Kikkan Randall's 7th place sprint

Anyone else notice that Kikkan Randall won the B Final at Lahti, beating
Bjoergen, Gjoemle, Saarinen, Kowalcyk and the Russian Sidko? I mention
it because nothing much is being said and the article being posted
around makes it sound like a time trial with Randall having the
fastest time, instead of a head to head. Thinking about it, when was
the last time an American won any race at the WC level? It would seem
like a big breakthrough for her, just the experience of winning and
against such good competition.

rm

On 12 Mar, 04:07, wrote:
Anyone else notice that Kikkan Randall won the B Final at Lahti, beating
Bjoergen, Gjoemle, Saarinen, Kowalcyk and the Russian Sidko? I mention
it because nothing much is being said and the article being posted
around makes it sound like a time trial with Randall having the
fastest time, instead of a head to head. Thinking about it, when was
the last time an American won any race at the WC level? It would seem
like a big breakthrough for her, just the experience of winning and
against such good competition.

rm

With respect my friend she didnt win anything. She didnt qualify for
the final.
Her race was to settle placings and WC points for the losers and all
credit to her for doing so well in that.

I sure won't slag her for beating some tough competitors like that,
even in a small final. It is head-to-head competition, and you do have
to ski faster than everyone else in the race. In the discipline where
luck is even more important than in the distance events, I don't think
it's just an empty exercise to have the minor places actually compete
for WC and FIS points. And anyhow, Randall's already been on the
podium this season, at Rybinsk:
http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.ht...4&raceid=11666

On Sun, 11 Mar 2007 23:07:53 -0500, wrote:

Anyone else notice that Kikkan Randall won the B Final at Lahti, beating
Bjoergen, Gjoemle, Saarinen, Kowalcyk and the Russian Sidko? I mention
it because nothing much is being said and the article being posted
around makes it sound like a time trial with Randall having the
fastest time, instead of a head to head. Thinking about it, when was
the last time an American won any race at the WC level? It would seem
like a big breakthrough for her, just the experience of winning and
against such good competition.

If she continues her progression she's going to win a WC some day.
--
JT
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As a learning experience and confidence builder, winning a final race
at the WC level, even if the consolation bracket, strikes me as more
valuable than third place in a final at this point in her development,
although the latter obviously has its worth. That's why I thought it
would get some attention.

rm

"tassava" wrote:

I sure won't slag her for beating some tough competitors like that,
even in a small final. It is head-to-head competition, and you do have
to ski faster than everyone else in the race. In the discipline where
luck is even more important than in the distance events, I don't think
it's just an empty exercise to have the minor places actually compete
for WC and FIS points. And anyhow, Randall's already been on the
podium this season, at Rybinsk:
http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.ht...4&raceid=11666

On Mar 12, 3:18 am, "tassava" wrote:
I sure won't slag her for beating some tough competitors like that,
even in a small final. It is head-to-head competition, and you do have
to ski faster than everyone else in the race. In the discipline where
luck is even more important than in the distance events, I don't think
it's just an empty exercise to have the minor places actually compete
for WC and FIS points. And anyhow, Randall's already been on the
podium this season, at Rybinsk:http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.ht...itorid=49824&r...

Nobody was "slagging" her. It was rightly pointed out that she did
not win a race, but finished 8th.

I think Randall is a great skier and one of the best hopes the US has
to be competative on the international level. However, it is also
telling that we think it's great when a US skier finishes 8th. That's
a good result for sure, but not a win by any stretch of the
imagination.

Camilo wrote:
On Mar 12, 3:18 am, "tassava" wrote:
I sure won't slag her for beating some tough competitors like that,
even in a small final. It is head-to-head competition, and you do have
to ski faster than everyone else in the race. In the discipline where
luck is even more important than in the distance events, I don't think
it's just an empty exercise to have the minor places actually compete
for WC and FIS points. And anyhow, Randall's already been on the
podium this season, at Rybinsk:http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.ht...itorid=49824&r...

Nobody was "slagging" her. It was rightly pointed out that she did
not win a race, but finished 8th.

I think Randall is a great skier and one of the best hopes the US has
to be competative on the international level. However, it is also
telling that we think it's great when a US skier finishes 8th. That's
a good result for sure, but not a win by any stretch of the
imagination.


But she got 7th, not 8th, which is significantly better. :-)

Terje

--
-
"almost all programming can be viewed as an exercise in caching"

Gee, can't she even have 7th any more? The point is that 6 women of
pretty high caliber - 4 of the top 12 in sprint standings prior to the
event - lined up at the start line and at the finish Kikkan had won. It
was not an individual time trial. So yes, it's 7th place overall, but
you don't have to be a flag waver to realize that in a real racer's
development and life that this particular 7th means much more than that
(if Bjoergen had won it might have been a sign of rejuvenation for
her). In fact, if you think about it, it's possible to come in 7th and
actually be the third fastest out there, depending on who shows up in
which heats.

rm

"Camilo" wrote:

Nobody was "slagging" her. It was rightly pointed out that she did
not win a race, but finished 8th.

I think Randall is a great skier and one of the best hopes the US has
to be competative on the international level. However, it is also
telling that we think it's great when a US skier finishes 8th. That's
a good result for sure, but not a win by any stretch of the
imagination.

On Mar 12, 11:04 am, wrote:
Gee, can't she even have 7th any more? The point is that 6 women of
pretty high caliber - 4 of the top 12 in sprint standings prior to the
event - lined up at the start line and at the finish Kikkan had won. It
was not an individual time trial. So yes, it's 7th place overall, but
you don't have to be a flag waver to realize that in a real racer's
development and life that this particular 7th means much more than that
(if Bjoergen had won it might have been a sign of rejuvenation for
her). In fact, if you think about it, it's possible to come in 7th and
actually be the third fastest out there, depending on who shows up in
which heats.

rm



"Camilo" wrote:
Nobody was "slagging" her. It was rightly pointed out that she did
not win a race, but finished 8th.

I think Randall is a great skier and one of the best hopes the US has
to be competative on the international level. However, it is also
telling that we think it's great when a US skier finishes 8th. That's
a good result for sure, but not a win by any stretch of the
imagination.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Sorry, the 8th was a mis-type (twice!), just an inadvertant mistake.
I agree she was 7th. I just disagree with the concept that a 7th
place finish is winning a race regardless of the organization of the
event with the A and B finals. I'm sure it was fun for her to be in
front at the end, but she did not win the race, just the B final.
Please understand I think she is a great skier.

"Camilo" wrote:

Sorry, the 8th was a mis-type (twice!), just an inadvertant mistake.
I agree she was 7th. I just disagree with the concept that a 7th
place finish is winning a race regardless of the organization of the
event with the A and B finals. I'm sure it was fun for her to be in
front at the end, but she did not win the race, just the B final.
Please understand I think she is a great skier.

Well, I don't think so, not yet. I just think learning how to win at
this level is no small potatoes. Given who was out there, it probably
wasn't that much different from the standpoint of tactics or race-skill
than winning the A level race. Don't think that's sufficiently
appreciated.