Mara to switch to XC.....Skiing!
She'll be needing those gloves, and a hat!
Yes, if the reports on the BBC Sport website are to be believed then top UK marathoner Mara Yamauchi quite fancies switching to cross country skiing. The Japan-based Briton was top-UK finisher at this year’s Olympic marathon, and has a number of great big-city-marathon runs to her name.
“I have this dream of becoming a cross-country skier because it is an endurance sport,” said Yamauchi. “A lot of top athletes have switched sports. Rebecca Romero won a cycling gold medal after having been a rower,” she added. “Starting out as a 35-year old, I do not know if it will go anywhere. I am looking into it at this stage, but at the moment I am sticking to marathon running.”
Lots of Mara's training is done off road...
Yamauchi would follow in the footsteps of one of the great Ingrid Kristiansen if she manages to compete in both disciplines. Kristiansen, one of the greatest-ever woman marathon runners, had a head start of course as cross country skiing is practically the national sport of Norway, and Mara would definitely go one better if she went on to compete at Olympic level in both sports.
That's far too many poles, Ingrid.
