Nikolai Zimyatov, Soviet skier: biography, sports awards, coaching. Nikolay Zimyatov: personal life

Today, June 28, four-time Olympic champion, King of Skis Nikolai Zimyatov, celebrates his 60th birthday. Nikolai Zimyatov won three gold medals at distances of 30, 50 km and in the 4x10 km relay at the 1980 Olympic Games in Lake Placid, America, and four years later he added another gold medal at a distance of 30 km at the Winter Games in Sarajevo-84.

In 1978, Nikolai received his first “baptism” at the 78 World Cup in Lahti (Finland). The first 30 km race and the first silver medal. His senior comrades congratulated him on his initiative, and coach Alexey Kholostov said: “We are starting to prepare for the Olympic Games-80, which will be held in the USA.” And now this day has come. On February 14, 57 participants took off in Lake Placid. Nikolai has the 56th starting number. The weather is ideal -4° C. The first 10 km have been completed. Zimyatov little by little takes the lead, never completely losing the lead to anyone - 1:27.02.80. When the athlete finally found out that he had become an Olympic champion, when asked by journalists what he was thinking about now, he answered: “Now I’m not ashamed to return home.”

On February 20, the USSR team consisting of V. Rochev (senior), N. Bazhukov, S. Belyaev and our hero of the day defeats competitors in the relay race. Two gold awards are ours. February 23. Start at 50 km. And again our hero of the day is the best - 2:27.24.60. Three Olympic gold medals for a guy who is not yet 25 years old.

Nikolai’s participation in the Olympic Sarajevo (Yugoslavia) at the XIV Games in 1984 sneaked up unnoticed. On February 10, 72 of the world's best skiers started the 30-kilometer race. The lot favors Nicholas. His last number is 72. And this, of course, if the athlete is well prepared, is a powerful argument in the fight for victory. Nikolai took advantage of the chance, and again his time was the best - 1:28.56.3. This is how the first and so far only four-time Olympic champion in cross-country skiing was born in our country. In the relay we are second behind the Swedes (Sweden - 1:55.06.5 and USSR - 1:55.16.5).

Zimyatov - Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1980), Honored Coach of the USSR. He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1980), the Order of Friendship of Peoples (1984), and medals for sporting achievements. Lives in the village. Pervomaiskoye, Moscow region.

Nikolay Zimyatov - “King of Skis”

In 1954, at the World Championships in Falun, Soviet racer Vladimir Kuzin became the first Soviet world champion, winning the 50 and 30 km races. The Swedish king solemnly presented him with a large silver cup for this, on which was engraved: “To the King of Skis from the King of Sweden.” In addition to Kuzin, the “kings of skis” over the years were: Matti Raivio (Finland), Nikolai Zimyatov (USSR), Gunde Svan (Sweden), Mika Myllylä (Finland), Petter Northug (Norway). It should be noted that in this list of “kings” Nikolai Zimyatov is the only one who managed to win these two distances at the Olympic Games; the rest of the “kings” won their victories at the world championships, which are held twice as often.

Based on materials from G.A. Smirnov and Wikipedia

Editorial "L.S." I sincerely congratulate Nikolai Semyonovich on his anniversary and wish him good health!!!

The daring path to the top is difficult,
It's difficult for leaders today...
We know: we can win,
If we perform a miracle!
N. Dobronravov. "Heroes of Sports"

I had the opportunity to communicate with the famous skier only once - in August 2005, Vladimir Kuzin then came to Arkhangelsk to lay the foundation for a new roller ski track at the stadium in Malye Korely. He also brought with him the legendary cup, received half a century earlier from the hands of the King of Sweden. “I would like skis, men's skis, to become better. Moreover, Russia is a big, snowy country, and our skiing has always been great,” Vladimir Semenovich said then. 10 years ago he passed away, remaining in history as the only official “King of Skis.”

