Santtu Silvennoinen
Only a few female skiers are fighting for places on the podium, writes Santtu Silvennoinen from Kuusamo.
There is room for new top talents in women’s cross-country skiing. Illustration image. PDO
Who are the three best female skiers in the world with traditional skiing?
Iltalehti’s skiing expert Pirjo Muranen pondered the question for a long time and mentioned Ebba Andersson, Frida Karlsson and Astrid Slindi.
Kerttu Niskanen’s name came up fourth.
After that there was a moment of silence until Katharina Hennig, Heidi Weng and Krista Pärmäkoski were brought into the conversation.
– There is room for new successes, Muranen stated – and hit the heart of the matter.
After a few top names, the international level in women’s cross-country skiing, especially with the traditional way of progression, is extremely weak.
Olympic champion Sami Jauhojärvi announced in the Taustapiru podcast that on normal trips in women’s skiing, there are 6-7 athletes fighting for podium places.
The end of Therese Johaug’s career, Victoria Carl’s doping scandal and the collective ban of Natalija Neprjayeva and other Russians are shown in a dull way.
