Three gold medals to Norway on the last day of the junior WC in cross-country skiing – KONDIS
More from the junior WC in cross-country skiing:
Bronze for Tuva Anine Brusveen-Jensen in the junior WC in cross-country skiing
Millimeter victory for the Norwegian U20 girls in the relay in the WC
Margrethe Bergane best Norwegian when there was a Swiss triumph of 10 km in the U23 WC
Nordic podium with bronze to Håvard Moseby in 15 km in the U23 WC
Bronze for Emma Kirkeberg Dark in the 5 km classic in the U20 WC
Bronze to Magnus Øyaas Håbrekke in the sprint in the U23 WC
It was a great Sunday for the Norwegian colors in the junior WC in cross-country skiing in the sunshine at Lygna. In the sprint, all eight Norwegian runners went on from the prologue, and even though there was some peeling due to both pole vaulting and other things in the quarter- and semifinals, there were Norwegian forces again in the finals as well.
Maria Hartz Melling seemed strong all the way, and even though she got tough opposition from Swedish Märta Rosenberg in the final, she had good control towards the end.
– I felt better with each heat. The final was tough, but I had extra strength towards the end. It was very fun to win a gold medal at home, Maria Hartz Melling told The Ski Association after the victory was secured.
The silver went to the aforementioned Rosenberg, while Elizaveta Bekisheva managed the bronze despite a fall in the last uphill.
Maria Hartz Melling could cheer for gold, while Märta Rosenberg took the silver and Elizaveta Bekisheva the bronze. (Photo: Norwegian Ski Association)
Gold to Johannes Lønnestad Flaaten
Johannes Lønnestad Flaaten went with start number one after having had the best time in the prologue. He followed this up nicely by being number one in goals also in the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.
In the final, the Swedish favorite Edvin Anger set up great speed from the start. The field was blown up, but Flaaten hung on, and towards the end of the last hill there was contact between Anger and Flaaten. The Swede came completely out of rhythm, and in the subsequent downhill towards the finish he fell from what seemed to be a clear second place. Thus, he was last in the final.
The silver went to Italian Blia Barp, while Aleksander Eide Homboe made sure that it also became a Norwegian bronze medal.
Johannes Lønnestad Flaaten was of course brilliantly happy with the day and the gold.
– It felt good to win at home. It turned out to be great speed from the start in the final, but I managed to stay focused, said the Norwegian soloist.
The gold medal in the sprint went to Johannes Lønnestad Flaaten (middle), the silver to Elia Barp (left) and the bronze to Aleksander Eide Holmboe. (Photo: Norwegian Ski Association)
Gold after a strong Norwegian team effort in the mixed relay
It was first and foremost the evenness of the Norwegian team that secured the gold in the mixed relay in the U23 class. The relay consisted of two classic stages and two skating stages divided by one stage of each variety for each gender.
Mari Folkvord was usable on the first stage and gave the Norwegian team a perfectly good start. Håvard Moseby delivered a very strong second stage, and when alternating, Norway and France were alone in the lead. On the third stage, Frenchman Jules Chappaz drove so hard that Andreas Fjorden Ree had enough to hang on to. But he managed it, and thus Kristin Austgulen Fosnæs could secure the victory against the supposedly weaker Eve Ondine Duchaufour on the last stage.
In the interview with NRK after the finish, the Norwegian anchor woman described the experience as follows:
– It was very delicious. I feel like I have not quite had the rod into this championship so incredibly cool to have it now, and not least experience it as a team, so it was really fun. I felt really good and tried to make a little show, Kristin said as a real jerk along the way and in addition took a Petter Northug variant when she crossed the finish line.
Russia secured the bronze medal after a really strong final stage by Veronika Stepanova. But the happiest were probably the French athletes who surprised a lot by going in for silver.
– It is absolutely insane that we managed a silver medal. The team gave me a good starting point that I managed to take care of, was Eve Ondine Duchaufour’s comment after the finish.
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