- Date: 19-26 of January 2018
- Place: Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
- Organizer: The Loppet Foundation
- Chief of competition: Nels E. Dyste
- Participants: Totaly 746 skiers
- Countries: 24
Introduction
Unique arena for cross country-skiing in a major metropolitan area close to downtown Minneapolis. In the skyline you have all skyscrapers and that gave a special feeling for the whole arrangement. The terrain in Theodore Wirth Park is good for crosscountry ski competitions. The courses were good, but some parts were too hard for the older ageclasses.
Snow
In the beginning of the winter it was no snow in the Park. After some weeks in December the weather became very cold. After all, they produced a lot of snow, but not enough to use all different courses.
Accommodation in Minneapolis
It was high quality for the accommodation in the big hotels downtown Minneapolis. Food and hospitality was excellent and to the liking of all athlets.
The competition
The interest for Masters in US was good from the beginning, but in the end not so many competitors come from foreign countries. The total number of participants was 746; 424 athletes were from US, 89 from Canada and 41 from Norway and Finland each. Due to the closing of most Embassies in Russia it was a big problem for the Russian athletes to apply and achieve visas. Thefore, only 11 skiers could participate in Minneapolis instead of more than 100 racers coming every year to the Masters World Cups.
The terrain was ondulated and the courses were good. The tracks were very well prepared evey day, both for classic and free technique.
The day when we had the long distances for all classes it happens a unique thing! A train blocked the 15 km course when the first competitors should pass the railway. The Jury and the Chief of Competition had to make a very quick decision. They decided to shorten the loop and the competitors had to go 3 or 4 loops in the 10 km course instead. Because of this situation the result list for one age-group had to be divided into three different groups and no Masterpoints were given. After all it was a good decision and all competitors were satisfied.
The Medal Table for MWC 2018
All races included we had a total of 434 medals. The best nation was USA with totally 177 medals. Norway was in second place with 55 and in third place Finland with 47.
Final comments
The general opinion for Masters World Cup in Minneapolis was a magnificent experience for all participants and others, while there is also some improvement potential for the future. The living downtown Minneapolis was unusually for cross-country skiers and a positive experience.
A very sad incident happened on the last competition day. The Russian skier Andrey Shamshurin had a heart attack in the finish area and died thereafter in a hospital. The thoughts and prayers of all Masters and the WMA Executive Board are with him, his family and the Russian Amateur Ski Union.
Rolf Hammar