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bare-spare t1_jad1y2c wrote

Reply to comment by l_--__--_l in Jessie Diggins is first U.S. cross-country skier to win individual world title by smackslips

He was one of the pioneers of freestyle cross country skiing right?

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cho_bits t1_jad2tmq wrote

Yup, he created skate skiing (edit apparently popularized but didn’t create!) a much faster technique that totally revolutionized the sport, similar to what the Fosbury flop did for the high jump.

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niems3 t1_jad6gkb wrote

I’d say it’s more similar to the butterfly stroke in swimming. Some dude figured out that the motions of the butterfly were legal within the former rules of the breast stroke, so he did that and they ended up creating a new discipline within swimming. Skate and Classic are two different disciplines within Nordic skiing. The manufacturers loved it because it required everyone to have two sets of equipment 😂

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cho_bits t1_jadj5hy wrote

Ah yeah fair point! Skate didn’t replace classic. I’m Just glad more people are learning about the sport as a whole! I saw an interview with Kikkan Randall a few years ago and she talked about how she’s a huge celebrity in Europe and then she goes home and nobody recognizes her, even though at the time she was one of the best and most successful athletes representing the US.

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ActualWhiterabbit t1_jadrvv1 wrote

The real secret is just to just classic while double poling only so you only have to buy one pair of skis but still wear combi boots

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madscandi t1_jaej7y3 wrote

He didn't create it. Johan Grøttumsbråten used it all the way back in the 1930s, and it was used in ski marathons up until Koch built on it and popularized it in the 80s on the biggest stage.

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cho_bits t1_jaey8a8 wrote

Edited thanks! Typical American man taking the credit 😂

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