There is a Ski Jump!

I discovered today that there really is a jump at Midtstuen. I had been led to believe this might be the case but had not actually seen the ski jump on two previous visits. It really just looked like they were having the athletes glide out of the fog and calling it a jump. But it turns out it really is there.

Today's schedule included Nordic Combined team event and Women's Cross Country 10km Classic race. I decided to not take any chances on traffic and trains so I headed up early. I caught the Holmenkollen express which was serious. So when I got to Holmenkollen I walked over to the other platform and caught a train back two stops to Midtstuen. I could have hiked up and then down to Midtstuen, but I knew later I'd be hiking up and wanted to give my knee a break. I was inside and finding a spot on the railing by 9:30am. The trial jumps didn't start until 10:30am. It was me and the parents. I saw Johnny Spillane stretching so I yelled Good Luck across the jump and he waved. Then I spread out my blanket on the rail between the French and the Japanese parents. I tried to look big until some more Americans could show up and help me save the space. Eventually we had all the family members that I had heard were in Oslo standing with us. When Nancy and Chris showed up we swapped out my blanket for their flags. It was a perfect position. We had a good view of the jump, the video board and were close enough to yell to the boys after they jumped. All of them waved in our direction after they saw their score. I watched the trial jumps of all four of our guys, and then the official jumps for Johnny Spillane, Billy Demong and Bryan Fletcher. I bailed before Todd so I could get up to the Cross Country race in time. I did not want to miss the women again.

Things are nicer without the fog but the hike from Midtstuen to Holmenkollen is still rough and uphill. It was interesting to see how things were positioned now that we could see. The top of the jump and the Holmenkollen Chapel are actually very close to each other, we just couldn't see that before. I made it up in pretty good time since I left before the guys finished. There was still traffic heading up, but not too bad this time. When I got to the top I found a new direction to walk to the W section which was a lot easier than last time. I wandered around until I found a good spot that gave me a nice view. I was on the back side away from the stadium but I could see the girls coming and it was uphill. I had never seen a classic 10km so I asked someone how it worked. The girls start individually every 30 seconds. By the time they got to us (around the 8km) mark the #'s were mixed up and sometimes you got 2 or 3 athletes at a time. I took the start #'s for our girls with me so I could cheer them. Ida Sargent finished 51st, Kikkan Randall was 32nd, Sadie Bjorsen was 29th and Holly Brooks was 27th.

After the last woman went by our position people started wandering toward the stadium side of the section. As I walked slowly that way the crowd started to get excited and then went nuts. I realized that the announcer must have been telling them that Marit Bjoergen had won her third medal for Norway. Seriously, that girl needs a platinum coat instead of just a gold one. And then the most amazing thing happened. The fully packed crowd in the stands and the woods left. I have never seen a packed women's event thin out before the men's event. Norway was even in medal contention for the NC relay. It was unreal. But as I joked, the XC Ski goddess of Norway had departed and so did the crowd. I told Hanne that the one good side to Norway wins is that I didn't need translation to figure it out. The crowd is a dead give away.

Kikkan Randall

My new spot for the NC relay was only about 20 feet from where I stood on Saturday. Turns out we had a prime location, we just did not realize it with the fog. I could see a good chunk of the stadium area, a downhill section, a bridge and two straight aways in front of me, with an uphill just past. I yelled good luck and/or good job to Kikkan on her warm down and the Fletcher brothers, Johnny and Todd on their warm ups. Usually I got a smile or wave, but Todd actually stopped for a moment trying to figure out where it had come from and then smiled when he found me. Our guys had jumped their way in to the 5th position. I had high hopes until sometime during the third leg that we might climb higher. They pulled themselves into a very solid 4th place. Since every medal ceremony I had seen included 1st-6th place finishers I figured that at least got our guys on the stage.

Billy Demong

Bryan Fletcher

I heard one other American voice cheering on our guys in my area. I looked around and met Paul, who is working for Cross Country Ski Magazine over here. He had just flown in today and come straight up to the races. We ended up chatting on the way down to the train after the race. Today was actually an easy walk out and straight onto a train. I think I enjoy week day events the best.

Big jump at Holmenkollen

(I liked how it trails into the clouds)

It seemed easier to just go downtown rather than heading home in between. So I went souvenir shopping and then wandered past the City Hall and over to the water. I passed the Nobel Peace building. And then went into City Hall which is a pretty impressive place. After that I decided it might be smart to head to the stage area so I could get a spot. It was really early but I knew with Marit winning a medal it would get busy. Turns out my good spot was not so good once everyone filled in. But on my tip toes I could see Marit and the other athletes a little. But then the teams came out for the NC team event and only 1st-3rd came out. No USA team. Which also meant I had missed an opportunity to get a ride to the reception at the Ambassador's residence. As soon as I realized that I squirmed my way out of the crowd and called Hanne. And once again she rescued me. She got me to the right place to grab a bus. Then texted me the stop I wanted so I could see the spelling. Once I got there I called her and she directed me to the residence. She kept saying that maps weren't her strength but she got me exactly where I needed to be. I walked up just as the end of the team line was going through the gate check point. Someone asked where I had been and I said I didn't realize that 4th-6th wouldn't be honored so I'd been at the medal ceremony. One of the coaches, Gilbo, said they had just recently found that out too. So I guess I just missed the memo.

The US Ambassador's residence in Oslo is Villa Otium. It is a beautiful place and cost $125,000 in 1920 something. It was so expensive at that time it took an act of Congress to purchase. Ambassador White and his wife greeted the team. It was a wonderful evening and I was happy to have the opportunity to catch up with some of the team. I was especially thrilled to see Liz Stephen until I discovered that by missing the race the other day I missed my only chance to see her compete while I'm here. She seemed happy just to see me in Oslo, but I'm disappointed I missed cheering her on. Kikkan introduced me to her husband who is Canadian, works for the Australians and is married to an American. Sounds like fun. She said that the Aussie athletes took headshots that mimic those of the Norwegians on this huge semi trailor. Then they printed them and stuck them on their little van before parking it next to the Norwegian trailor. I hope I get to see pictures of that. I said I had wanted to take a photo of the big trailor so I could show our suppliers what opportunities they were missing with our team. That and I think we need gold jackets for when our athletes win big things. Liz also took me around and introduced me to the athletes who made World Championships but weren't on the U.S. National team. So tonight I met Tad Elliot, Jessie Diggins, Sadie Bjornsen and Holly Brooks. Hopefully some of them will end up in Rookie Camp with me this summer. It was great to see faces since I'd been cheering for them all week. It is hard to tell what someone looks like through sunglasses and earbands/hats.

I expected to just catch the bus home but Farra insisted I go with them until they dropped a group off at Majorstuen. Since I can catch one of the busses I need there I went with it. I discovered that DJ did get the bag of socks but did not realize the paper in there was a note. I told him it just said he owed me a drink for delivering them. He promised me one back in America. I'm holding him to that. One last hug for Liz wishing her good luck and I headed home.

Tad, Jessie, Me, Liz, Kikkan

Stephanie, Kikkan, Jessie, Sadie, Holly, Liz

Liz, Ambassador White, Me

It was an extremely long day. (Not helped by the fact I had to write this twice since the first time disappeared.) Tomorrow's schedule includes the Men's Cross Country 15km Classic race. Plan on cheering for Simi Hamilton (one of my rookies), Noah Hoffman (one of my rookies), Lars Flora and Kris Freeman. I plan on one of these guys pulling off an upset and making the podium. I'd really like to attend a medal ceremony with someone from our team actually there. Go USA!