Pre-competition facts 10/15km C

Pre competition facts 26th February 2019

Ladies 10km C

• Charlotte Kalla (2015 freestyle) and Therese Johaug (2013 freestyle) can join eight women on a record two world titles in the ladies' 10km (classic and free).

• Kalla can become the second Swedish woman to claim the world title in the 10km classic, after Toini Gustafsson in 1986.

• Kalla has collected five medals in a ladies' 10km event at the world championships and Olympic Winter Games combined: Olympic gold in 2010 (free), world title in 2015 (free), Olympic silver in 2014 (classic) and 2018 (free), and world championships silver in 2017 (classic).

• Only Marit Bjørgen (7) has claimed more silverware in a ladies' 10km event at the world championships and Olympic Winter Games combined than Kalla (5).

• Kalla can become the second woman to win the ladies' 10km a record three times at the world championships and Olympic Winter Games combined, after Bente Skari (3).

• Johaug has won eight world titles. She can join Galina Kulakova in fourth place all-time with nine world titles among women.

• Johaug's best result in a 10km classic event at the world championships came in 2011 when she finished fourth.

• Each of the last four winners of the 10km classic style at the world championships were older than 30, since Skari claimed the title in 2001 at age 28. Johaug and Kalla are both over 30.

• Norway has won the ladies' 10km (classic and freestyle) world title eight times, only trailing disbanded Soviet Union (14).

• The last nine world titles in the ladies' 10km in the classic style have been won by Norway (7) and Finland (2).

• Ragnhild Haga won the 10km freestyle at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, ahead of Kalla (second), Krista Pärmäkoski (joint-third) and Bjørgen (joint-third).

• Haga can become the first reigning Olympic champion in a ladies' 10km event to win the world title in this event (classic and free) since Skari in 2003.

• Pärmäkoski can become the second Finnish woman in the last 30 years to claim a medal in this event at the world championships, after Aino-Kaisa Saarinen (2009 gold, 2011 bronze).

• Pärmäkoski can join Saarinen (2009, classic), Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi (1989, classic) and Lydia Wideman (1952, classic) as the only Finnish world champions in this event.

• Natalia Nepryaeva can become the first athlete representing Russia to win this event at the world championships (classic and free). The last woman representing Soviet Union to win this world title was Elena Välbe in 1991.

Pre competition facts 27th February 2019

Mens 15km C

• Iivo Niskanen won the men's 15km classic event at the 2017 World Championships and can now become the first athlete to successfully defend the world title in this event.

• Defending champion Niskanen can become the second athlete with multiple world titles in the men's 15km (classic and freestyle) after Veikko Hakulinen, who won this event in both 1954 (classic) and 1958 (classic).

• Only Finland (7) has won more world titles in the men's 15km classic style than Norway (6).

• Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Emil Iversen are both aiming to hand Norway its first world title in the men's 15km classic since 1982, when Oddvar Brå won this event in Oslo.

• Norway's last three world titles in the men's 15km all came in the freestyle: Petter Northug in 2013, Lars Berger in 2007 and Bjørn Dæhlie in 1991.

• Klæbo will be 22 years and 128 days old on the day of the event and can become the youngest world champion ever in a men's 15km event (classic and free). Nikolai Bazhukov holds the record as he was 22 years and 200 days old when he won the 15km classic in 1976.

• Klæbo already won two world titles at the 2019 world championships. The last men to win three world titles in the same year was Petter Northug in 2015 when he won four titles.

• Dario Cologna won the last three Olympic titles in the men's 15km, in 2014 in the classic style and in 2010 and 2018 in the free. He has yet to claim a world championships medal in this event.

• Cologna's best result in a 15km event at the word championships came in 2009, when he finished in sixth place in the classic style, 33.3 seconds behind winner Andrus Veerpalu.

• Cologna can become the first athlete from Switzerland to reach the podium in a 15km event at the world championships (classic and free).

• Sergey Ustiugov is hoping to become the first medallist from Russia (incl. as Soviet Union) in a men's 15km race at the world championships since 1991, when Vladimir Smirnov took bronze in the freestyle.

• Ustiugov can become the second world champion from Russia (incl. as Soviet Union) in a men's 15km event after Nikolai Bazhukov, who won the 15km classic in 1976 in Innsbruck.

• Sundby claimed bronze in this event in 2011 and silver in 2017, both in the classic style. Sundby (G0-S1-B1) can now join Hakulinen (G2-S0-B1), Harald Grønningen (G1-S2-B0), Thomas Wassberg (G1-S2-B0) and Sixten Jernberg (G0-S2-B1) on a record three world championships medals in this event (classic and free).

• Since the men's 15km made its comeback at the world championships in 2001, Norway has collected at least one medal in eight of the nine races held (classic and free). In that run (2001-2017), Norway only missed out on a top-three finish in 2009, when Veerpalu won in Liberec ahead of Lukáš Bauer (2nd) and Matti Heikkinen (3rd).