case, the change of all stages takes place in a separate area, and each athlete has an individual place for equipment.

Almost everyone likes duathlon; even beginner athletes who love an active form of recreation can do it. It should be noted that the Olympic program includes only winter duathlon (skis, skates or springboard). Before participating, athletes try out a section of the course and then begin the competition. The winner is the one who covers the distance faster and more cleanly.

Mandatory conditions

Readers have already understood in general terms what a duathlon is, and now we’ll tell you what requirements are placed on athletes. Participants run the route in stages (sequentially), regardless of weather conditions. The route of the stages is indicated in advance on the map and posted on the board on the day of the competition. The route that athletes will cover must be marked with special signs and marking tapes.

Changes of all stages, as well as the start and finish must be at the indicated points. Athletes comply with all rules and instructions of the controllers and refereeing team at the distance. If at least one point is not observed, the player is immediately disqualified (eliminates from the race). Overcoming the route is carried out only in a protective bicycle helmet.

Sport equipment

Ski duathlon is carried out only in special equipment. More precisely, the participant is given boots that help him hold on while riding and running. You also need skis with boot mounts and long fiberglass poles that sometimes reach your chin. They help the player move faster and distribute the load. As for the suits, they are made of dense lycra, which allows the body to breathe during exercise and overcome the resistance of the air mass.

Distances

So what is a duathlon? This is an alternating cross-country ski race, in which the first half of the route (for men - 15 km, for women - 7.5 km) is carried out in the classical style, the second stage is completed on skates. Distances can be long or short, the most common are:

Sprint - running (5 km), cycling (20 km), third stage - running (2.5 km),

Standard - 10 km run, 40 km bike race, 5 km run completes the route,

Long - run 20 km, bike (80 km), run (10 km).

The most popular is the sprint distance (running 10 km, cycling 150 km, running 30 km).

Winter duathlon has different standards. The most important thing is the correct equipment and physical fitness of the participant. All these important components will help you overcome the route and become a winner. So we explained to you what a duathlon is and how it is done. This sport is very interesting and quite difficult. After all, walking such long distances, especially in cold weather, is not so easy. Our athletes - honor and praise!

Conclusion

If you want to engage in duathlon, then first you should undergo training according to a specially designed plan. You can start with cycling or swimming - this will strengthen your muscles. The main thing is not to rush into excessive exercise, as this will negatively affect the heart. The increase in speed occurs smoothly while observing technique. Have fun with your classes!

Duathlon can be called the younger brother of the Olympic sport - summer triathlon. But unlike triathlon, which includes three stages in succession: swimming, cycling and running, in duathlon swimming is replaced by running. Thus, a duathlon consists of three consecutive stages: running, cycling, running.

What caused the emergence of this sport? Many athletes who have tried to achieve high results in triathlon have stumbled upon the same obstacle - swimming. The reason for this is the fact that the vast majority of athletes come to triathlon from related sports: athletics, cycling, etc. Moreover, those who come from swimming have an undoubted advantage over other newly minted triathletes. This advantage lies in the fact that it is much easier and easier to catch up on running and cycling than learning to swim quickly and correctly. And if an athlete is not naturally gifted with the abilities of a swimmer in order to quickly learn the basics of swimming techniques at the dawn of adult life, then the path to triathlon threatens to turn into physical and moral torment for him. It is for this reason that the duathlon was created, allowing poor swimmers to realize themselves in this no less dramatic and spectacular sport.

In modern duathlon, 4 main competitive distances can be distinguished: sprint, including a combination of: 5 km running, 20 km cycling, 2.5 km running, standard or regular (10-40-5), long (20-80-10), powerman (“energetic” - similar to “iron man” (ironman) in triathlon). In order to receive the title of powerman, an athlete in duathlon must overcome the following distance: 10-150-30.

