will the meme come true at the Falun World Cup?

Iivo and Kerttu Niskanen about the race together have been joked on social media. Matti Matikainen

Who do you want to pair with?

– Kertun.

The meme described above Iivo and Kerttu Niskasesta Funny people on social media during the Beijing Olympics. However, Kerttu got married Krista PärmäkoskiIivo Joni Mäki.

Skiing the siblings in a pair of five-ring races wasn’t even theoretically possible, as it wasn’t a mixed race.

At the Falun World Cup this weekend, the meme can instead come true. The World Cup ends on Sunday with a free-to-do mixed pair message and a 4×5 mile mixed message.

However, the joke is unlikely to materialize.

– That’s for sure. However, the sprint track is stressful. There will be big differences in the double message easily, Iltalehti’s expert Reijo Jylhä give a laugh.

In the mixed doubles qualifier, both team athletes will ski one lap. The times will be added together and the top 20 teams will advance to the final stage.

Each athlete will ski six laps in the final. The two weakest teams will be knocked out every two rounds.

The 4X5 kilometer mixed message is skied in the woman-man-man-woman order.

Jylhä emphasizes that it makes sense for endurance machines like Niskaste to ski in the message.

– Cross-country skiers should be included in the normal message. Make sure everyone is within their own strengths.

Each country is allowed to put two teams in the competitions.

Hard records

Mixed messaging is not a new innovation. In cross-country skiing, this was already competed in December 2002 in connection with the Ruka World Cup.

Women skied five, men ten miles. Jylhä, who was the head coach of the Finnish national team at the time, has good memories of the event.

– We took a double win!

They competed in the first team in Finland Pirjo Manninen, Teemu Kattilakoski, Ari Palolahti and Annimari Viljanmaa. The second team was represented by, among others Riitta-Liisa Roponen and Sami Jauhojärvi.

Jylhä believes that mixed messaging will continue to be a potential success for Finland.

– I think we can do better in mixed races than in a normal message. We don’t currently want to have four cross-country skiers in women or men. We would already have a potential normal distance mixed messaging team.

The story continues after the picture.

Finland will release its mixed racing team on Saturday after the men’s and women’s regular races.

Jylhä believes in Pärmäkoski, Kerttu Niskanen, Iivo Niskanen and Perttu Hyvärinen forming the number one Finnish message team.

Jasmi Joensuu, Johanna Matintalo, Joni Mäki and Lauri Vuorinen lean on the sprint side of the expert scale. Ristomatti Hakola no longer competing in Falun.

– Of these, it suddenly makes up for the best names. I don’t see any challenges in forming teams, even though the races are on the same day. The best and willing will get to ski.

To continue?

In Falun, it is a test event, after which it is considered whether there will be mixed races in the World Cup or even in the championships.

The rugged one shows the green light for the experiment.

– It is good for the international activities of the species that there are as many good countries as possible participating. Mixed races bring more countries. That is a very good thing.

– If you look at the posts of the World Cross Country Skiing Cup and compare it to biathlon, there are half as many teams. Something of this type is worth bringing to the World Cup when you’re in the same locality.

The mixed message will be skied in Finnish time on Sunday at 11.30. The qualifying for the mixed pair will start at 1:15 p.m.