The biography of Vladimir Semenovich Kuzin is as unique and fantastic as it can only be with gifted, talented people, real nuggets. He was born on July 15, 1930 in the ancient Pomeranian village of Lampozhnya. From his parents' house, as a boy, Volodya Kuzin ran every day on skis to school in Mezen - 15 kilometers there and 15 kilometers back. These were the first training sessions of the future champion. “I celebrated my first victory in skiing competitions in the war year of 1943, when as a 13-year-old schoolboy I won the district championship and received a prize of fantastic wartime value - a set of underwear. After this success, skiing “fascinated” me, I was looking forward to the winter so I could ski to my heart’s content,” he recalled. In the winter of 1946, he was asked to perform as part of the team of the fishing state farm named after. Paris Commune, where he worked. He ran in felt boots and on heavy skis with primitive bindings. No one took this participant into account. Moreover, the young man competed with older, regionally famous racers. But already during his first start, Volodya showed a remarkable quality: not to be timid in front of the masters. He ran without any plan, but with all his might. As a result, he showed the best result in the race. And, by the way, then for a long time he performed in a simple way - on skis in felt boots, and at the most prestigious sporting competitions. “After the 8th grade, due to my father’s illness, I was forced to quit school, because our family was originally Russian - nine children, we had to adequately replace the breadwinner. In Lampozhna I was in charge of the radio center, I really enjoyed entertaining my fellow villagers. All these years, the passion for skiing has not faded; perhaps, on the contrary, it has flared up,” said Vladimir Semenovich.

Then he went to sea as a sailor on whaling ships and the legendary icebreaking steamship Georgy Sedov, and entered the technical school of physical education. At the same time, he constantly strived to train, gain experience and skill. He developed a unique running style. And although there were many errors in the technique of movements, they paid off with remarkable natural qualities - endurance and physical strength. He was enterprising and dexterous, and during the race he devoted himself entirely to the fight. When Kuzin raced along the course, the spectators only gasped: as if this young man had broken his ski poles - he pushed off with them very violently. “Until the fall of 1952, classes were mostly independent, they were stimulated by numerous competitions held in those years. Before being drafted into the army, I won the championship of the Arkhangelsk region, then the RSFSR and the Soviet Union among rural youth. In the army he became the champion of the Arkhangelsk Military District,” he recalled. Apparently, this army victory served as a compelling reason for the transfer of Sergeant Kuzin from Arkhangelsk to Leningrad, to the school of trainers of the Red Banner Military Institute of Physical Culture. In 1953, he became the USSR champion in cross-country skiing at a distance of 18 km.

International success awaited him a year later at the World Championships in Falun (Sweden). Vladimir Kuzin became the first Soviet world champion in cross-country skiing at distances of 50 and 30 km. The Dagens Nyheter newspaper wrote that year: “Kuzin is a worthy ski king. His running style requires enormous strength. One might even ask: has there ever been a more magnificent skier? His main rival was the famous Finnish racer Veiko Hakkulinen. Their fight at the 50 km marathon was especially exciting. Kuzin himself recalled how this victory was given to him: “I got this gold medal with inhuman pain in the literal sense of the word. And it’s all my fault. Right from the start, he took the lead and increased it kilometer after kilometer. By the checkpoint at the thirty kilometer, my advantage over my main rival, the Finnish racer Veiko Hakkulinen, was about two minutes. Many foreign coaches and expert specialists regarded this tactic as adventurous. “Even though Kuzin is the world champion at thirty, it is impossible to maintain such speed until the finish line,” they argued. When there was very little left to the finish line, I really felt unbearable. I was still weak, but what seemed to let me down at first glance was a small thing - my clothes. The competition took place in fairly cold weather, and at the finish line, when the main reserves of energy were already used up, my light sweater did not save me from the cold. On long, protracted descents, the wind covered the entire body like an icy compress, and the abdominal muscles began to cramp. I wanted to scream from the acute pain. To relieve the pain even a little, I punched myself in the stomach, squatted, did some exercises while walking - nothing helped. There was only one way out - to walk, gritting your teeth and trying not to pay attention to this wild pain. Of course, my opponents knew nothing about my suffering. Hakkulinen made an unusually strong push at the finish, and almost made up for it, reducing the gap to 8 seconds. But he couldn’t catch up with me.”

King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden (who, by the way, was involved in alpine skiing in his youth) solemnly presented him with a large cup for this unique sporting achievement, on which was engraved: “To the King of Skis from King Gustav VI of Sweden.” This was the first and last ski “coronation”. After this incident, a tradition was established in the ski world of awarding the unofficial title of “king of skis” to a racer who would win at distances of 30 and 50 km within the same World Championship or Olympic Games. In addition to Kuzin, the “kings of skis” over the years were: Matti Raivio (Finland), Nikolai Zimyatov (USSR), Gunde Svan (Sweden), Mika Myllula (Finland), Petter Northug (Norway). But Kuzin remained in history as the only official holder of this honorary title.