The highest level of tournaments held in duathlon is the World Championship. However, the highly democratic nature of this sport, which gives the opportunity to athletes with any level of training to participate in it, does not require large financial investments, and allows one to prepare for it in any conditions, brings closer the day when duathlon will become an Olympic sport. Then the competition uniform will be sold in luxury packaging, and not as now - in ordinary packaging.

You can prepare for duathlon competitions on your own, but at the same time you should not neglect the advice of a professional trainer. First you need to determine which start to take part in. Thanks to the Internet, you can find out the date, place and conditions of the upcoming duathlon competitions. And start preparing for a specific tournament.

In Russia, the number of people riding bicycles and doing regular or occasional morning and evening jogging is steadily growing. Thus, we can say with confidence that soon duathlon in our country will become a truly mass sport.

Cross-country skiing is one of six sports (also figure skating, ski jumping, hockey, Nordic combined and speed skating) that have been included in the program of all Winter Olympic Games. Women's competitions have been held at the Games since 1952.

The main styles of skiing are classic and free. The classic style includes those types of movement in which the athlete passes almost the entire distance along a pre-prepared ski track, consisting of two parallel lines. Freestyle is essentially synonymous with skating.

In Vancouver, 12 sets of medals will be competed - six each for men and women - in the following disciplines: individual sprint, team sprint, individual race, duathlon (pursuit), mass start and relay race.

At the 2006 Games in Turin, the women's winners were Estonian Kristina Smigun (duathlon, individual race), Canadian Chandra Crawford (individual sprint), Slovakian Katerina Neumanova (mass start), the Swedish team (team sprint) and the Russian team (relay). Among the men, the victory was celebrated by Russian Evgeny Dementyev (duathlon), Estonian Anders Veerpalu (individual race), Swede Bjorn Lind (individual sprint), Italian Giorgio Di Centa (mass start), the Swedish team (team sprint) and the Italian team (relay).

In addition to two gold medals, the Russian team won two silvers in Turin (Yulia Chepalova in the mass start, Evgeny Dementyev in the mass start) and three bronzes (Evgenia Medvedeva in the duathlon, Alena Sidko in the individual sprint, Ivan Alypov and Vasily Rochev in the team sprint) .

At the 2010 Games in Vancouver, Russia received the maximum possible representation - 20 participants (maximum 12 of the same gender).

Women's sprint. Ekaterina Chuikova, Elena Turysheva, Evgenia Shapovalova.
Women, distance. Irina Khazova, Natalya Korosteleva, Evgenia Medvedeva, Olga Zavyalova, Olga Rocheva, Olga Shchuchkina.
Men's sprint. Nikita Kryukov, Nikolay Morilov, Alexey Petukhov, Alexander Panzhinsky, Mikhail Devyatyarov.
Men, distance. Alexander Legkov, Maxim Vylegzhanin, Petr Sedov, Nikolai Pankratov, Sergei Novikov, Sergei Shiryaev.

Individual race

It takes place over a distance of 10 km for women and 15 km for men. Athletes start one by one with an interval of 30 seconds. The one who shows the best time wins.

Mass start

Athletes start the race at the same time, with skiers with a higher rating taking more advantageous places at the start - on the first line. The distance is 30 km for women and 50 km for men. The first one to cross the finish line wins. In a mass start, the winner often has to be determined by a photo finish.

Duathlon (pursuit)

Athletes start at the same time (skiers with a higher rating take more advantageous places at the start). They cover the first part of the distance in the classic style, after which they change skis and run freestyle. The distance for women is 15 km (7.5 km classic style, 7.5 km free), for men 30 km (15 km classic style, 15 km free). The first one to cross the finish line wins.

Individual Sprint

First there is a qualifying round, during which athletes, starting at 15-second intervals, run one lap (1.5 km for women and men). The top 30 skiers advance to the quarterfinals. Starting from this stage, skiers set off for the distance from a common start - six people per race. 12 athletes advance to the semifinals - the best two from each quarter-final six, as well as the two skiers from all the remaining skiers who showed the best time. The selection for final A is carried out in a similar way, where the six best skiers get to. They play for medals among themselves. The first one to cross the finish line wins. In addition, Final B is held, in which places from 6th to 12th are played out.

