Sundling and Klæbo sprint to Olympic Champion titles
Feb 09, 2022·Cross-Country
Olympic Gold at maiden Olympic participation
With spectacular Sprint in Free technique on schedule, it was time to shine for the Cross-Country Sprint experts. The 1.5km loop around the demanding tracks of the Cross-Country stadium in Zhangjiakou set the stage for breathtaking heats.
With Jonna Sundling, Maja Dahlqvist and Emma Ribom, Sweden ensured three spots in the Women’s Finals and proved their strength among the Womens Sprint team. Along with the young Swedes, Jessie Diggins and Rosie Brennan represented Team USA with a double spot. Switzerland held a foot in the finals with Sprint ace Nadine Fähndrich who completed the grand Finals.
However, there was no passing by at Jonna Sundling today. From hitting the fastest time in qualification, quarter- and semi-final, the 27 year-old won Olympic Gold at her first competition at Olympic Winter Games. This incredible achievement has not been reached often and leaves the young Swede quite thrilled: “I knew I could race for a podium today. And of course I was hoping for gold but I can’t believe that it really happened and that I can call myself an Olympic Gold medalist!”
The double Swedish victory was ensured by Maja Dahlqvist, who had won every Sprint World Cup in the running season until now. The courses however go to the Swede and she was happy to have reached a medal along: “This final got to me. On that altitude with such a tough course, I am really proud to have been able to still show what I am capable of.”
With Jessie Diggins on the podium, history was written at today’s Sprint, as she took the first individual Olympic Sprint medal for Team USA. "It's overwhelming, but in a good way. It's just really emotional for me because this really belongs to the whole team. And I think it's taken so many years to get here, to have a US woman have an individual medal. You hear a lot of, 'OK, like you're coming in as a defending gold medallist,' even though technically we're not because it's a classic team sprint. So, yes and no. But I think for me, it was just important to make sure I could still focus on my process. And so I wasn't focused on winning, I wasn't focused on medals, I was just focused on doing my best, every single day, so I could come here prepared and happy and in a good place».
The duel of the greatest Sprint stars
With Johannes Høsflot Klæbo winning the Sprint in Free technique, the 25 year-old defends his Olympic title from PyoengChang 2018.
The Sprint competitions got a lot of attention already in preparation phase. Short heats at 1’700m above sea level – in combination with a rough uphill and fast downhills. The Olympic course tracks are made to crown the best of the best.
It all came down to the grand final of the Men, including Klaebo, Federico Pellegrino (ITA), Alexander Terentev and Artem Maltsev from the Russian Olympic Committee, Joni Mäki (FIN) and Oskar Svensson (SWE).
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo had high expectations to fulfill and cleared them all. With outstanding skiing, he put down the hammer and showed on the worlds largest sporting stage, that he truly is one of the greatest skiers of our times. On the last stretch in the finals, he did not let his gold medal slip away, despite all efforts from Sprint expert Federico Pellegrino from Italy. 0.26 seconds separated the two contenders in the end but it really was the duel of the greatest. Terentev, with 22 years, the youngest in the round, caught the final spot on the podium. For the young athlete from the Russian Olympic Committee, it was as well the first Olympic competition.
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