Athletes hail Para integration at Nordic World Ski Championships Trondheim 2025, but hint at room for improvement

One of the highlights of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Trondheim 2025 was the integration of Para Cross-Country Skiing into the program.

For the first time in snow sports history, Para skiers competed at the same World Championship as their able-bodied counterparts with the Para Cross-Country Sprint for Sitting, Standing, and Visually Impaired (VI) athletes held over two days at the Granåsen Arena.

The initiative, overwhelmingly backed by the Local Organizing Committee, FIS and the Norwegian Ski Federation, brought a new audience to Para Cross-Country.

“The competition went very well and it was very well organized,” observed Standing Men’s Sprint bronze medallist Benjamin Daviet (FRA). “It was super cool to compete in such an event with able-bodied athletes. The number of spectators and the atmosphere was completely crazy. It also gave more of a spotlight to Para sport.”

Standing Women’s Sprint finalist Dani Aravich (USA) called the atmosphere in Trondheim “the epitome of what Cross-Country skiing is”. The American added, “We were able to introduce a whole new community to the world of Para Cross-Country Skiing.”

The final Aravich contested will live long in the memory, with the crowd reaching fever pitch as home favourite Vilde Nilsen passed perennial rival Natalie Wilkie in the closing meters for gold.

Zebastian Modin (SWE), who won VI Men’s Sprint gold, spoke for most of the Para athletes by saying, “it was amazing to have the opportunity to take part at this event! I have never raced in front of that many spectators, which of course adds a lot to the experience and excitement."

Cross-Country Team Sprint silver medallist Julia Kern (USA) felt the same. “To have Para competing at these World Championships, all of us together, was amazing! These athletes are truly incredible and inspiring, and deserve the same crowds and experience.

“We rarely get to overlap with Para and I really enjoyed cheering the athletes on and getting to connect with them off the snow. I would love to see this again in the future.”

Logistical hurdles and potential improvements

While the reaction from the athletes - both Para and able-bodied - was overwhelmingly positive towards the event, there were areas for improvement as well as a handful of logistical issues.

Holding Sprint qualification the day before the finals - a necessity due to the busy schedule - turned out to be far from ideal for the Para athletes in changeable weather conditions.

“Qualifying counts enormously for the gap that there will be between the athletes for the finals,” Daviet explained. “The snow changed from one day to the next and this impacted the gap for the finals.

“The finals were faster than qualifying but the times were taken from qualifying. This had advantages and disadvantages for certain athletes. If it is to be done again, it would have to be on the same day for it to be as fair as possible.”

Para Cross-Country Sprint Chief of Competition Erik Husby shared Daviet’s opinion on the schedule, saying, “When you have tough conditions on qualification day and faster conditions on finals day, then you do not have a fair race.”

Husby, who also served as the Assistant Chief of Competition for Cross-Country, described the WSC as “amazing” but admitted, “It was challenging having to start planning the logistics for Para after things were set, like accommodation and transport. But with a lot of work and highly competent people, I think we managed this well.”

One specific obstacle was a shortage of hotel rooms for the Para athletes. “We ended up spreading the Para teams at three different hotels,” revealed Husby. “Then we also needed to plan adaptive transportation from those three hotels. That was maybe the biggest issue, but we solved it as best we could."

Hotels could well create inconvenience for the next Nordic WSC in Falun, Sweden in two years’ time. Falun is a far smaller town than Trondheim, presenting a problem in providing extra accommodation for the Para athletes.

There is also the prospect of another women’s event being added to the program in Nordic Combined to ensure full gender equality across the disciplines. That would result in an even busier schedule in Falun, especially with the need for weather contingency plans.

While the Granåsen Arena was adapted for Para skiers, a couple of issues were noted by athletes. One was that the mixed zone was not completely accessible for wheelchair users.

“I think accessibility and access to snow for sit skiers will be something to consider for the future,” added Aravich. “And having warm-up areas for athletes to use before races.”

Those complications, however, were greatly outweighed by the positives in Trondheim. And FIS Sport & Event Director Sandra Spitz was “very pleased” with the integration of Para Cross-Country into the schedule.

“Great thanks must go to the Local Organizing Committee for their efforts,” she reflected. “And to both Para and able-bodied skiers for their commitment to competing with certain compromises.

“Our gratitude also goes to other stakeholders - including rights holders and the host broadcaster - for being open and dedicated to the project as well. This initiative was only possible due to all stakeholders being on board.”

As for possible integration at Falun and beyond, Spitz acknowledged, “We are aware that we have different starting points with different infrastructures at host cities and venues creating various challenges. However, we are committed to working hard, step-by-step, to facilitate equal opportunities.”