wiredcanyon39 said:If we face the French or the English instead of the Germans, I’d say we’re in luck. Maybe our luck is finally turning.
Beating the Germans is going to be a massive uphill battle. Even if they aren't playing their absolute strongest lineup, they still have Qiu on the roster. He’s easily a top 10 player globally and just recently clinched a major championship title here in the States. Meanwhile, the French managed to pull through after the younger Lebrun dominated Walker in that deciding match.
I can't help but wonder who the Chinese players will be facing in the finals, and just how many sets they might drop along the way. Looking at the women's bracket, they've got four of the top players in the world on their side, and honestly, the men aren't far behind at all—we've got Fan, Ma Long, Liang, and Lin 😁 ready to go.
Calling all table tennis fans! There is an incredibly high-stakes tournament happening right now in Budapest, and honestly, the absolute cream of the crop is present in both brackets, with the exception of Fan, who is unfortunately missing. I was actually pleasantly surprised to see that SK is handling the broadcasts—it’s a total game-changer because finding decent streams has been a nightmare since this WTT series kicked off. Last week, there was a similar event here in Budapest with smaller categories, but you still had all the heavy hitters; Wang managed to take down SF Ma Long, only to face the Swede Moregard in the final. Unlike last week's setup, this week is strictly focused on the Men's and Women's singles.
Tomioka ended up getting knocked out in the first round by Jorgić.
It’s actually quite clever how the folks over at FIS have handled things. They've managed to balance out the race segments for both men and women, which isn't an issue at all. The women will be tackling 31 miles, but they decided to apply a different logic for the shorter disciplines. Essentially, they've scaled down the men's segments to match the current female lengths😵 New distances:
Sprint 6.2 miles Individual/Mass Start 12 miles Individual 12 miles Skiathlon 31 miles Mass Start
World Cup 2022/2023
Hand (FIN) Lillehammer (NOR) Beitostolen (NOR) Davos (SUI) Tour de Ski (Val Müstair (SUI), Oberstdorf (GER), Val di Fiemme (ITA)) Milan (ITA) Les Rousses (FRA) Toblach (ITA) World Championships Planica (SLO) Drammen (NOR) Holmenkollen (NOR) Falun (SWE) Tallinn (EST) Lahti (FIN)
On another interesting note, the incredible Canadian sprinter Lampič is actually leaving CC behind to move into biathlon. It's a really fascinating move, especially since the CC World Championships are being held right there in Canada next year.
Charlotte Kalla wrapped up her professional career at the Swedish Championship, and she did it by 9.3 miles taking the win . Meanwhile, 6.2 miles in CC, she finished third. It’s a truly wonderful way to end a career that was incredibly successful, highlighted by gold medals at the Olympics and the World Championships, along with 12 wins in CC and nearly 60 podium finishes. The only thing missing from her trophy case is the VKG, even though she was a consistent presence in the Top 10 Ski from 2008 all the way through 2019.
The Singaporean powerhouse has punched his ticket to the semifinals, and honestly, besides the Japanese player Uda, there haven't been any massive upsets. Lin put up some really solid resistance in his match against Ma Long, but in the end, it just wasn't enough to topple the legend. On the women's side, things are looking pretty predictable with the top four Chinese women sweeping into the semifinals. I was trying to catch the action on some unofficial stream on YouTube since WTT doesn't broadcast the marquee matchups, but they shut that down too—so looks like I'm out of luck for watching the semis live. Also, can we talk about that camera angle right in the middle of the table? I don't care how many times I watch it, I just can't get used to that view.
crimsoncobra36 said:Unfortunately, that’s all ancient history now, and the former Valbe is even older than that. Honestly, looking at her as someone coming out of that 80s era, I wouldn't dream of putting her in any GOAT conversation. When you're dealing with athletes from the old USSR days, we all know how that went—it was basically just state-sponsored doping factories working alongside East Germany and the rest of the Eastern Bloc.
It seems like she might have only had a shot at winning there. Honestly, ever since that whole doping scandal broke, she hasn't really been able to secure victories quite like she used to. 😉
At the Vasaloppet, athletes from all age groups can compete. Honestly, there’s no reason why these absolute legends couldn't face off in a rematch once in a while! My only gripe—as far as I know—is that they only allow classic style at that event. If freestyle were an option too, the GOAT would absolutely dominate. It would be such a close race otherwise! 😬
I hear what you’re saying regarding Vjalbe, but honestly, that’s a hurdle we see in so many sports—especially in track and field, where... It’s honestly baffling. Some absolutely ridiculous results from that era are still sitting there on the books. They haven't been wiped out at all, even though everyone knows those athletes were using horse tranquilizers. Doping—that’s exactly why I included her. She was defined by that era, plain and simple.
