The ski marathon concluded the 84th International Festival of the North. It took place over a period of two days: Saturday was dedicated to freestyle and Sunday to the classical race. The Murmansk races are part of the Russian marathon series Russialoppet and the Evroloppet international series.
The organizers note that participants from the Russian regions as well as Belarus, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Austria, the US, Australia and other countries signed up for the marathon. Olympic champions Anna Bogaly and Olga Zaitseva and World champion Alexei Petukhov were also among the participants.
"Alexei Petukhov was the leader in the freestyle race until the very last moment. The result of the Murmansk skier was 2 hours 14 minutes and 4.2 seconds. Athletes from Monchegorsk won the women's race and occupied all three podium places: Anna Belaya won the gold, clocking 2 hours 31 minutes and 41 seconds," the organizers said after the race.
The program of the Festival of the North includes competitions in various sports, such as ski races, skating, yachting, alpine skiing, biathlon, national sports, field hockey and mini football on the snow. This year, there were competitions in 16 athletic disciplines.
