VFew days ago, an excavator driver spread artificial snow in front of a hotel in Zhangjiakou. The Chinese probably wanted to show that we have snow here. They could have saved themselves the hassle. It’s been snowing since Saturday. There was a lot of criticism in the run-up: Winter Games, where it almost never snows. And now he’s here. Even the brown lunar landscape of Yanqing is snowed over. A sensation in an area where it hardly ever snows. It almost looks like a winter sports area.
Does it make things easier? No. Artificial snow also has advantages. Once it’s in place, it’s easy to plan: which skis, which profile, which wax. The technicians of the German biathletes drove to Zhangjiakou in advance to examine the snow. On Sunday, however, the biathletes struggled with real Chinese snow, which is different from European snow. In just a few hours, the technicians had to find out which skis to equip the athletes with so that they could glide well on the real white. When this snow mixes with the artificial snow, it becomes even more complex. A Swiss snow expert said that chunks of snow were sometimes formed in this way.
Denise Herrmann spoke of difficult conditions after the race. She was not competitive with the material. Roman Rees also suggested tweaking the material again before the season. Silver medalist Tarjei Bø from Norway said: “Anything could have happened.” It was very difficult for everyone. Franziska Preuß hoped for good conditions without fresh snow. They are all used to walking on natural snow, in Antholz or Oberhof. They know him.
So should it be better for winter sports to take place on artificial snow? Fresh snow causes problems in every sport. But it also creates what defines sport: excitement. On Sunday it was evident that the champions also prevail under adverse conditions, whether on artificial or natural snow. Marte Olsbu Røiseland fought on the sprint track, step by step. It looked easy on her, although it probably wasn’t. It was certainly not just the good material.