In 1956, Soviet athletes took part in the Winter Olympic Games for the first time in the Italian city of Cortina d'Ampezzo. The debut was crowned with a victory in the 4x10 km relay, and Vladimir Kuzin once again went down in history - among the first Soviet skiers - Olympic champions. It was he who made a significant contribution to the victory of our four. As the most experienced and famous racer, he was entrusted with the right to perform at the most important final stage. He coped with his task with honor and crossed the finish line first, becoming the first Soviet skier to win the Olympics and the World Championship. In 1958, he again won the USSR Championship at a distance of 15 km. Since 1959, he became the head coach of the Armed Forces ski team. He was preparing for the start of his second Olympics - in Squaw Valley, California in 1960. “I was, as they say, on a “dashing horse,” but... I didn’t manage to speak - I was sick, just caught a cold. Nina Grigorievna Fedorova - our dear, caring doctor - quite quickly “dealt with” my illness. In principle, I was ready to participate, everything was bubbling inside me, my muscles were languishing with the thirst for competitive wrestling. However, the coaches did not take risks. At the same Olympics, Pavel Kolchin, one of the leaders of our team, was also struck down by illness. Moreover, here everything was much more complicated, Pavel’s suffering was difficult to watch, the diagnosis remained an unsolved mystery. The version that had the most supporters was poisoning. So unexpectedly and quite thoroughly at this Olympics the male composition of our team was weakened,” said Kuzin.

Upon returning from Squaw Valley, without delay or hesitation, he accepted the position of head coach of the Leningrad Regional Council Dynamo. Vladimir Kuzin’s coaching “peak of Pobeda” occurred in the late 1960s - early 1970s, when he was entrusted with training the country’s main team. “I am happy that I was able to feel joy for the successes of the students: Valery Tarakanov, Vladimir Voronkov, Yuri Skobov, Anatoly Akentyev, Vladimir Dolganov... I was pleasantly surprised and amazed that their successful performances at prestigious competitions are even more inspiring and warm the soul the sooner your own victories. It is very important for the national team coach to learn to share this joy with each athlete’s personal trainer. We must not forget a single co-author of a sporting achievement; I generally consider such forgetfulness to be the highest form of ingratitude,” said Vladimir Kuzin. In 1972, Kuzin’s passion for sports science led him to successfully defend his dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Biological Sciences. At the national team level, he clearly preferred the team form of training. “I consider this to be our national specificity,” he repeatedly stated.

Every summer he tried to come to his native Lampozhnya and visit his parents’ house. Now the villagers have taken care of the house. The local TOS renovated the first floor and set up stands with materials about their great fellow countryman. There is a bust nearby, and the street is named after him. For three decades, traditional ski races for the Vladimir Kuzin prize have been held in Mezen and Moscow. And since 2010, the ski stadium in Malye Karely has been named after the great athlete. This means that he is still in service today, at a distance, and serves as an inspiring example of sportsmanship and the will to win.

All over the world, skiing has become one of the most popular winter sports. There is no sport that is more democratic, accessible, so closely connected with nature and so beneficial for humans. The appearance of skis was due to man's need to hunt for food in winter and move across snow-covered terrain.

: HISTORY OF SKIING The first written documents about the use of sliding skis date back to the 6th-7th centuries. V. n. e. Gothic monk Jordanes in 552, Greek historians Jordan in the 6th century. , Abel the Deacon in 770 describe the use of skis by the Laplanders and Finns in everyday life and in hunting. At the end of the 7th century. The historian Verefrid gave a detailed description of skis and their use by the peoples of the North in hunting animals.

The Norwegians were the first to show interest in skiing as a sport. In 1733, Hans Emakhusen published the first manual on ski training for troops with a clearly sporting bias. In 1767, the first competitions were held in all types of skiing (according to modern concepts): biathlon, slalom, downhill and racing. The world's first exhibition of various types of skis and ski equipment was opened in Trondheim in 1862 -1863. In 1877, the first ski sports society was organized in Norway, and soon a sports club was opened in Finland. Then ski clubs began to function in others. countries of Europe, Asia and America

At the end of the 19th century. Skiing competitions began to be held in all countries of the world. Ski specialization varied from country to country. In Norway, cross-country racing, jumping and combined events have gained great development. In Sweden - cross-country racing. In Finland and Russia there are races on flat terrain. In the United States, the development of skiing was facilitated by Scandinavian settlers. In Japan, skiing received an alpine skiing direction under the influence of Austrian coaches.

