Andersson wins historic skiathlon gold despite fall: ‘A dream come true’
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Andersson’s season itself has been a lesson in how to get back up after a fall. She caught Covid-19 after the Coop FIS Cross-Country World Cup stop in Lillehammer, Norway, in December, missing out on the Tour de Ski 2022-23. Since coming back to World Cup action in Les Rousses, France, in the end of January, however, she has won every distance race she has competed at.
In the two first laps of classic skiing, a lot of focus had been on staying out of trouble as several skiers fell. After the ski exchange, Andersson and Karlsson set off at a furious pace, getting the gap they wanted to the rest of the field early into the two remaining freestyle laps.
Andersson then made an even stronger push in that Karlsson could not respond to, even after Andersson fell in the speedy downhill section of the third lap. For the remainder of the race, Andersson and Karlsson cruised alone to the two top spots to bring Sweden number four and five of the total of six medals so far given out in Planica’s women’s races.
In the battle for bronze, Slind formed a group of three with Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen and Germany’s Katharina Hennig, who stuck together for most of the skating half of the race.
At the 10km mark, 35-year-old Slind took charge and got a lead that she kept for the remaining third of the race. Finishing 5.3 seconds ahead of fourth-placed Hennig, Slind could crown her world championships debut with a bronze medal, jumping of joy on the podium. Niskanen, three seconds after Hennig, had to settle for a fifth place.
The world championships continue on Sunday with the men’s and women’s team sprint free.
Click here for full results from the women’s 15km skiathlon classic/free.
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