The 2023 FIS World Championships takes place in Planica (SLO) from February 21 to March 5.
During the Championships, there are four individual events and two different relays: 2-person sprint relay and 4-person distance relay for both men and women. Additionally, there is a distance qualifier event for some athletes prior to the regular events.
See the complete schedule with day-to-day details below
Who to watch? Based on what we have seen from the Madshus racers so far at the World Cup, there is a lot to look forward to at the FIS World Championships.
On the men’s side, Harald Østberg Amundsen (NOR) is a favorite for the medals in several events, particularly in the 15km skate race. At the 2021 World Championships, his first major championships, he went straight for the metal, earning the bronze in the 15km skate race in Oberstdorf.
This year, despite a losing the entire first part of the season due to illness, Amundsen won the 15km skate at the Norwegian National Championships in January. The next weekend, he earned his first World Cup victory, winning the 10km skate in Les Rousses (FRA).
Amundsen has also won or been on the podium in every 10km skate race he has entered since returning to racing in January.
Renaud Jay (FRA) also posted his first World Cup victory this season, winning the team sprint at the World Cup in Livigno (ITA) in the end of January. The French sprint specialist is clearly a medal contender in sprints and shorter events at the World Championships in Planica.
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Additionally, there are two young rising stars to watch out for: Edvin Anger(SWE) and Ben Ogden(USA).
Both Ogden and Anger excel in the sprint events, but are making strides also in the distance races.
22-year-old Ogden is second in the U23 World Cup and tenth in the overall World Cup heading into the Championships. At the 2023 Tour de Ski, Ogden was sixth in the 10km classic race in Oberstdorf (GER), which is one of the top US results in a distance race in several decades.
Related coverage: Who is Edvin Anger?
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Anger, only 20 years old and a rookie at the World Cup level, has already posted his first World Cup podium: on February 5, he anchored Sweden to second place in the relay in Toblach (ITA), the last World Cup event prior to the World Championships in Planica. Anger has also made it to the final in nearly half a dozen World Cup sprints this season, and sits in sixth place in the overall sprint World Cup.
Related coverage:Watch out for Ben Ogden
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Among the women, Krista Pärmäkoski is certainly one to keep an eye on: the 31-year-old Finnish veteran of seven World Championships already has seven World Championships medals, but is still chasing her first individual gold medal.
“Winning an individual gold medal at the Olympics was my main goal for the 2021/22 season. But there are be more opportunities down the road, and there is a new World Championship even this coming winter,”Pärmäkoski said prior to the start of the 2022/23 season.
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Additionally, rising star Sophia Laukli (USA) is one to watch out for. Only in her second full season on the World Cup, the 22-year-old has made substantial progress.
She has established herself firmly among the top contenders in any distance race, but the steeper and meaner the course, the wider Laukli grins. At the 2023 Tour de Ski, Laukli posted her first World Cup podium finishing third in the brutal final stage up the alpine run “Alpe Cermis” in Val di Fiemme (ITA).
Helene Marie Fossesholm, who at 21 is already headed for her second World Championships at the World Cup level, has had a rough start to the season, but is clearly on a roll.
The last month, Fossesholm has delivered several strong performances. At the Norwegian National Championships in January, she took home the bronze medal in the 10km skate race, and the last weekend prior to the World Championships, Fossesholm earned her first victory of the season winning the 20km mass start at the Norwegian Cup.
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2023 FIS World Championships
Who: Selected national team racers
What: FIS Nordic World Championships
Where: Planica, Slovenia
When: February 21 to March 5, 2023
Day-to-day schedule (All times are CET)
February 21
20:23pm: Opening ceremony, Planica Nordic Park, Kranjska Gora
February 22
Noon: Qualification 5km F, women
13:30: Qualification 10km F, men
February 23
Noon: Sprint CL qualifiers, women and men
14:30pm: Sprint CL heats and finals, women and men
February 24
15:30pm: Skiathlon 30km (15km CL+15km F), men
February 25
14:00pm: Skiathlon 15km (7.5km CL+7.5km F), women
February 26
11:30: Team sprint qualifier, women and men
13:30: 2 Team sprint finals, women and men
February 27
Rest day, no events
February 28
12:30: 10km F, interval start, women
March 1
12:30: 15km F, interval start, men
March 2
12:30: Relay 4x5km, women
March 3
12:30: Relay 4x10km, men
March 4
Noon: 30km CL, mass start, women
March 5
Noon: 50km CL, mass start, men