Team sprint

A team consists of two athletes. During the race, they take turns replacing each other after each lap, for a total of six laps (three for each team member). One lap - 1.5 km . When passing the baton, the skier must touch his teammate without interfering with the passing of the baton from competitors. First, two semi-finals are held, following which the top five teams advance to the final. The team whose representative crosses the finish line first wins.

Relay race

The race takes place over a distance of 20 km for women (four laps of 5 km) and 40 km for men (four laps of 10 km). Teams consist of four people, each of whom runs one stage. In this case, the first and second stages must be completed in the classical style, and the third and fourth - free. All teams start at the same time. When passing the baton, the skier must touch his teammate without interfering with the passing of the baton from competitors. The team whose representative crosses the finish line first wins.

The modern name of skiing dates back to 1924 and has changed many names over the period of its development. Pursuit-style skiing has become very popular in different countries, and therefore skiathlon was added to the list.

Skiathlon - what is it?

An entertaining and active sport, skiathlon is a mass race with elements of pursuit. Previously, it was called pursuit and duathlon, but in 2011 the sports committee decided to update the name of this sport. For this race you need to have good physical characteristics and endurance, because the race takes place over very long distances.

Many people do not know about skiathlon and what it is, and attribute it to water sports. But recently it has become fashionable to support and develop ski races, because they only have a positive effect on the entire body as a whole. Skiathlon is taught even in schools and universities, because active sports increase endurance and prepare a person for performance.

Skiathlon - rules

Like other sports, skiathlon has its own unique rules. The race itself involves one person, a representative of his team, city or country. The goal is to overtake everyone else during the ride. The distance of the path is divided into two equal intervals in distance, and having overcome one, the player changes skis and continues his path in a different style. Athletes ride in two ways:

• ridge;
• ordinary.

The winter sport skiathlon, the length of which comes in four types, 5, 7.5, 10 and 15 kilometers, is divided into men's and women's races. The rules remain the same for everyone, except that women's races are over shorter distances, but this does not mean that they will be easier to complete. The winner is the player who ideally masters both types of skiing.

What is skiathlon in cross-country skiing?

Each type of skiing has its own style. In skiathlon, movement occurs on a knurled ski track prepared in advance. The race requires a lot of strength in the hands, since the main emphasis is on them. Legs that are in a rut do not create the speed necessary for acceleration. Skiathlon develops ski racing and makes it more interesting, because the player’s victory depends not only on his physical capabilities, but also on:

• step frequency;
• frequency of repulsion with sticks;
• terrain.

Skiathlon - men

There is no clear division between men and women in the game; the running conditions are the same for everyone. The stronger half of humanity runs longer distances due to their endurance for physical activity. Skiing skiathlon chooses tall men with toned arms and legs. Many weightlifters play it in addition to their workouts to develop their muscles.

Skiathlon - women

It is curious that recently women have become interested in skiing. They are not stopped by the fact that they need to be physically resilient and regularly strengthen the muscles of their arms and legs. The distances for girls are shorter, but all the rules established by the sports committee remain the same. In order to get to world-class games, a girl must be at least 180 cm tall.

Every woman, when choosing skiathlon, should know what it is. At first glance, it may seem that this is an easy sport, but first impressions can be deceiving. Translated from English, skiathlon means ski wrestling, and as you know, wrestling is more suitable for men. In any case, a person chooses sports activities for himself, and if a girl decides to ski, then let her develop in this area.

Movement styles

The main styles of skiing are “classic style” and “free style”.

Classic style

The original, “classical style” includes those types of movement in which the skier passes almost the entire distance along a pre-prepared ski track, consisting of two parallel lines. “Classical” ski moves are divided according to the method of pushing off with poles into alternating and simultaneous. Based on the number of steps in one cycle, two-step, four-step and stepless moves are distinguished.