In skiing, new competitive exercises are constantly appearing, many of which, as they are introduced, can acquire the official status of a type of skiing, until they are included in the Olympic program, they are classified as demonstration exercises: towing a skier, ski flying on hang gliders, descent from mountain peaks, mini- skis; Ski stunts: ski jump from a cliff with a parachute, ski jump from an airplane without a parachute, descent at the speed of a skier and race car driver

Norwegian skier Tarleef Haug became the Olympic champion in cross-country skiing and Nordic combined. He took third place in ski jumping. Tarlif Haug was the first in the world to be awarded the title of “King of Skis”. In the 16 subsequent games, not a single Olympian was able to repeat or even surpass the record of the world’s first “King of Skis.” For his victories on the track, Haug was awarded 10 Royal Cups. As a sign of his extraordinary sporting achievements, the stern and taciturn Norwegians, for the first time in the world, erected a lifetime monument to Tarlif in his homeland. The history of the Olympic movement of 60-70 knows only 2 cases when athletes were awarded such an honor. Both of them were heroes of the 1924 Olympics. This is the hero of the White Olympics, Haug, and the hero of the Summer Olympics, Finn Paavo Nurmi. Haug Turleif (1894-1934). ZOI champion 1924 in 18 and 50 km races and in Nordic combined. . Bronze ZOI medalist 1924 in ski jumping. Silver World Cup medalist 1926 in the combined event. Winner of the Holmenkollen Games in 1918 in the 50 km race, 1919-1921 in the 40 km race and in the combined event, 1923 and 1924 in the 50 km race.

At the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Swedish athlete Gunde Svan revolutionized skiing. He used the skating step for the first time - he rode along the track like a speed skater, pushing off the snow with the inside of his skis. The Swedish skier showed stunning results: in different disciplines, Gunde received two gold medals, one silver and one bronze. By the next Olympic Games, teams from all countries had mastered the skating step. Gunde Svan became a national hero in Sweden and earned the lifelong nickname "King of Skis". True, when all athletes began to use the skating step, Gunde was left without. awards Gunde Anders Svan outstanding Swedish skier, 4-time Olympic champion (1984 - in the 15 km race and 4 × 10 km relay, 1988 - in the 50 km race and relay), 2-time Olympic medalist in the 1984 race 50 km (silver) and 30 km (bronze), seven-time champion and World Cup winner. He was the first to use the skating technique in competitions.

In total, during the period 1910-1995, 76 national championships were held at distances from 10 to 70 km for men, and from 3 to 50 km for women. Since 1963, the national championship program has included an ultra-marathon distance for men of 70 km. For women, since 1972 the longest distance has been 30 km, and since 1994 - 50 km. The record length 4-day men's race was held in 1938 - 232 km from Yaroslavl to Moscow. Dmitry Vasiliev won - 18 hours 41 minutes 02 seconds. The record of the first ski century for the number of victories at the national championships was set by Galina Kulakova - 39 gold medals. The sporting achievements of Galina Kulakova were rewarded by the International Olympic Committee with the Olympic Silver Order. According to the proposal of the Russian Olympic Committee, the first international Coubertin prize among our compatriots was awarded to Raisa Smetanina, the leader of the world elite skiers. Raisa Smetanina, a participant in five Olympics and eight world championships, set another unique record of sports longevity - at the 5th Olympics she was crowned with a gold medal at the age of 40. Smetanina Raisa Petrovna

Raisa Petrovna Smetanina (born in 1952) Five-time Olympic champion in skiing: in 1976 she won the 10-kilometer race and the 4 x 5-kilometer relay race, in 1980 she excelled in the 5-kilometer distance, in 1988 and 1992 she received a gold medal as part of a 4 x 5 kilometer relay race. Olympic silver medalist: 1976 - 5 kilometers, 1980 - 4 x 5 kilometers relay, 1984 - 10 and 20 kilometers, 1988 - 10 kilometers. Bronze medalist of the 1988 Olympics at a distance of 20 kilometers. World champion 1974, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1991. She won more than twenty gold medals at the USSR championships (1974, 1976 -1977, 1983 -1986, 1989, 1991) at various distances. In 1993, at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Smetanina received the Fairplay Prize for her exemplary sports career. Indeed, few people have managed to maintain excellent physical shape and achieve high results for so many years. She participated in five Olympics and returned from all of them with medals!

