FIS News
Athlete of the Week: Mikko Kokslien (NOR)
Sometimes, choosing an "Athlete of the Week" is not easy because so many impressive performances happen during two days of competitions and there are many different success stories to tell. After this weekend in Lillehammer, however, the honours definitely belong to local hero Mikko Kokslien and his two tours de force, delighting the home audience with a seventh rank and a spectacular win.
With a less-than-stellar opening weekend in Ruka and the added pressure of being the favourite of home crowd and local media alike to deal with, Kokslien came back with a vengeance, returning to the top listed contenders of the Nordic Combined World Cup and a rank three in thee overall World Cup standing. He is now the first athlete in hot pursuit of Germany’s yellow bib bearer Fabian Rießle and last year’s ultimate winter athlete, Eric Frenzel.
At first, things also did not look too promising after the two respective jumping events. With only 124 and 118 metres, Kokslien ranked only 43rd and 38th and the +2:12 and +1:38 time disadvantages seemed quite a lot, even to followers of the sport who know about the 29-year-old’s cross-country strength.
Then, however, it was a full-force return with two incredibly fast races on two consecutive days. Setting the fastest time each day, the local hero stormed through the field, making up a total of 36 places on day one and overtaking the whole field of 38 athletes before him on day two. In a nail-biting, close, intense fight with Fabian Riessle, Kokslien once more confirmed his reputation as a strong finisher and athlete with a talent to read the race and use his killer instinct in the right moment. He was rewarded with a crowd that was over the moon to see the local hero take his second ever win at home.
329 days after his last World Cup victory in Chaux-Neuve, a bitter end of the season with failed Olympics and a summer full of health problems, Kokslien has returned to the sunny side of things. With one of his favourite venue of Ramsau am Dachstein coming up next, things definitely look promising for the immediate future for a Mikko Kokslien that Fortuna is back to smiling upon.
With a less-than-stellar opening weekend in Ruka and the added pressure of being the favourite of home crowd and local media alike to deal with, Kokslien came back with a vengeance, returning to the top listed contenders of the Nordic Combined World Cup and a rank three in thee overall World Cup standing. He is now the first athlete in hot pursuit of Germany’s yellow bib bearer Fabian Rießle and last year’s ultimate winter athlete, Eric Frenzel.
At first, things also did not look too promising after the two respective jumping events. With only 124 and 118 metres, Kokslien ranked only 43rd and 38th and the +2:12 and +1:38 time disadvantages seemed quite a lot, even to followers of the sport who know about the 29-year-old’s cross-country strength.
Then, however, it was a full-force return with two incredibly fast races on two consecutive days. Setting the fastest time each day, the local hero stormed through the field, making up a total of 36 places on day one and overtaking the whole field of 38 athletes before him on day two. In a nail-biting, close, intense fight with Fabian Riessle, Kokslien once more confirmed his reputation as a strong finisher and athlete with a talent to read the race and use his killer instinct in the right moment. He was rewarded with a crowd that was over the moon to see the local hero take his second ever win at home.
329 days after his last World Cup victory in Chaux-Neuve, a bitter end of the season with failed Olympics and a summer full of health problems, Kokslien has returned to the sunny side of things. With one of his favourite venue of Ramsau am Dachstein coming up next, things definitely look promising for the immediate future for a Mikko Kokslien that Fortuna is back to smiling upon.
Source: fis-ski.com