The most common are the alternating two-step stroke (used on flat areas and gentle slopes (up to 2°), and with very good gliding - on slopes of medium steepness (up to 5°)) and simultaneous single-step stroke (used on flat areas, on gentle slopes with good glide, as well as on slopes with satisfactory glide).

Free style

“Free style” implies that the skier is free to choose the method of movement along the distance, but since the “classic” move is inferior in speed to the “skate” move, “free style” is, in fact, synonymous with “skating move". Skating has been widely used since 1981, when Finnish skier Pauli Siitonen, then over 40, first used it in competition (in a 55 km race) and won.

The most common are the simultaneous two-step skating stroke (used both on flat areas and on slopes of small and medium steepness) and the simultaneous one-step skating stroke (used during starting acceleration, on any plains and flat sections of the distance, as well as on slopes up to 10-12° ).

Main types of cross-country skiing

• Time trial competitions
• Competitions with general start (mass start)
• Pursuit racing (pursuit, pursuit, Gundersen system)
• Relay races
• Individual Sprint
• Team sprint

Time trial competitions

In a time trial, athletes start at a certain interval in a certain sequence. As a rule, the interval is 30 seconds (less often - 15 seconds, 1 minute). The sequence is determined by a draw or the athlete’s current position in the ranking (the strongest start last). Pair time trials are possible. The final result of the athlete is calculated using the formula “finish time” minus “start time”.

Mass start competition

In a mass start, all athletes start at the same time. At the same time, athletes with the best ratings occupy the most advantageous places at the start. The final result coincides with the athlete’s finishing time.

Pursuit racing

Pursuit races are combined competitions consisting of several stages. In this case, the starting position of athletes at all stages (except the first) is determined based on the results of previous stages. As a rule, in cross-country skiing, the pursuit takes place in two stages, one of which athletes run in the classic style, and the other in the free style.

Pursuit races with a break are held over two days, less often - with an interval of several hours. The first race usually takes place with a time trial. Based on its final results, the gap from the leader for each participant is determined. The second race is held with a handicap equal to this gap. The winner of the first race starts first. The final result of the pursuit race coincides with the finishing time of the second race.

Pursuit without a break (duathlon) begins with a common start. After covering the first half of the distance with one style, athletes change skis in a specially equipped area and immediately overcome the second half of the distance with a different style. The final result of the pursuit race without a break coincides with the athlete’s finishing time.

Relay races

Teams consisting of four athletes (less often three) compete in relay races. Ski relay races consist of four stages (less often three), of which the 1st and 2nd stages are run in the classical style, and the 3rd and 4th stages are run in the free style. The relay begins with a mass start, with the most advantageous places at the start being determined by drawing lots or being given to the teams that took the highest places in previous similar competitions. The relay is transferred by touching the palm of any part of the body of the starting athlete of his team, while both athletes are in the relay transfer zone. The final result of the relay team is calculated using the formula “finishing time of the last team member” minus “starting time of the first team member.”

Individual Sprint

Individual sprint competitions begin with qualifications, which are organized in a time trial format. After qualifying, the selected athletes compete in the sprint finals, which are held in the form of races of different formats with a mass start. The number of athletes selected for the final races does not exceed 30. First, the quarter-finals are held, then the semi-finals and, finally, finals B and A. Athletes who did not qualify for final A take part in final B. The table of final results of the individual sprint is formed in the following order: Final A results, Final B results, quarter-final participants, unqualified participants.

Team sprint

The team sprint is conducted as a relay race with teams consisting of two athletes who take turns replacing each other, running 3-6 laps of the track each. If the number of entered teams is sufficiently large, two semi-finals are held, from which an equal number of the best teams are selected for the final. The team sprint begins with a mass start. The final result of the team sprint is calculated according to the relay rules.

Distance length

At official competitions, the distance ranges from 800 meters to 50 km. In this case, one distance can consist of several laps.

Links

• FIS - Federation Internationale De Ski (English)
• IOC - International Olympic Committee