Print textWinter Viking Games 2001
Team of the Viking-Nevo club is the winner of the Winter Viking Games 2001!
In February of the year 2001 the team of the Viking-Nevo club took part in the Winter Viking Games for the second time. During the training process the team paid more attention to fast skiing and good ski-changing because of last year experience. With the first snow the Viking-Nevo team started everyday practice. Many kilometers were passed on Viking skis and ski-changing became almost automatic. The task for the Viking-Nevo club in the coming Games was improving the last debut year result (the second place) and trying to win the Winter Viking Games.
The Viking-Nevo team of the year 2001:
- Max Pryazhevsky,
- Tanya Suhoruchenkova,
- Olga Titova,
- Sergey Suhoruchenkov.
The team of the Viking-Nevo club came to Finland to its good friends some days before the competition because the acclimatization is one of the important things of successful skiing. Before the start the team decided to continue trainings in Helsinki which included skiing in the forest, swimming and, of course, procedures in the Finnish sauna two times a day.
The day before the start of the Winter Vikings Games the Viking-Nevo team visited World Ski Championships which was held in Lahti at the same time and where Russian joint-team had excellent results. Russian Vikings met the famous Finnish skier Juha Mieto who is the idol of the whole Finland. The meeting was very nice and warm especially after tasting together hot Russian tea. After that Juha Mieto wrote his name on the Viking-Nevo skis and wish good luck in the Winter Viking Games. Who knows maybe it took its role in future.
Six teams took part in the Winter Viking Games of the year 2001. Each team was ready to fight. As usual the main favorites of the Games were Vikings from the Grey Wolves team — twice and only winners of the ancient biathlon. As before the Russian team was not attended much so the only way for the team to show itself was to win the Games. And the Viking-Nevo team had done it!
On the competition day, on February 25 the Vikings came to the Läntinen Pukkisaari island long before the start. Every team wanted to try the race before the Games. The distance for skiing was enlarged half as much in compare with the previous year. But it only gave more confidence to the Viking-Nevo team and confirmed the right choice of the training process.
After the start Max from Viking-Nevo who was skiing on first stage was lucky not to fall down as other Vikings and provided the big advantage over main group. After that the Viking-Nevo team did not let anybody to come at a short distance. Tanya and Olga who were skiing then kept the leading position and Sergey Suhoruchenkov, the captain of the team, finished his part of the race confidently and brought the victory in the Winter Viking Games to the Viking-Nevo club! The Rus farers team got the second place and the Grey Wolves who had some problems with equipment during the race were only the third for the surprise.
Final standings:
- Viking-Nevo club (Smolensk, Russia),
Max Pryazhevsky, Tanya Suhoruchenkova, Olga Titova, Sergey Suhoruchenkov - Rus-farers (Finland),
- Grey Wolves (Finland),
prize for the best ancient clothing and equipment - Fibula (Finland),
- NEFA (Finland),
- Viikinkiajan laiva (Finland).
The rewarding ceremony and traditional Viking meeting with the onion soup were organized after the race. The main prize of the Games is the hand-made bailer from the Viking ship Rus wrecked in the Baltic Sea in 1996. The main prize belonged to the Grey Wolves team for two years and now it left Finland and found its home in the Viking-Nevo club in Smolensk for one year at least.
The special prize for the best ancient clothing and equipment became the poor consolation for the Grey Wolves team. After the Games the Viking-Nevo team spent some time in Finland with its good friends. The main prize of the Winter Viking Games went to Smolensk and will see it Finland only next winter.
