Although so far it was difficult for me to feel nice at this world championships. Not only because I am a Polish journalist, and Poles for now – and quite likely that it will remain so – they are only the background of this event. Sure, I envy the Norwegians of their bag with medals and emotions at almost every event they go here. But I haven't experienced so many days with terrible weather as long as recently in Trondheim.
Real winter came to Trondheim. Earlier you could only admire what the fans were doing
Until Tuesday, the weather was terrible here. In fact, she gave the mood well after Poles' results at these World Cups – she was sad, gloomy, even depressing. I admire the fans who, despite the heavy rain or walking in puddles and mud, spent many hours on cross -country routes and stands.
Fly to Norway – they said. You will see real winter – they argued. And I saw, but only on the seventh day of these world championships. Earlier in Trondheim there were snow tongues on the hills, a bit more around the routes, but because the heaven was still raining, not white fluff, this old, and dirty and polluted. The landscape was getting uglier. On the night of Monday to Tuesday and on Tuesday morning, however, so much snow attacked that around the complex of routes and the Granasen hill became fully white.
At last! Although the snow probably falls even more intensively than previous heavy rains, which does not make it easier to move around the city and the arena of the championships, when it stops, at least you can enjoy Eyes pictures. Those that everyone expected after a journey to the north of Norway.
28 years ago, Trondheim also made a great holiday. The Russian champion was not like to let it into the full club
We were announced that it would be a great ski holiday. It was reminded that when last, in 1997, Trondheim hosted the World Classic Ski Championships, they were considered a great success. It is internationally, because the Norwegians did not bite their tongue and called them directly: the best in history.
To this day, it is a reference point for media or supporters, a retro story to which everyone likes to come back. Probably everyone in Trondheim has an anecdote or a memory related to the World Cup 28 years ago. Many remember the famous Bajazzo club, in which all the biggest stars of this event played. But there were so many people there that there was a lack of space for world champions. When the tsarist of Jelena Wialbe's Russian runs, who won five gold medals in Trondheim, wanted to enter the filled by Bajazzo, she heard from the bodyguard that she could have a thousand world championship titles, but today he will not be found on the dance floor.
With the sporting moment of the championship, the majority would unanimously choose the triumph of the Norwegian runner's relay or one of the individual gold medals of Bjoerna Daehli, probably the largest local hero of those World Championships. Although probably even more memorable was the 50 -kilometer run when Fin Mika Myllylae won. Together with the mentioned Daehl, who won bronze and the silver medalist Erling Jevne were decorated next to the route, when the last runners were still finishing the competition. And thus, the Macedonian Gjoko Dineski caught the handing of medals, who finished the run with a loss of an hour and nine minutes to the winner. It was decided that a nice gesture would be to set him next to the best players that day. And this is how an unforgettable picture was created for fans, and certainly for Dinean.
A bloody number of Długopolski. Then he slept all day, living on the ferry
Krystian Długopolski has interesting memories of 1997. The former jumper flew to them at the age of 16, just after the Junior World Championships in Calgary, where he took the 16th place. In Trondheim he was individually 44. On a normal hill and tenth with a team on a large one. Today, he remembers above all that athletes have slept on the ferry.
– A bodyguard was guarding the whole of Łódź, who ordered to show accreditation so that anyone would not enter there. There were two moored ferries on the port, where the players lived. We had individual small kajutki, we lived alone. One morning I lost time after the competition, because there were no windows. I just didn't wake up and slept in the morning, and no one could wake me up there and kill me. It was dark in the cabin all the time, so I got rid of the night and I slept – laughs Długopolski.
– I flew to Norway straight from the United States and I was very tired during the journey. Until my blood from my nose released. And on the hill too. Because at some point, at some official training, I look down, and I have a bloody, all red issue. It turned out that my nose was leaking. I was tired of this journey and it was the effect of it – recalls the Pole. And he adds that the results of the jumper staff – and Robert Mateja then took a great fifth place on the normal hill and lost the medal with a landing mistake – then the coaches satisfied. That is why, despite the bloody number of the championship in Trondheim, he remembers positively.
Masks at the Norwegian Hotel. And right next to the place of the memorable Legia match
Today, athletes already live many more luxurious conditions. Large hotels where they even book the whole floors. Like the staff of Norwegian runs, which also completely retain sanitary rules to avoid illness throughout the event and walk in the masks in the corridors. Those well known from the time of Pandemic.
Hotel Scandic Lerkendal, in which the Norwegians and some other national teams live, is located next to the Rosenborg Stadium. This is the second one after ski facilities the greatest sports pride of Trondheim. The Norwegians organize press conferences in the rooms inside one of the stands of this facility. With a view of the pitch and the interior of the stadium. It was there in the 1990s that Rosenborg was not only on Norwegian but also European pitches. He was a terror in ice Champions Leaguewhere he came the furthest until the quarter -finals. In 1997 he fell out in it after a two -legged one with Juventus. The season earlier in the group stage faced Legia Warsaw, and many Poles often remember these matches to this day. This is bitterly away, lost by Legia 0: 4, much better meeting with Warsaw, winning 3: 1.
Centrum Trondheim is a combination of modernity and tradition. On the one hand, it smells of freshness of subsequent hotels, the streets traverses the enormity of electric cars and even city buses, and the port next to them you can see the port, the famous colorful houses and lots of boats. A landscape associated with this place for decades. Near the story you can feel even more. On one of the streets in the center stands the Axel Bruuna store. Today, filled with Norwegian collections of Norwegian clothes and equipment, looking like a local boutique. It used to be a place associated with Norwegian jumpers. Why? It was here that for years they worked as sellers such legends as Bjoern Wirkola or Torki Engan. Many people mention that when they were the most popular athletes in the country, when traveling through Trondheim, there were even trips to this place to meet them and get an autograph.
The Norwegians just nod when they hear “Poland”. I think compassionate
World championship You can see everywhere in Trondheim. First of all, at Granasen and Torvet Square, where medalists are decorated in the evenings and then Norwegian fans They start celebrating – drink and dance in local bars or clubs. But not only there. In shopping centers, stores have special offers for the time of the World Cup. You can buy flags in almost every supermarket. They are even kept by shop mannequins, often exposing colors with hats or scarves.
In Poland, I met with similar local fanaticism only once – on the occasion of Euro 2012. His scale in Trondheim is amazing. Seeing accreditation, people don't even ask me if I came to the world championships, but from where and how long I stay. Hearing that they nod from Poland. Probably with compassion. Because they later admit that they do not associate that one of our athletes succeed here.
They probably don't even count such. After a whole day of competition on Tuesday, they lead in a medal table with a gigantic advantage. They have already accumulated eight gold medals, and they have 19 discs in total. This is a declaration of other nations, a show of strength in front of your own audience. And the Norwegian media sometimes still cry quite loudly with these few failures and emphasizes that it could have been even better. And we, looking at this lament after silver and bronze medals, we return to following the 10th in the rain in 10. On the normal hill Paweł Wąsk. Because it's a beautiful championship, but for others. For now, for now, they are, unfortunately, an unpleasant experience. And although you can admire others, you enjoy the fact that one of the most popular sports in our country is ongoing, finally a bitter aftertaste remains after all.