McCall Idaho Headline News

The United States may have won the Cold War, but Russia won the contest in the cold by winning the most gold medals in the 2008 Masters World Cup in McCall.

The Russian team of 112 racers won 42 gold medals and 100 medals overall during the six days of racing at Ponderosa State Park that ended Friday.

The Russians bested the US. delegation, which earned 34 gold medals, even though the number of American entrants was nearly six times the number of Russians.

The United States did capture the most total medals, with 132 gold, silver and bronze. Skiers from Norway had the strongest showing per capita. The 45 Norwegian racers came away with 27 gold medals, third behind the U.S. and Russia, and 51 medals overall.

Italy placed fourth with nine gold medals among their 29 overall medals. Canada followed with eight golds and 41 medals overall, and Germany took home seven gold medals and 27 overall.

The Russians typically do far better than most nations because they have a selection process for many of their skiers, said J.D. Downing, national director for both the World Masters Association and American XC Skiers in Bend, Ore.

"Skiers have to qualify for the worlds in local and regional competitions, and also there are some incentive systems in place over there to help with travel costs," Downing said.

The Norwegian results are simply a marker of how deep and talented that nation is in cross country skiing despite being a fraction of the size of either the U.S. or Russia, he said.

"It's the birthplace of cross country skiing, so it stands to reason you'll see incredible skiers from Norway as long as the snow keeps falling," Downing said.

Many Mldtlple Winners There were several multiple gold-medal winners from among the 1,223 racers from 23 countries entered in the event, which featured individual classic, individual freestyle and relay races.

Star-News photo by Michael Wells OLDEST SKIER - McCall Mayor Bert Kulesza, right, presents Georges Girard of Quebec Canada with a certificate signifying Girard as the oldest Nordic skier participating in the Masters World Cup at a ceremony held outside City Hall last week.  Girard, 93, presented the city with a Quebec flag and other gifts.

For the Russians, Tatiana Esipova won triple gold in the freestyle races for ages 50-54, and Elena Matveeva also won three gold medals in the classic races for ages 40-44.

Other Russian women to win three races were Sofya Kozhevina in freestyle and Nina Meteleva in classic, both in the age 55-59 division, and LudmMa Kenareva in the age 65-69 bracket.

Among the United States skiers to win triple gold were Beth Reid in the age 45-49 class. Reid was formerly known as Beth Heiden, who dominated the American speed skating world with her brother, Eric Heiden, in the late 1970s.

Other Americans to win three gold medals were Gabriele Andersen and Trina Hosner in the 60-64 age group.

Norwegians earning triple gold were Erik Johansen in classic skiing for ages 55-59, Finn Magnar Hagen in freestyle skiing forages 65-69.

Italy's Alfio DiGregorio won three gold meads in freestyle skiing for racers aged 35-39 to earn one. third of Italy's nine gold medals during the event.

Great Britain's Norman Clark won two gold medals in freestyle skiing for ages 75-79 to earn his country's only medals.

Karin Laine of the small Baltic country of Estonia won gold medals in three races forages 75-79, but she also was the only entrant in each of those races. Estonia won a total of five medals.

The Russians also edged the United States in relay races held on March 5, winning six races to five for the Americans. The Norwegians won two relays and the Germans won one relay.

In classic cross-country skiing, racers must stay in set tracks, while freestyle skiing allows racers to use a skating technique.