January 15th 2025 – PRAGELATO PLAN, 15 January – The breathtaking trails of Pragelato Plan set the stage for a thrilling day of cross-country skiing at the 32nd FISU World University Games Winter. Under beautiful, sunny weather with spring-like conditions, athletes pushed their endurance to the limit in the 10 km individual freestyle races for both men and women in Cross Country and Para Cross Country.
Men’s 10 km Individual Freestyle: It was a battle of speed and stamina, but in the end, Olaf Martin Aaserud Talmo (NOR) proved unstoppable, crossing the finish line in 24:21.0 to claim gold. Finland’s Nico Bennert put up a strong fight, finishing just 6.8 seconds behind, while Bulgaria’s Mario Matikanov secured bronze with a time of 24:38.2, rounding out an impressive podium. Talmo said afterwards: “The last lap was absolutely awful. The altitude makes it very hard to ski, but I tried to push the entire way. The race was very hard, but I felt good. I think I got it at the end. I retired two years ago, now I just ski for fun, so it was a surprise for me to win the race.”
Para Cross-Country Standing (10 km): Germany’s Marco Maier (LW6 – 96%) stormed to victory with an adjusted time of 22:37.3, demonstrating remarkable control and power on the course. Denis Zinov (KAZ, LW3 – 87%) took silver, finishing with an adjusted time of 26:02.6, nearly four minutes back. Armenia’s Garik Melkonyan (LW6 – 95%) put in a valiant effort to secure bronze in 26:28.6, making for a hard-fought competition. Maier said: “Nice result, very happy with the race. Of course, it’s not a World Cup competition, you have to be able to categorise that, but I’m still satisfied. I started a bit fast, which I felt at the end, but otherwise I felt really good and the tracks were also very good. I’ll do my best in the next race too, even though classic isn’t really my discipline, I’ll have to see what happens.”
Para Cross-Country Visually Impaired (10 km): Finland’s Inkki Inola (NS3 – 100%), guided by Reetu Inkila, dominated the field with an unchallenged pace, finishing in 22:51.4. Germany’s Lennart Mattis Volkert (NS2 – 97%), guided by Nils Kolb, followed in second with an adjusted time of 23:33.4, while Kazakhstan’s Roman Kurbanov (NS3 – 100%), guided by Anton Zhdanovich, completed the podium in 28:17.1. Inkki Inola in the Mixed Zone: “It’s a great feeling! The race was very hard, but I enjoy skiing. My skis were excellent today! My guide did also a very good job today. I dedicate this medal to my parents, coach and sponsors.”
Women’s 10 km Individual Freestyle: Poland’s Izabela Marcisz put on a masterclass in endurance and power, claiming the gold medal with a dominant time of 28:08.7. Her victory was built on a fast start and a relentless pace that no one could match in the closing kilometers. The loudest cheers of the day, however, were for Italy’s Maria Eugenia Boccardi, who secured silver in 28:11.6, finishing just 2.9 seconds behind Marcisz. The home crowd roared as Boccardi put in a gutsy performance, keeping the race for gold alive until the very last stretch. Rounding out the podium, Switzerland’s Carla Nina Wohler crossed the finish line in 28:23.2, taking bronze 14.5 seconds behind the winner. Wohler’s well-paced effort allowed her to hold off a competitive chasing pack – among them her twin sister Gianna Chiaria who finished 6th –, securing a well-earned spot on the podium.
Izabela Marcisz said: “I tried to fight till the end. I heard at the top of the hill, that I was 28 seconds ahead and at the finish line realized it was only 3 seconds. I tried to fight till the end, because I was super tired. But I am really happy that I won. Of course, it was my goal, like for everyone else in this field.”
Runner-up Boccardi said: “I am very satisfied, because there were many athletes on the starting list who compete at a high level in the World Cup or World Championships and therefore it was not easy to stay ahead. For me today is extra cool, because it is always nice to represent Italy in international events, but today we are at home and that makes it even nicer!
I know in the end it was just 2,9 seconds, but on the track I really didn’t care of the times, my head was elsewhere and focusing on the race which I think I managed better than the athletes that started before me.
It is very difficult for me with the studies – I attend the University of Environmental Engineering in Trento – because of the many trips I have to take for my competitions and training. So every now and then I have to give up something, but I am in my third year and I should be able to graduate.”
Para Cross-Country Visually Impaired (10 km) – Women: It was a German one-two finish in the women’s visually impaired 10 km freestyle, with Leonie Maria Walter (GER) and her guide Christian Krasman securing gold in an adjusted time of 25:37.9. Walter’s strong pace and seamless coordination with her guide allowed her to control the race from start to finish.
Teammate Johanna Recktenwald (GER), guided by Emily Rose Weiss, followed in second place with an adjusted time of 26:50.8, ensuring a dominant German presence on the podium. Poland’s Aneta Kobryn, guided by Katarzyna Witek, took bronze in 31:46.3.
Leonie Marie Walter said: “It’s really cool that we can also run on the track with other student-athletes so that we can compare ourselves a bit. It would have been nice if we had also been allowed to run the 3.3 km course, but even so I’m happy that we were able to represent our sport and simply show what we can do. I tried to set a bit of a pace right from the start so that I had a lead and a bit of a buffer to hold on to until the end and just be on the safe side.”
ALPINE SKIING
The Alpine Ski competitions of the 32nd FISU World University Games Winter opened today at Melezet with the Alpine Combined Super-G and Slalom for the women. A field of 34 started with the Super-G in the morning. The fastest three women on the Super-G took their advantage into the Slalom race in the afternoon and managed to maintain their positions.
Therefore, the Alpine Combined competition was won by Emy Charbonnier from France, ahead of Sophie Nyberg Sophie from Sweden and Louison Accambray, also from France. Afterwards, Emy Charbonnier stated: “The conditions were very good today. The organisers did a lot of work in the last two days to make sure the track was good enough to race. Also, the weather was great for racing! I didn’t expect so much from this event, more from the other events, but of course I’m really happy.”
FREESTYLE SKIING
In Dual Moguls, three out of six medals went to student-athletes from Kazakhstan. Jackson Edward Crockett from USA took bronze, In second place there was Japan’s Shima Kawaoka. Gold went to Anton Bondarev from Kazakhstan. “Today I was strong and angry about losing yesterday, that’s why I was so fast,” he said after his performace. And I’m thrilled for winning for my country and for all the medals that were earned by us.”
Dual moguls is a sport with great emotional input because the protagonists often have to compete against their teammates. As it happened in Women’s competiton when Anastassiya Gorodko, gold medallist in the women’s single moguls, challenged her friend and compatriot Ayaulym Amrenova. The Kazakhs athletes got first and second place respectively. Bronze medal instead went to Japan’s Marin Ito. Gorodko called Amrenova “her best friend”, and the runner-up said: “We are not only team mates, we are a family. Today, Kazakhstan won.“
