– There will be a Swedish show of force in the final. The Norwegians simply can’t take it, said news’s cross-country commentator Jann Post. Just over ten seconds after Jonna Sundling won her third sprint championship gold in a row, Kristine Stavå’s Skistad came in fifth in the WC sprint final. In the place behind came Tiril Udnes Weng. – It’s sad now, says Skistad to news. – The worst that could happen She was the one of the Norwegian runners who looked the best throughout the day, but when the Swedish stars turned up the pace in the last half of the final, neither she nor Tiril Udnes Weng had the opportunity to keep up. – In this regard, I am no better. I’m a little too heavy, for now. I have a job to do, says Skistad. – There were difficult conditions, how did that affect your race? – Ugh, that was the worst thing that could happen to me. I tried to make the best of it, but they were simply better. Especially when the road is so heavy and the track so hard, says Skistad to news. When asked that it became four times Swedish, she replies: – It’s sad. It’s boring. I will work hard in the next two years to ensure that it does not happen in Trondheim. You just have to get better, quite simply, says Skistad. – Do you get irritated? – Hehe, no, no, so it’s really tough. After all, they are the last ones you want to be knocked off, so it is very tough that there are four ahead. I hope that doesn’t happen again in the championship, says an honest Skistad. CONGRATULATED THE WINNER: Kristine Stavås Skistad (left) and Tiril Udnes Weng (centre) congratulated Jonna Sundling (right) after the gold race. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB Weng: – Became extra Tiril Udnes Weng is honest that she had no opportunity to fight for the victory. – I became an extra. It’s boring when you first stand in a final and don’t have the strength, but I didn’t have any problems. In a way, that’s fine. I gave what I had. – That there will be four Swedes first, is that okay? – No, it’s not that. There are four good Swedes and we were prepared that they would be difficult to beat today. They are good, there is nothing more to say than that, she says. Sundling won ahead of teammates Emma Ribom, Maja Dahlqvist and Linn Svahn. – They were better than us today. It was the advance favorites who won today, and at the same time we are satisfied that we have two in the final, even if we fall short there, says the Norwegian coach Sjur Ole Svarstad. SWEDISH DOMINANCE: The gold went to Jonna Sundling (right). One of the Norwegian runners in red can be seen in the background. Photo: JURE MAKOVEC / AFP Skistad got a chance for revenge Skistad’s WC debut in 2019 ended with a belly splash in the sprint semi-final in Seefeld, Austria. Four years later, she had the opportunity to make up for it in Planica. In a sprint that was characterized by difficult conditions and many falls, Skistad stayed on his feet and made it to the final. There she took the lead early on, but in the second half the Swedes pulled away and parked the two Norwegian runners. Skistad’s coach Lage Sofienlund was disappointed, but composed after the race. – It is sad. When you are so close to medals, you want them. But Sweden is impressive today. It is in many ways fair to be beaten when you are beaten the way you are now. Then it’s just a matter of getting home to Konnerud and training further, he says. – Based on my foundation this season and where I came from, we could never have hoped for anything better than what I did today. But I thought maybe I could manage a little better today, says Skistad himself. THIS IS HOW THE WC ENDED FOUR YEARS AGO: Kristine Stavå’s Skistad (right) fell during her WC debut four years ago. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB – Nonchalant and a little arrogant Skistad has had her big breakthrough this season after a few troubled seasons and took her first World Cup victory in January when she won the last classic sprint before the World Cup in Les Rousses, France. Heading into the WC, the Konnerud runner chose her very own charge, where she stuck with coach Lage Sofienlund and the club’s investment in Konnerud rather than the women’s national team’s high-altitude meeting in Lavazé, Italy. Third place in the WC prologue showed that she had managed to keep up her good form. Skistad continued the good pace in the quarter-finals. Together with Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist, she had full control of the rest and progressed from the heat. – A little nonchalant and a little arrogant, just like Kristine Stavå’s Skistad is at its best. She got that cheap, said news’s cross-country commentator Jann Post. SHOWING STRENGTH: Kristine Stavå’s Skistad easily progressed from the quarter-finals. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB Tiril Udnes Weng also progressed easily, while both Anna Svendsen and Lotta Udnes Weng reached the quarter-finals. The first semi-final could almost have been a final and Skistad took command from the start. On the run, she was challenged by both Emma Ribom and Jonna Sundling. The former managed to get past, while Skistad just finished second and secured a place in the final. Second place also went to Weng in the second semi-final, and thus there were four Swedes and two Norwegian women who were to fight for the medals in the final. It would turn out to be a Swedish party.
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Swedish demonstration of power in the sprint final – Skistad and Weng were parked – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
