Norwegian legend Bente Skari says she is “sure” that Marit Bjoergen will win more medals over the rest of the 2010 Olympics.

“She seems to be so full of self confidence,” Skari told FasterSkier this morning.

After some rough going over the last few winters, Skari said that she didn’t expect to see her countrywoman performing well this year.

“Right now I’m not surprised that she is doing that well. But if you had asked me before the season, I had thought that she will not have these medals,” said Skari.

She added that the Norwegian women are all thrilled by Bjoergen’s success, and that they are “working as a team,” rather than a bunch of individuals gathered in one place.

Skari is in Whistler as a member of the race jury. That body is currently involved in a minor controversy stemming from yesterday’s women’s pursuit, when Norway accused Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) of skating too early in the transition. The case affects the Norwegians because Kowalczyk edged Kristin Stormer Steira (NOR) in a photo finish.

Norway didn’t lodge a protest, but Skari said that the jury already examined the incident and ruled that Kowalczyk didn’t do anything wrong.

“What [Norway] can do now is make an appeal, and they are welcome to do that,” she said.

The Norwegian television station NRK reported this morning that its country’s team will make its decision on an appeal after today’s men’s pursuit.

For Justyna Kowalczyk, “only gold counts now,” according to Sebastian Parfjanowicz, one of 20 Polish journalists here, who is covering the Games for a TV station, TVP Sport.

Kowalczyk is one of two Polish athletes at the Olympics with medals, along with the ski jumper Adam Malysz. Both already have silvers from earlier in the week. But Kowalczyk has the best chance for a win, and consequently, the most pressure—even if she doesn’t like it.

Malysz, Parfjanowicz said, is the most famous Pole in the entire country, with 98 percent name recognition. Kowalczyk’s fame is growing, but still does not approach Malysz’s.

Her appeal for Poles stems from her genuineness.

Kowalczyk is well-educated, and reads a lot. She’ll talk books, politics, and music.

“People like her because she’s very natural,” Parfjanowicz said. “She doesn’t tell in round words, when she has something straight to say.”

Her success in the last few years has helped her with sponsorship, but still hasn’t inspired very much interest in the sport in her country.

“She’s one of a kind,” said Parjanowicz.

FasterSkier caught up with some of the Canadians to talk about the first two cross country races.

FasterSkier got some videos from this morning’s action in the qualifier. A couple of interviews with Americans Simi Hamilton and Katie Ronsse, as well as some skiing, with shots of Andy Newell, Emil Joensson (SWE), Petra Majdic (SLO), and others. The clips of Ronsse and Newell are below, and the rest will be available at FasterSkier’s YouTube page within the hour, when they’re finished uploading.

Better late than never: a quick video with U.S. athletes Tad Elliot and Noah Hoffman following their distance skate races in Canmore. Also, a quick example of the media frenzy in advance of the Olympics: Ivan Babikov being interviewed by his own press attache for a Canadian TV station.

Anna Haag (SWE) finished 5th in today’s 10km freestyle.  Nat Herx talked to her in the finish area.

Petra Majdic (SLO), one of top women on the World Cup circuit, arrived in Canmore yesterday and is scheduled to race both races, pending how she feels.  Majdic took some time to fill us in after a ski.  As always, she was a pleasure to talk to.

FasterSkier checked in with Andy Newell following his best World Cup distance race ever.  While he was pleased, Newell did not feel he had his best race.

“I don’t think it was an awesome race. I could for sure feel it in my legs and back that I had put in a hard sprint the day before. So when I was racing it didn’t feel too fast so I was pretty surprised to see that I was only 1:24 back in the end.”

Fast conditions made for an extremely tight field.  The 1:24 back that Newell mentioned placed him in 48th.

“I think its a sign of good things to come in distance skiing though. This is my first year back training like a distance skier so I don’t really have much expectations other than a goal of scoring World Cup distance points by the end of the year. But it does feel good to distance race. I love how you only have to warm up once.”

He finished 26 seconds out of the top 30 and his first World Cup distance points.

