The Army makes an impression in the World Military Skiing Championship in Italy and in the Spanish Cross-Country Skiing Cup

Hoisting of the flags on the opening day (Photo: EMMOE)

Private Sanz (right) on the podium (Photo: EMMOE)

During an intense week of competitions, private Sanz of the Spanish Army’s Ski Team came third at the Spanish Cross-Country Skiing Cup and was among the top ten in the Nordic skiing category during the World Military Skiing Championship with took place in Italy, in which 16 national teams took part.

The Championship took place in Sestriere from 24 to 31 January; the Spanish athletes took part in individual Nordic cross-country skiing and in Team Sprint. Private Sanz came in a remarkable tenth among more than sixty participants; in addition, Sergeant Major Gimeno came in 17th and private Martínez, 23rd. In Team Sprint the Spaniards reached the semi-finals but their score was not high enough to be among the six teams which disputed the final. The countries whose armies took part also included Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, United States, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Oman, Poland, Switzerland and Romania.

Upon its return from Italy, the Spanish Army’s Ski Team travelled to the Rabasa ski resort in Andorra to take part in the Catalonia Championship and the second round of the Spanish Cross-Country Cup. The skate-skiing competition was held on 31 January over a 15 kilometre course. Sergeant Major Gimeno won in the master category, while private Sanz was third overall. After the race, they lead in their respective categories for the Spanish Cup.