-
Youngsters share the stage
For the tenth time in a row, the FIS Youth Grand Prix has been held at Oberstdorf this weekend, giving 74 young Nordic combined athletes from 9 nations the opportunity to share the spotlight with their sports' best athletes. On top of one individual competition, the organizers also offered an additional programme consisting of a fitness test, group activities and a seminar for the coaches.
This year, Wille Karhumaa from Finland won the competition in the age group of the thirteen year-olds with a jump of 57 metres and a cross-country time of 12.07.0 for 4 km of roller-skiing. He was followed by Estonia's Kevin Maltsev and Rok Jelen from Slovenia on the second and third place. In the age group of the fourteen year-olds, Vid Vrhovnik from Slovenia claimed the top spot on the podium (57 m, cross-country time 16.13.2 for 6 km). He shared it with Dominik Terzer from Austria on rank 2, followed by Germany's Tim Westerbeck who ranked third.
Technical Delegate Sandra Spitz: "This year, the participation is really high. The organizers understood it very well to fit the schedule of the Youth Grand Prix with the Summer Grand Prix, giving the young athletes the opportunity to witness what is going on on the highest level of their sport and take these influences home. This is important for their development training-wise but also on a social level."
Assistant TD Uwe Mühln adds: "The little ones are very thirsty for information. They ask very specifically what we are doing, how we are doing it and why. These are the athletes who will be competing in the World Cup in ten years, so we try keep the sequences of operations around the competitions identical, so the young ones can learn."
During the price giving ceremony in the evening, the youngsters even were awarded their trophies by the winners of the FIS Summer Grand Prix 2012. A great finale to a surely great weekend for the future of Nordic Combined.You can find the result lists here: