The Russians Are the Fastest in Marathon Cross-Country Skiing: The “Engadin Ski Marathon”

Abstract

It is well known that athletes from a specific region or country are dominating certain sports disciplines such as marathon running or Ironman triathlon; however, little relevant information exists on cross-country skiing. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the aspect of region and nationality in one of the largest cross-country skiing marathons in Europe, the “Engadin Ski Marathon.” All athletes (n=197,125) who finished the “Engadin Ski Marathon” between 1998 and 2016 were considered. More than two-thirds of the finishers (72.5% in women and 69.6% in men) were Swiss skiers, followed by German, Italian, and French athletes in both sexes. Most of the Swiss finishers were from Canton of Zurich (20.5%), Grisons (19.2%), and Berne (10.3%). Regarding performance, the Russians were the fastest and the British the slowest. Considering local athletes, finishers from Canton of Uri and Glarus were the fastest and those from Canton of Geneva and Basel the slowest. Based on the findings of the present study, it was concluded that local athletes were not the fastest in the “Engadin Ski Marathon.” Future studies need to investigate other cross-country skiing races in order to find the nationalities and regions of the fastest cross-country skiers.