Demino Ski Marathon

Big Race of Big Russia has taken place! The first Russian Worldloppet Marathon has finished. Among men Italian athletes have won the first and the second places. Russian athlete won the bronze medal. Ladies have made fans happy with a double victory. Russian ladies have got the golden and the bronze medals.

About 2500 athletes participated in FT 50 km race. Among the participants are the strongest athletes of the world: Alexei Petukhov, Nikolai Morilov, Aliaksei Ivanou, Sergei Dolidovich, Sergio Bonaldi, Italy, the winner of FIS Marathon Cup, Antonella Confortola, Italy, Natascia Leonardi Cortesi, Switzerland. The struggle promised to be tense and very interesting.

Along the whole distance twenty main pretenders for the victory raced together, but as Russian athletes said, they were trying to get apart as to avoid struggle when finishing. But the fortune of medals has been decided several meters before the finish. When approaching the finish Sergei Shiryaev, Russia let the Italian athletes to get ahead, so he became the bronze winner of the first Russian Worldloppet Marathon. Alan Martinelli, Italy, the second winner and Florian Kostner, Italy, the first winner were ahead Sergei Shiryaev just for tenths of a second only. But Russian ladies have done their best. They were the first and the third ones. Natalia Zernova got the bronze medal. She managed to race the “golden” distance for 2 hours 46 minutes 13 seconds. The result is 30 seconds better as compared to the result of Ekaterina Rudakova, Byelorussia. The result of Olga Mikhailova, winner of Demino Ski Marathon is 2 hours 43 minutes 11 seconds.

As the participants of Demino Ski Marathon stated during the press conference, in spite of difficult the race was interesting and the level of organization of the competitions corresponds to Worldloppet standards worldwide.