Norway’s cross-country skiing queen Therese Johaub again misses gold. Jonna Sundling crowns a Swedish catch -up par excellence – and is then showered with praise.
If an athlete misses gold by 2.1 seconds, it is bitter. However, if these are the 2.1 seconds, however, the collected gap from three (!!!) races, it is almost unique. This is what Therese Johaub experienced, who missed gold for the third time at the Nordic Ski World Cup.
The gold medal seemed almost safe to the cross-country ski superstar this time. As the third runner of the Norwegian season, she handed over to the final runner Kristin Austgulen Fosnaes with a lead of 37 seconds.
The race seemed decided, after all, only 7.5 kilometers were left-and even if Fosnaes is not yet a big name in the cross-country world, the U23 world champion has proven with the 10th place in the skiathlon that she can also keep up with the world elite.
Crazy catch -up from Sundling
There was only one problem: Behind her, Jonna Sundling chased the fastest woman in the world about shorter distances, who had already won gold twice at the World Cup and was traveling in his own league every time.
However, 37 seconds seemed to be (too) a lot for them – but only 700 meters later neither the coaches nor the athletes looking at the canvas in the stadium dared their eyes: the gap was only 15 seconds after an incredible intermediate sprint by Sundling.
She started with her trainer. “At the first time measurement, I thought the time is wrong. We talked beforehand that she should use the whole route, but this time she didn’t hear about it. And that was a good thing, ”said Sweden coach Stefan Thomson.
Sundling teammates were most shocked. Frida Karlsson began to laugh, while a completely perplex-looking double world champion EBBA Anderson swallowed a violent coughing fit.
“I was afraid that I had to carry out the secret maneuver at Ebba,” said Karlsson of the briefly Andersson, briefly.
“The fastest 700 meters of history”
The Swedish journalist Patrik Brenning even wrote for Aftonbladet that these should have been 700 meters “the fastest in the history of Swedish sport-enclosed by F1 legend Ronnie Peterson. That is the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen. “
Everyone looked even unbelievers when Sundling had made up for almost 40 seconds after only two kilometers. “It is incredible. That shouldn’t be possible, ”said Sweden’s team manager Anders Byström, who didn’t want to compare this with anything, at SVT Sport ,
To the surprise of many, Sundling did not wait behind Fosnaes afterwards, but even passed – but without increasing the pace significantly, so that the Norwegian could easily run along.
But Sundling wanted to dictate the pace himself to give himself a little time to relax. After all, she had one last ace her sleeve: the target sprint. A partial discipline in which the Swede is almost unbeatable in these weeks.
Joy and disappointment close together
And this time it was too: Fosnaes showed her talent and did not let herself shake off until the end – but Schwedin’s sprint queen crowned her incredible run with her third gold medal at the World Cup. For Sweden it is the fifth World Cup gold medal for women in the fifth race.
“That was hard,” said Fosnaes afterwards Aftonbladet with tears in his eyes.
“This is the best and worst thing I saw in my whole life,” enthused the Swedish ski icon Torgny Mogren for radio sports . Anderson also celebrated her teammate Sundling: “What a super woman she is.”
The “Superfrau” has now won a total of seven times gold at World Championships and has thus stopped the Swedish record of cross-country icon Gunde Svan.
Johaug still has another chance – Sweden want to hold up
Johaug did not want to see her next silver medal as a defeat, but emphasized that it felt like gold. Norway’s cross-country icon Petter Northug contradicted her: “I am sure that it doesn’t feel like gold. After a 37 second lead that feels after a bankruptcy. “
Johaug remains a last chance of a gold medal at this World Cup over 50 kilometers on Sunday – but Andersson, Karlsson and Sundling would certainly like to ensure that the Norwegian remains just silver again in the end.