Exciting winter with plenty of outstanding sport

November 2010

Each year we keep a close watch on how the top Slovenian winter sports people are getting ready, quietly hoping for an even better season than last year’s, with plenty of wins and crystal globes at the end of the season.

After an Olympic year that brought us some major success, including three Olympic medals, 2011 will be a year of world championships.

The heroes of last winter season were Tina Maze (Alpine skiing) with her haul of two silver medals from the Olympic Games in Vancouver (Whistler), cross-country skier Petra Majdič with her Olympic bronze at Vancouver and her sprint win in the World Cup (second place overall) and Robert Kranjec, who secured an overall win in the Ski Flying World Cup.

This time they are all a year older, a year more experienced and once again they are ready to sacrifice everything – time, energy, emotions and even health – for results.

Ski jumping

Planica, Slovenian ski-flying enthusiasts. Photo: Darinka Mladenovič

This year’s World Championship will be at the refurbished jumps in Holmenkollen, where to date Slovenia has enjoyed some major success. Robert Kranjec is once again in fine form, and is determined to secure one of the top spots. In his team-mates Peter Prevc, Jernej Damjan and Mitja Mežnar he will have outstanding partners for top training, and perhaps even a surprise in the team event. Now something of a tradition, this season’s ski jumping will end for the seventh time with finals in no less than three World Cup competitions at the Planica jump. This year Robert Kranjec will be defending his overall title in the Ski Flying World Cup. And this year, in addition to the finals at Planica, there will be ski flying competitions at the refurbished jumps at Harrachov (Czech Republic) and Vikersund (Norway), and there will also be the traditional February ski flights at Oberstdorf.

World Cup competitions in Slovenia 2010 – 2011

  • Pokljuka – Biathlon (full programme) 14 – 19 December 2010
  • Maribor/Pohorje – Women’s Alpine Skiing (slalom, giant slalom) 15 – 16 January 2011
  • Kranjska Gora – Men’s Alpine Skiing  (slalom, giant slalom) 5 – 6 March 2011
  • Planica – Ski Jumping/Flying, 17 – 20 March 2011

Alpine skiing

Tina Maze. Photo: STA

This year once again the eyes of Slovenia will be on Tina Maze, who was magnificent last year in the speed disciplines and giant slalom, also breaking through to the top echelon in the slalom. This year she has a great opportunity to earn perhaps even an overall victory in the World Cup, something no Slovenian skier, male or female, has yet achieved. After last year’s 4th place, the optimism in the Maze camp is justified. Tina Maze has prepared well for a tough season, and she is again in top form. Meanwhile, her younger team-mates Maruša Ferk, Ilka Štuhec and Vanja Brodnik will try as hard as they can to keep up with Slovenia’s best woman skier.

Among the men, Slovenia’s strongest weapon will again be the skiers, led by Andrej Jerman and Andrej Šporn, and Rok Perko, Aleš Gorza and Mitja Valenčič will be trying to match their results of last year.

Petra Majdič. Stanko Gruden, STA

After some serious injuries at the Vancouver Olympics, our champion Petra Majdič is nevertheless resolved to continue her shining career. Her goal this year is clear, to win the overall ranking in the World Cup and to secure victory and another medal at the World Championship in Oslo (Petra won her first medal at the World Championships in 2007 in Sapporo). Alongside Majdič, a high ranking in the sprints beckons for Vesna Fabjan (last year she won her first victory in the World Cup) and Katja Višnar.

Biathlon

The biggest upheavals in biathlon circles took place after the last season ended. Croatian Jakov Fak, who holds an Olympic medal and has been training for several years now with the Slovenian team, wants to compete for Slovenia. But his transfer will probably amount to nothing, since despite Fak’s determination to represent Slovenia, the Croatians are demanding no less than 100,000 euros in compensation from the Slovenian Federation. Without the permission of the Croatian Biathlon Federation, Fak cannot appear for Slovenia.

Meanwhile, all of Slovenia’s biathlon aspirations are focused on Khanty Mansiysk, the venue for the World Championship.

The Slovenian squad no longer has Dijana Ravnikar, who has retired from competition. So Slovenia’s First Lady will again be Teja Gregorin, who could win in any competition, and she looks set to expand her collection of top rankings quite considerably. As for the boys, the greatest chances for a top spot once again seem to lie with Janez Marić and Klemen Bauer.

Snowboarding

Slovenia’s snowboarders are also impatient for the season to start. This year it will actually get going in the sports hall at Langraaf in the Netherlands. Rok Flander and Žan Košir in particular will be striving for top places in the parallel disciplines. The World Championship will be in the middle of January, making it the first of all the winter championships. And Spain will be hosting the best snowboarders for the first time at La Molina.

Ice hockey

Following its victory in the Group B (1st Division) competition in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s ice hockey team has returned to the world elite. The World Championship will start on 29 April in Bratislava (Slovakia). Slovenia’s opponents will be Slovakia, Russia and Germany. In its five appearances to date among the top hockey nations, Slovenia has never managed to stay in the elite division in the first round of the competition. They have been beaten out in play-offs three times by the Latvians and twice by the Austrians. This time the rejuvenated Slovenian team, which will be managed for the third year running by the American coach John Harrington, will give it everything right from the first game. Youngsters such as Jeglič, Tičar, Sabolič, Žiga Pance, Ropret, Urbas and Muršak will also be trying to win a seventh appearance among the world elite in 2012 in Finland and Sweden. In all probability there is no real chance of Slovenia’s team featuring the best national ice hockey player, Anže Kopitar, or perhaps only in the event of his club the Los Angeles Kings not making it to the finals of the NHL league. If he gets a place in the first team, for the same reason there will be a big question mark over the appearance of Jan Muršak, who plays for the Detroit Red Wings.

We can look forward to an exciting winter, full of outstanding sporting events where Slovenia’s sports men and women look set to play a decisive part.

Text by Andrej Stare, Sinfo, November 2010