Diplomatic Cup of Nordic Skiing was held in Kyiv for the second time

On February 15 it was the second time a Diplomatic Cup of Nordic Skiing race commenced in Kyiv. The online registration was open at the Ukrainian Ski Clubs’ website. The event, according to the statement by its organizers (the Ukrainian Ski Club and the embassies of Austria, Norway, and Switzerland), was designed to popularize cross-country skiing in Kyiv and promote friendly relations among diplomats and international organizations in Ukraine.

The competition took place near Children and Youth’s Sports school No. 15, located in Holosiivsky district of the capital.

Serhii Kharchuk, the organizing committee spokesman, noted in the opening word, that the representation of foreign diplomatic missions has grown compared to the last time. Many ambassadors were seen on the track wearing a skiing outfit – among others there were Norway’s Jon Elvedal Fredriksen, Finland’s Arja Makkonen, Austria’s Wolf Dietrich Heim, Sweden’s Andreas von Beckerath, Switzerland’s Christian Schoenenberger, and Geoffrey Pyatt from the US.

Some famous Ukrainian athletes paid a visit to the diplomatic race: Olena Pidhrushna, Olympic champion; Vita Yakymchuk, three times entrant to the Olympics, and Lilia Yefremova, Olympic bronze medalist.

Many ordinary people from Kyiv also came with the children to try their skiing skills in the race.

However, no one was surprised to see the team of the youth and sports ministry emerge as the winner, as this team was composed of Ukrainian Olympic representatives – including Pidhrushna, who now works as the Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports. She told The Day that this was the first time she took part in this event: “Prior to that, I only participated in World Cup series. But I am impressed with the setup and the sheer number of participants. I liked the competition very much, and having seen that many foreigners I’ve had an impression that I once again raced on the international level.”

Wolf Dietrich Heim, Ambassador of Austria, came here with his wife and two daughters. “Cross-country is quite popular in Austria, albeit somewhat inferior to alpine skiing. It is the second time I’m here, as the most of the participants,” he told The Day.

According to Heim, the organizers wanted to attract children and teens to the competition, as well as to prove that “one can practice skiing even within the bounds of a city.” He continued, that “in Austria, the mountains are far away from big cities. The same is true for Kyiv, which is distant to Carpathians. However, there are many slopes and hills on the outskirts – and they are as well suitable for skiing. On a snowy day, one can just come here by a fixed route taxi and enjoy skiing. It is inexpensive – and this is also one of my favorite sports in Kyiv. In setting up the event we wanted to show that skiing is a family sport. Just look how many children are there in the teams.”

Andreas von Beckerath, Ambassador of Sweden, told The Day that he believes Ukrainian biathletes to be “among the best in the world” and frequently watches their performance on tournaments. Von Beckerath admitted that he was “a bit tired” due to “trying to finish the race as soon as possible.” He continued: “though, of course, the minds of everyone are now occupied not with the thoughts about this race, but with what is happening in the east of Ukraine, and whether there would be a ceasefire or not. And another thing which is good in such an event is that it provides a pleasant distraction from the conflict.”