Events Calendar and Race Results
China Vasaloppet 2008
Friday, December 28, 2007
-through- Saturday, January 05, 2008
Kristin Johansen, the winner of the Participation Awards (sponsored by the Silent Sports Foundation, a non-profit organization to promote silent sports including xc skiing worldwide), joined the world elite and citizen xc skiers of nearly 20,000 participants, to race in the Tour de Ski China 2008 (a 4-stage xc ski competition event on Dec. 28, 2007-Jan. 5, 2008) including the 6th annual China Vasaloppet 50km classic race -- the 3rd stage of the Tour).
The Tour de Ski China 2008 race event started its 1st stage at the famous Shangri-La, near Himalaya mountains in southern China, to the birthplace of the China Vasaloppet, Jinyue Tan national park of Changchun in northeastern China, and to its final stage at the one of the four largest glasslands in the world, Xiwuzhumuqin, Inner Mongolia of China.
The elite athletes include the Chinese National Ski team members and skiers from many different countries including Australia, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Germany, USA, etc. The notable competitors from the Nordic countries include Bjorn Lind, Fredrik Persson, Gustav Bergland, Anders Hogberg, Elin Ek, and Ida Olsson of Sweden, Mikko Maranen, Jari Joutsen, and Ville Verkama of Finland, and Frode Estil of Norway.
The point of interest: The Chinese Ski Association (CSA) was established in Beijing in 1951 and became a FIS member since May 1981. CSA is an officially registered organization under the China General Sports Administration and a member of the China National Sports Confederation, officially recognized by the Chinese Olympic Committee. The first national skiing competition was held in China in Tonghua (near Changchun) in 1957. With a rapid development during the 1990s, higher level international races in China are now being held regularly, including the 2004 FIS World Cup for Alpine, Cross-Country, and Freestyle/Aerial Ski and Snow Board competitions.
P.S. Kristin, a Denver, CO native and resident student at University of Minnesota (major in Civil Engineering Department, and minor in Chinese language) was recently admitted by Fudan University in Shanghai, China (the top university in China), majoring in Environmental Science and Technology department. She will start her study in China in mid February.
Reporting from Amy Xu
President
Silent Sports Foundation
xu.amy@dorsey.com
612-991-4912
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