Sure, anyone can technically sign up for the Vasaloppet, and there are plenty of races lined up throughout the week, but this specific one... 56 miles Look, I'm the one calling the shots here, and let me tell you—you can find plenty of similar races happening over in the USA, Canada, or Japan. If you ever put Bjørgen and Johaug up against each other on this specific distance—no matter what kind of racing style they choose—I honestly think Therese Johaug would just blow them both away.😁
crimsoncobra36 said:She could have kept going, but she chose not to. Nobody is stopping her from competing until she's 40 if she really wants to 😁. She’s likely aware she won't ever claim that GOAT title, so why bother? Since the GOAT herself sent her personal congratulations, I think we should all join in on those well-wishes.
I’ll take peak Therese Johaug at any distance, every single time.9.3 miles + 😁
Let them settle things at the Vasaloppet in 56 miles, though Justyna Kowalczyk might just jump in there too, considering she’s actually won this legendary race. All jokes aside, I don't mind if Bjørn Kjeldebye is considered the greatest, but there are plenty of other elite racers out there besides those two. Adding to that list, we've got Skar, Vjalbe, and my personal favorite from when I first started following cross-country skiing—the Italian racer Belmonde.
Sundling absolutely toyed with the competition during that final sprint—it was honestly wild to watch. Even though she’s clearly the top sprinter right now, the small crystal globe is headed to Maja Dahlqvist.
By capitalizing on the fact that Klæbo missed those last two sprints, Jouve managed to clinch today's win and take home the sprinting globe title.
Last year, the World Tour was completely sidelined due to everything going on globally. This year, however, the ITTF is rolling out this brand-new series that looks set to redefine the WT entirely. I believe this specific tournament features the largest prize pool we've ever seen, sitting at a massive $2 million! Plus, all the heavy hitters and major stars are showing up to compete in both brackets.
Robin Grant said:The Norwegians took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd! If I heard the commentator correctly, this is the first time we've seen such a sweep at Holmenkollen in decades, maybe since the eighties.
I went to check the stats, and the last time that kind of dominance happened was back in 1985. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmenkollen_50_km It’s actually quite fascinating that the legendary Bjørn Dæhlie never secured a win here at Holmenkollen. Looking at the current field, I think Bolshunov could potentially grab another victory here and cement his status as the greatest at Holmenkollen—that is, if we don't count the legends who raced a century ago.
Meanwhile, over in Sweden, they just finished another legendary race, the Vasaloppet. 56 miles It's essentially the marathon equivalent of cross-country skiing where anyone can sign up; nearly 16,000 people participated today! Even Therese Johaug's brother joined the fray and pulled off an impressive 10th place finish.
What an incredible venue for a maiden victory! Nyenget pulled off a massive upset at 31 miles during the legendary Holmenkollen race. Ivo unfortunately fell short again, finishing just 4th. It was such a missed opportunity for him, especially since wasn't there to compete, and the rest of the Norwegian A-team had been sidelined until recently. Plus, the course conditions were perfectly suited to his specific style.
The rumors were right all along—Therese Johaug is heading into her final race tomorrow at the legendary Holmenkollen during the SK. Honestly, she could have easily dominated the sport for years to come, but it seems like after sweeping those gold medals at the last Olympics, she’s already checked everything off her bucket list. Let's hope she grabs one last win to close it all out.
I honestly didn't see Fallo taking down Sundling in the sprint, but clearly, having the home-field advantage and that electric atmosphere in Drammen worked wonders for her. This marks her first win in her specific discipline in two years. In the men's race, Jouve finally managed to snag a sprint victory after a string of podium finishes amidst today's incredibly tough competition. Johannes Klæbo and the rest of the top Norwegian squad are looking pretty stoked.
Looking ahead, this Sunday features perhaps the most legendary cross-country race out there, the Vasaloppet, which is actually celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. They're expecting about 50,000 participants competing across various categories.
Just a little reminder 😁 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2mw...=ignatyukpavel
Robin Grant said:It’s been a long time since I felt this much joy watching someone cross the finish line first—just like how Therese edged out Nepryaeva by a mere second! Honestly, it’s hard to wrap my head around how they're even allowed to compete anymore. Huge props to Therese!!
It looks like there’s zero downtime for Therese Johaug; she just snagged another win, even if the fight for the overall title took a backseat this time. Nepryaeva definitely walked away with the biggest advantage here by widening the gap between herself and Diggins in the race for the overall title, but there's some heavy speculation swirling that the Swedes and Norwegians might block Russian athletes from competing on their home turf, leaving everyone wondering what's going to happen to that canceled season finale in Tyumen.
Finally, some action in Europe after that total washout in China, Aspen, and Finland!👍 Sundling dominated the sprint once again, though Johannes Klæbo managed to edge her out by a hair this time in the sprint ahead of Chanavat.
Gary Ward20 said:How is it even possible that they aren't mentioning any makeup dates for the races scheduled in France and at Mount Everest? It was just as confusing to me when they canceled a whole bunch of the women's ski jumping events without any clue about rescheduling...
Let's be honest here—there are very few countries where Combined events are actually followed closely, and don't even get me started on the women's jumping, the money and the sheer overhead costs are likely the biggest factors. Plus, you have to consider the current COVID situation and how close we are to the Olympics; even if they tried to hold these competitions, most of the top athletes would end up missing them anyway. As for finding new dates, there simply isn't any room left on the calendar.