The finest hour for Alexei Prokurorov was the XV Winter Olympics in 1988 in Calgary (USA). The most valuable award is the gold medal of the Olympic Games in Calgary, which Prokurov won in the 30 km race. There, in Calgary, Prosecutors also won a silver medal in the relay. At this Olympiad, Alexey swapped roles with his friend Vladimir Smirnov. Already Vladimir, following Alexey, received “silver”. When the ubiquitous journalists at a press conference asked Alexey: “What if Volodya had won?” - Prosecutors replied: “I would be very happy for him. After all, we are friends.” A year later, Smirnov took revenge from Prokurorov at the same distance at the World Championships in Finland, Prokurorov then received bronze. Both were happy and began to prepare together for the 1992 Olympics. And then together they painfully experienced their mutual failure. At the World Championships in 1997, Alexey won a full set of awards, consisting of three types of precious metals. This happened precisely in Trondheim, Norway, where thirteen years ago at the Junior World Championships he was only sixth. At the 1988 Olympic Games, Prokurorov was the standard bearer of the USSR team, and at the opening of the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, he carried the flag of the Russian team. Prosecutors participated in five Olympics, but achieved the highest achievements in the first.

The unofficial title “King of Skis” came into use after the 1954 World Championships. When the Soviet athlete Vladimir Kuzin won the 30- and 50-kilometer races, the Swedish king Gustav VI presented him with a cup with the inscription “To the King of Skis from the King of Sweden.” Since then, a skier who wins at these distances during one World Championship or Olympic Games is considered the “King of Skis.” Kuzin was born in 1930 in the village of Lampozhnya near Arkhangelsk into a large family. I've been skiing since childhood, and made my first set myself under the guidance of my father. He won the competition for the first time in 1943 - it was the district championship. Having overtaken all his rivals, Vladimir won a set of underwear. According to him, for wartime this prize was simply fantastic. After 8th grade I had to leave school due to my father’s illness. Vladimir KuzinVladimir Kuzin. Photo: cska.ru/ At first, Vladimir was in charge of a radio center in his native village, then he got a job as a sailor on the icebreaker “Sedov”. When I entered the technical school of physical education, my studies had to be interrupted again - the time had come to serve in the army. However, he did not forget about skiing here either. Having become the champion of the Arkhangelsk Military District, Sergeant Kuzin attracted the attention of the senior trainer of the Armed Forces, Dmitry Vasiliev, the strongest skier of the pre-war years. Dmitry Maksimovich transferred the promising athlete to Leningrad - to the school of trainers at the Military Institute of Physical Education. There, Ivan Mokropulo and Vladimir Shaposhnikov began preparing Vladimir. Its result was the triumphant 1954 World Championship in Falun and Olympic gold in Cortino d'Ampezzo in 1956. The victory at 30 km in Falun was unexpected, because Vladimir’s rivals were much more titled athletes, including Olympic champions from Finland and Norway. After such success, the coaches asked Kuzin to take part in the marathon, although this was not initially planned. From the start, Vladimir rushed forward and increased his advantage over his competitors after every kilometer. Many experts considered this tactic adventurous, but the mistake was elsewhere. Although after 30 km Kuzin beat Finn Veikko Hakulinen for about two minutes, serious problems began closer to the finish line. “The clothes let me down,” Vladimir Semenovich later recalled. - The competition took place in fairly cold weather, and at the finish line, when the main energy reserves were used up, my light sweater did not save me from the cold. On long, protracted descents, the wind covered the body like an icy compress, and the abdominal muscles began to cramp. I wanted to scream from the acute pain. To relieve the pain even a little, I punched myself in the stomach, squatted, did some exercises while walking - nothing helped. There was only one way out - to walk, gritting your teeth and trying not to pay attention to this wild pain.” Veikko HakulinenVeikko Hakulinen. 1960 Photo: mtv.fi Although Hakulinen reduced most of the gap, he was unable to catch up with Kuzin - he lost 8 seconds. Then there was that same award ceremony with the participation of King Gustav VI. At the 1956 Olympics, Kuzin came fifth at a distance of 30 km, and won gold in the relay race in company with Fedor Terentyev, Pavel Kolchin and Nikolai Anikin. He was preparing for the next Games, but he fell ill, and the coaches did not register him for the races. Vladimir KuzinOlympic champions 1956 (from left to right): Fedor Terentyev, Pavel Kolchin, Nikolai Anikin and Vladimir Kuzin. Photo: gazeta.ru At the end of his sports career, Vladimir Semenovich worked as a coach, including the main team of the country. He was engaged in sports science - in 1971 he defended his dissertation and became a candidate of biological sciences. He was a professor at the Russian State Academy of Physical Culture. He organized competitions in his homeland and in Moscow. Died in 2007. On his grave it is written: “World Champion. Olympic champion. King of skis." After Kuzin, Nikolai Zimyatov, Gunde Swan, Mika Myllylä and Petter Northug became the “Kings of Skis”.

