Team Geared Up

DUBLIN, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) - We were contacted last week by Irish team member Conor Mc Laughlin who was competing in the first round of races along with Iain Ballentine. Unfortunately they haven’t qualified for progression into the later stages of the competition but there are 2 others racing this week. Good to see some Irish competing at the top level of their sport and can hopefully encourage more to take up the sport in the future! We will keep you updated with any more news we hear over the coming days. But follow the team on the official World Championships site.

Below is an article on the event written by Conor Mc Laughlin:

Last wednesday saw the first of four Irish Athletes participating in the FIS Nordic Ski World Championships in Liberec Czech Republic. The FIS Nordic Ski World Championships is held every two years and is the biggest event in the winter Games Calender this year. It is also the biggest sporting event ever to be held in the Czech Republic.
Conor Mc Laughlin (Inver Co Donegal) and Iain Ballentine (Saintfield, Co Down) took part in the 10km qualification race , while Paul Griffin ( Co kerry) and PJ Barron will take part in the 50 km and sprint race respectively.
The 10 km race takes part over a challenging 2 loop 5km piste around Vesec stadium.Only the top ten competitors make the next stage. It was very competitive and well supported by the locals.We did a few interviews with some television stations afterwards and they were particularly interested in how the developing nations prepare for such events. The local support was very encouraging. Our event was the first of the World championships which also features ski jumping and Nordic combined.
This is the largest team Ireland have had for this particular event and after much preparation and a very sucessful training camp in Ostersund Sweden they hope to continue their particpation and increased presence at the world’s largest Nordic ski events.

-Eoinod-