Head-to-Head: Marit vs Justyna
This is the head to head matchup that was runner up in my recent reader poll. No reason not to keep everyone happy by tackling this pair next!
Per usual, what I’m doing is taking races where Marit Bjoergen and Justyna Kowalczyk have both participated and plotting the difference of their FIS points (distance races) or the difference of their finishing place (sprint races) versus time.
Victims & Nemeses: Marit and Justyna Edition
Earlier this week I described the notion of victims and nemeses, and showed you who Petter Northug’s were for the 2009-2010 season. You can check back at that link for a description of victims/nemeses. The basic idea is to count up the number of times you beat someone by a narrow margin (they become a victim) or are beaten by someone by a narrow margin (they become a nemesis).
This time let’s look at two of the fastest women around today: Norwegian Marit Bjoergen and Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk. Only this time, instead of limiting ourselves to just a single season, let’s look over their entire careers.
First Justyna’s victims and nemeses:
| Justyna Kowalczyk's Victims | Value |
|---|---|
| STEIRA Kristin Stoermer | 10 |
| KUITUNEN Virpi | 9 |
| ROPONEN Riitta-Liisa | 9 |
| BJOERGEN Marit | 8 |
| SAARINEN Aino-Kaisa | 8 |
| BOEHLER Stefanie | 7 |
| Justyna Kowalczyk's Nemeses | Value |
|---|---|
| SAARINEN Aino-Kaisa | 11 |
| BJOERGEN Marit | 10 |
| ROPONEN Riitta-Liisa | 10 |
| LONGA Marianna | 9 |
| KALLA Charlotte | 8 |
| KUENZEL-NYSTAD Claudia | 8 |
Marit Bjoergen actually isn’t in the lead here in either case. Instead it’s Kristin Stoermer Steira who’s been edged out by Kowalczyk the most. Interestingly, it’s Finnish skier Aino-Kaisa Saarinen who ends up being Justyna’s biggest nemesis, not Bjoergen, although just by a hair.
Next up Marit Bjoergen’s victims and nemeses:
| Marit Bjoergen's Victims | Value |
|---|---|
| STEIRA Kristin Stoermer | 14 |
| PEDERSEN Hilde G. | 13 |
| SAARINEN Aino-Kaisa | 13 |
| HAAG (HANSSON) Anna | 10 |
| KOWALCZYK Justyna | 10 |
| SACHENBACHER-STEHLE Evi | 10 |
| Marit Bjoergen's Nemeses | Value |
|---|---|
| MAJDIC Petra | 10 |
| SMIGUN-VAEHI Kristina | 9 |
| KOWALCZYK Justyna | 8 |
| JATSKAJA Oxana | 7 |
| PALUSELLI Cristina | 7 |
| SAVIALOVA Olga | 7 |
Once again Kristin Stoermer Steira gets the win in the victims category. For some reason I wasn’t expecting Petra Majdic to pop up as Bjoergen’s top nemesis, but there she is.
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