A year earlier, the First Winter Olympic Games took place in Chamonix, Switzerland. Then both ski distances, 18 and 50 kilometers, were won by the Norwegian Thorleif Heug, who essentially became the first “king of skis.” Soon these competitions were recognized as the first World Ski Championships.

Two more representatives of Northern European countries later managed to win both races within the same championship: Finn Matti Raivio in 1926 in Lahti and Swede Johan Lindgren in 1927 in Italian Cortina d'Ampezzo. At the same time, it is worth noting that in those years the Norwegians, Finns and Swedes simply had no competitors on the ski track.

The Scandinavian era in ski racing lasted until the 50s of the 20th century. It was then that representatives of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics joined the fight for awards.

At the first World Championship for Soviet athletes in 1954, the USSR national team won four gold medals out of a possible eight. The first champion of the thirty, which replaced the 18-kilometer race, was the Soviet skier Vladimir Kuzin. He became the strongest at a distance of 50 kilometers. The delighted Swedish King Gustav VI presented him with a cup with the inscription “To the King of Skis from the King of Sweden.” Since then, a rider who wins these distances at one World Championship or Olympic Games is unofficially considered the “king of skis.”

At the same competition, another change in the rules appeared - women entered the ski track equally with men. At the next World Championships, held in February 1962 in the Polish town of Zakopane, the skier from the USSR Alevtina Kolchina, who won 7 gold medals during her career, climbed to the highest step of the podium three times.

But the Scandinavians did not think of giving up - Jermund Eggen became the hero of the 1966 world championship in Oslo, Norway. Everyone expected the Norwegian to repeat the record at the Grenoble Olympics, but the Scandinavian performed unsuccessfully in France.

The Swedish ski track again became happy for Soviet athletes: at the 1974 World Championships in Swedish Falun, skier from the Republic of Udmurtia Galina Kulakova managed to win three gold medals, and the USSR national team won the relay race for the sixth world championship in a row!

In 1982, the world ski championship returned to Norway. In Oslo, on her home track, Kulakova’s result was repeated by Berit Eunli.

Since 1985, the World Ski Championships, including ski jumping and Nordic combined, have been held by the FIS every two years. Another innovation in the mid-80s was the rule that allowed races to be held on skates.

One of the first who was able to quickly master the new way of traveling on the ski track was the Swede Gunde Swan: at the World Championships in Seefeld, Austria in 1985, he conquered both royal distances. Three more gold medals went to the Swede, who won four Olympic golds and 7 world championship gold medals during his career, based on the results of the competition in Lahti, Finland in 1989.

The great skier ended his career in 1991, but even then a new hero appeared on the ski slopes. Norwegian Bjorn Daly became an Olympic champion eight times and a world champion nine times. Twice from Falun 1993 and Trondheim 1997, the legendary athlete brought home three gold medals.

Russian Elena Vyalbe showed an impressive result in the Italian Val di Fiemme in the winter of 1991. She added three gold medals and one silver to the two medals of the highest standard won in Lahti, losing in the 30 km skate only to her compatriot Lyubov Egorova.

One of those who competed with Daly in the 90s was the former Soviet skier competing for Kazakhstan, Vladimir Smirnov. The 1994 Olympic champion in the marathon at the World Championships in Thunder Bay, Canada, climbed to the highest step of the podium three times.

The second heroine of the 1995 world championship was Russian Larisa Lazutina. The future five-time Olympic champion and Hero of the Russian Federation brought four gold medals from distant Canada.

This seemingly eternal record was broken by her compatriot Elena Vyalbe. In Trondheim, Norway in February 1997, she managed to win five medals of the highest standard out of five possible. This record cannot be repeated - it can only be surpassed.

