"Most of it isn't the same; it's quite literally running backwards for part of it. You have people like me who've been racing there for a very long time, but at the same time everyone's kind of relearning it all over again."
"Our athletes compete there often. Many of them train there. It's a place where we know we can shine."
"Our head coach for the last eight years is from the Antholz Valley, born and raised. Most of our wax staff have been ski racing there since they were kids. We kind of are the locals."
Jessie Diggins, the world's top-ranked female cross-country skier, returns to Val di Fiemme where she previously won and frequently races. The 2026 Winter Olympics will use northern Italian venues that many U.S. athletes know well and often train on. Organizers reconfigured the cross-country course, reversing portions and forcing competitors to relearn lines. Val di Fiemme will host cross-country, ski jumping, and Nordic combined events. Antholz-Anterselva, two hours north, has a long biathlon tradition spanning more than 50 years. U.S. biathletes cite local coaching and wax staff ties as potential competitive advantages for medal contention.
Read at www.npr.org
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