On teammate Kris Freeman’s 4th place result – “I’m stoked Bird [Freeman] had such a good day!”

A complete write-up on the men’s 15km classic in Kuusamo can be found here.

US Nordic Combined star Billy Demong checked in with FasterSkier after the cross-country portion of the mass-start at World Championships.  Demong finished third in the race, after breaking away from the pack midway through.  Jumping for the day was canceled and resumed today.  Demong ultimately finished 5th in the event, while teammate Todd Lodwick took the victory.  Demong’s break in the cross-country helped Lodwick win the cross-country yesterday.

FasterSkier: How did your race go today?  I understand that you broke from the pack at around 5km. Was this part of your plan heading into the race?
Billy Demong: I woke up this morning (yesterday) feeling a bit of a sore throat, I really had no expectations going into the race, which can be a good thing for me.  I almost accidently took the lead at about 3.5km and then a a km or so later looked back and saw that there were still 30 guys in the lead group.  I knew that going into the jumping I needed to try and open a gap and decided to pick it up a bit.  Almost immediately I opened a 5 sec gap on the field and for a sec was confused but realized the oppertunity and went for it.  It served two purposes, first a chance to maybe win it solo, and second it let Todd and Johnny ease off and let others chase.  Although I was caught at 8km I had saved enough to put in a good last charge on the hill after I saw Todd make his move for the win!

FS: It sounds like it was pretty nasty for the jumping.  Did you get a chance to jump before the event was canceled?

BD: We took a trial round before he comp which was solid.  Then the conditions got much worse and a hurricane started blowing snow all over the hill.  Todd and I hung out in the lift shack at the top and then when we saw guys leaving the start we hopped back on for a ride down.

FS: How do you feel about your chances heading into the rescheduled jump tomorrow? (Editor’s Note: As mentioned above, the competition was completed today, and Demong finished 5th.)

BD: Well, sitting third is good.  I wish we had been able to open more of a gap to other guys, but I feel good on the jump right now so I think it will be an exciting competition for the 20 guys who finished close together in the race!

Kikkan Randall took some time to answer a few questions following the best World Championship distance performance of her career.  Kikkan finished 26th in the 10km classic in Liberec.  For full coverage of the race, click here.

FasterSkier: How did the race go?  Based on the splits, you improved your  place at each checkpoint – was this part of your race strategy?

Kikkan Randall: It was a really good race for me today, my best World Championship distance finish by a ways.  I usually start off conservative (so as to not get those sprint fibers going to fast) and build into the race.  Today I actually started off a little faster than usual, and was pleased to find that I was still feeling strong after the first lap.  I got a few pushes from red group skiers on my 2nd lap and overall just felt really fresh and strong.

FS: The result (as measured by FIS points) was your one of your top-3  career World Cup distance races.  Are you gaining more confidence in  these events?

KR: My 23rd place result in Kuusamo earlier this season definitely proved to me that my distance fitness had improved over the previous year and that gave me confidence going into this World Championship 10km.  I knew on a good day I could be competitive in the top 30.  Now with two results inside the top 30, my distance racing confidence is getting stronger every race.

FS: Obviously your best chance for a top result at the World  Championships is in the individual sprint.  How does this 10k event factor in to your preparation for that event?

KR: The 10km race today was a good chance to get out on my skis and test my body.  After last weekend in Valdidentro, I knew my racing form was really taking shape, and today’s race was another confirmation that I am on track for where I want to be for Tuesday’s sprint.  Now I have a couple days to rest and then build back up for a busy three days of racing next week.

FS: It appears you try get World Cup distance starts whenever the  schedule allows it.  What is your long term goal with distance  racing?  Do you believe you can reach the same level in the distance
events that you have in sprinting?

KR: In many World Cup racers, you see sprinting success first and then more distance success later on.  I hope to see the same progression with my ski career.  While my immediate goals are focused on sprint podiums, I have long term goals to be competitive in distance racing on the World Cup as well.

FS: Thanks Kikkan!  Good luck over the rest of the week!