Two years later, in the Austrian Ramsau, the finest hour of the Finn Mika Myllyla came.

Olympic champion Nagano becomes the “king of skis”, winning all individual races except the pursuit. At the next World Championships, held in Lahti, Finland, Myllula found himself at the center of a doping scandal: six leading athletes of the Finnish team were caught doping.

That world championship was the first in the career of Norwegian Marit Bjorgen. Just two years later, the talented skier won the sprint in Val di Fiemme. The World Championships, held in 2005 in Obersdorf, Germany, brought her three gold medals, one of which was especially valuable: the Norwegian team had not won a relay race at such competitions since 1982.

Marit, like the entire Norwegian women's team, failed the Olympics in Turin. There was hope to get even in Sapporo, but on the Japanese ski track, Finnish Virpi Kuitunen, who returned to the big sport after the 2001 doping scandal, shone. She brought 3 gold and a bronze medal to her country's team, which allowed the Finnish team to take second place in the team competition.

The 2009 World Championship returned to Europe again: in the Czech Liberec there was no equal to the Finnish Anna Kaise Saarinen. The athlete, who made her World Cup debut in 1998, added three gold medals to Sapporo's relay gold.

The new “king of skis” is the Norwegian Petter Northug. In addition to gold in the “thirty” and “fifty” medals, the Norwegian team with his participation became the strongest in the relay.

The 24-year-old athlete was considered as the main gold-miner for the Norwegian ski team at the Vancouver Olympics. The ski community was betting on whether Nortur could become the “king of skis” in the Olympic tournament. Norgut did not make it into the top ten in the skiathlon, but at the distance of the 50-kilometer race he had no equal. The athlete won another gold medal in the team sprint. His initiative was also supported by Marit Bjorgen, who won three gold medals in Canada.

At the 2011 World Championships, held in the homeland of Northug and Bjorgen, the Norwegian again made the entire skiing world applaud - his piggy bank was replenished with three golds. Thanks to his phenomenal finish, the athlete, who became a national hero, easily defeated his opponents at distances of 30 and 50 kilometers and in the relay, thus becoming a two-time holder of the title “King of Skis” for the first time in history. Marit Bjorgen went even further, winning four gold medals out of a possible six.

If the title of “queen of skiing” was awarded to women, then Marit Bjorgen would have received such a title in 2013. At the World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy, in addition to the skiathlon and marathon, she managed to win the sprint. Just like in Oslo, the Norwegian team finished first in the relay. Petter Northug limited himself to two gold medals this time.

The Olympics in Sochi turned out differently for the current king and queen of cross-country skiing: Marit repeated the result of the games in Vancouver, and Northug was unlucky - he twice stopped one step away from the podium.

The 2015 World Championship brought the Norwegian team 9 out of 12 gold medals. The national anthem was played three times in honor of Theresa Johaug.

In Falun, everyone saw the old Northug. He reached the top step of the podium four times, bringing his number of world titles to 13.

The Norwegian athlete became the fourth athlete in the history of cross-country skiing to win more than 10 gold medals at the world championships. According to this indicator, the athlete shares first place with Elena Vyalbe and Marit Bjorgen, Larisa Lazutina has 11 medals of the highest standard in her collection. Neither “the best skier of the 20th century” Bjorn Daly, nor six-time Olympic champion Lyubov Egorova, nor five-time Olympian Thomas Alsgaard, nor four-time Olympic gold winners Raisa Smetanina, Galina Kulakova, Thomas Wassberg, Gunde Swan and Sixten Enberg managed to overcome the 10-medal mark.

Five athletes were awarded the title of “King of Skis,” and only one athlete managed to win this honorary title at the Olympics: in 1980, it was the representative of the Soviet Union, Nikolai Zimyatov. All other skiers won their victories at the world championships. Zimyatov, like Gunde Svan, ended their careers long ago, Vladimir Kuzin and Mika Myllyula are no longer alive.

At the world championship starting next February in Finnish Lahti, only one holder of this unofficial title will take to the ski track - Petter Northug. Whether he will be able to become a three-time “king of skis” and surpass Elena Vyalbe’s record for the number of gold medals, time will tell, but one thing is absolutely clear - with his victories, the skier from Mosvik has made a significant contribution to the Norwegian team’s treasury. At fifty world championships, the national team of this country won more than 120 gold medals, beating its closest competitor by almost twice.