Russia’s Petushkov is Unbeatable at Nordic Skiing World Cup

After the final two Cross Country (CC) races of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Nordic Skiing World Cup in Minneapolis, USA, on 1-2 February, it came as no surprise that Russia leads the rankings list.

In the men’s Sitting events Russia’s Roman Petushkov was again unbeaten to solidify his lead in the World Cup rankings. His teammate Irek Zaripov is ranked second after taking silver in both the CC Sprint and 18km Long Distances races. Third in the rankings is France’s Romain Rosique, despite coming fourth in both events in Minneapolis. Two bronze medals went instead to Canada’s Chris Klebl.

“3rd race(sprint), 3rd podium. Another day of great support. Racking up some solid World Cup points. One more tomorrow, then a short break,” Klebl tweeted from @chrisklebl on Wednesday after the Cross Country Sprint.

“Today was my last race for a few weeks. Another podium. This one included a damaged binding + ski switch mid race,” Klebl added after Thursday’s Long Distance event.

In the Visually Impaired races, Russia took the top three ranking positions in the men’s and women’s CC events.

Elena Remizova is ranked first in the women’s event, after taking gold in the 12km CC Long Distance and silver in the CC Sprint. Valentina Nevidimova is ranked second and Iulia Budaleeva third.

In the men’s events, Chokhlaev Stanislaw is leading the ranking list after taking gold in the 18km CC Long Distance and silver in the CC Sprint. His teammate Nikolay Polukhin, ranked second, took gold in the Sprint and silver in the Long Distance race. Alexey Toropov is ranked third.

In the men’s Cross Country Standing, two Russians – Vladimir Kononov and Rushan Minnegulov – also lead the rankings, though both skiers failed to medal in Minneapolis.

Gold went to Norway’s Vegard Dahle, ranked third over all, in the men’s Cross Country Sprint Standing. Norway’s Nils-Erik Ulset (ranked fifth) won silver and Russia’s Kiril Mikhaylov (ranked fourth) took bronze.

Mikhaylov won gold in the men’s 18km Cross Country Long Distance with Ulset taking silver and Dahle bronze.

In the women’s Standing events, Poland’s Katarzyna Rogowiec is still dominating the rankings list after taking gold in the 12km Cross Country Long Distance and bronze in the Cross Country Sprint. Ranked second is Finland’s Maija Jarvela after she took gold in the Cross Country Sprint and bronze in the Long Distance race. Japan’s Shoko Ota is ranked third after winning silver in both events.

Norway’s Mariann Marthinsen won gold in both the women’s Cross Country Sprint and Long Distance Sitting events in Minneapolis, thus extending her lead in the World Cup rankings. Germany’s Anja Wicker is ranked second after taking silver and bronze in those events respectively. Russia’s Svetlana Konovalova is holding on to her third place in the rankings, despite not medalling in Minneapolis.