Two more than the last time in Beijing and at the same time 21 less than during the record-breaking expedition in Vancouver 2010. Slovakia will be represented at the Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina by 52 athletes, three of them in cross-country skiing.
Although they will not be among the aspirants for medals, or even for the top spot in Italy, the recent nomination has sparked controversy, which has been intensified by the contribution of Anastasia Kuzminova.
It followed that she considers the decision of the Slovak Skiing Association (ZSL) to be unfair to her son Jelisejo, who is not included in the nomination.
“Before the 2006 Olympics, it happened that despite my better performance and results, another athlete traveled to Italy. I believed that my son would never have to experience a similar injustice,” she wrote.
Also in this context, Sportnet contacted ZSL to clarify the reasons for the non-participation of the 18-year-old athlete under the five rings.
No one met the A-limit
Before the 2025/2026 season, men’s cross-country skiing already had two Olympic places for which there was an internal battle until recently.
“We have drawn up nomination regulations for events of international importance, i.e. the Olympics, the Junior and U23 World Championships, as well as the World Cup races.
The executive committee approved it and on November 12, the nomination form was sent to the members of the national team and also to those who were not in the team, but could fight for the Olympics,” said Nordic disciplines section manager Marián Baláž.
Cross-country skiers could win a place at the Winter Olympics by placing 50th in the WC, but no one succeeded. The union thus had to use the B-limit, which concerned the two best positions in the FESA Cup.
These lower category events (like the IBU Cup in biathlon, note) were held in Planica, St. Ulrich and also in Seefeld.
Sprint and distance races were on the program in each center, so rankings were created based on the two best results from both disciplines.
There is no reason for guilt
Since both men and juniors ride on the same tracks with the same number of kilometers, the ranking of Slovaks was determined based on the times achieved.
Points were awarded for those, while Peter Hinds, who was born in Alaska but has a Slovak mother, finished in first place in both rankings.
In the distance race, after his best performances, he had a total of 131 points, but in the sprint he had up to 167, so the higher number was taken into the nomination list.
The second Olympic place was finally won by Tomáš Cenek, who specializes in sprints. In it, he scored 147 points, which was 24 points more than the best indicator of Yelisej Kuzmin (also in the sprint).
Jelisa Kuzmin. (Source: olympic.sk, Author: SOŠV/ANDREJ GALICA)
Jáchym Cenek took 4th place with 110 points, Matej Horniak got three less in the distance ranking, and Martin Borsík (76 b) finished the ranking.
“We were immediately lynched by the media, why Jelišej is not going. The sprint ranking consists of the times in the qualifications, which is a completely standard procedure.
However, in the FESA Junior Cup, Tomáš Cenek was better than him in two of the three qualifications and even had one better time than Hinds,” says Baláž.
Anastasija Kuzminová perceives the aforementioned contribution from the point of view of a mother who wants the best for her son, but at the same time talks about her ignorance of the nomination regulations.
“I respect Nastya and her husband Daniel a lot, but her contribution casts a bad light on the work of our section. They don’t have to feel any guilt because the nomination criteria were set in advance,” he added.
Finishing 83rd is insufficient
In addition to the six-time Olympic medalist, Pavol Horniak, the father of the 22-year-old representative Matej Horniak, also commented negatively on the nomination.
The one in the post, which was also published in Blog section of the SME dailysaid he felt guilty that his son was not nominated for the SP event in Oberhof, where he would have had the last chance to fight for the 2026 Olympics.
Slovak representatives in cross-country skiing: from left, Tereza Bukasová, Martin Borsík, Mária Danielová, Jelisej Kuzmin, Emília Rendová and Matej Horniak. (Author: TASR)
According to his opinion, the two best from the sprint and also the two best from the FESA Cup endurance race from Seefeld should have traveled there.
With the absence of Hinds and the good performances of Kuzmin, the second place in the distance rankings really belonged to Matej Horniak, but the 83rd place was not considered by ZSL to be sufficient for participation in the World Cup.
“The nomination regulations state that two to four athletes will be nominated to the German Oberhof. This does not mean that there must be four.
A competitor goes to the World Cup, who must have performance. That is the most important thing for us. If you finish in the 83rd position in the FESA Cup, even as the second best Slovak, that does not guarantee you a start in the World Cup.
Don’t let Mr. Horniak be angry with me, but Matej gained almost three minutes from 18-year-old Kuzmin in the 10 km classical technique, which is a huge gap. In addition, he gave up the next race after two kilometers,” says Baláž.
Purposeful ski damage?
Finally, both Cenekov brothers traveled to Oberhof, as Jáchym qualified through the sprint and Tomáš, although he cannot start in the SP, was preparing under the supervision of the coaches for the Olympic Games, which he was already almost certain about at that time.
“Only Jelisej Kuzmin could change it, but he would have to score points in the WC, which few people at his age will be able to do. However, I am happy with how he is progressing and the junior WC will be the highlight of his season,” Baláž added.
The manager of the Nordic disciplines section also responded to the part of Pavel Horniak’s article in which he wrote about inadequate service of skis at international events.
In an interview with Sportnet, he stated that, according to his findings, the rising zones of the waxing were shortened and therefore damaged on purpose. Baláz refuses.
“I absolutely rule out that the service favors one competitor over another. We have a joint service team with the Czechs and Poles.
And when Czechs Mike Ophoff and Matyas Bauer finish third and fifth in the same race as 83rd Matej Horniak with the same waxing, the problem is elsewhere.
I will repeat it again, I rule out any disadvantaging of the competitor and I will stand up against such lies and interference,” concluded Baláž.
