“We broke the curse.” How the Norwegian team was deprived of a relay medal for the first time in 15 years

“We broke the curse.” How the Norwegian team was deprived of a relay medal for the first time in 15 years

Yulia Sidorova December 3, 2023, 23:30 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.

Historic race for the World Cup!

On Sunday, December 3, relay races took place in Gällivare, Sweden, as part of the Cross-Country Skiing World Cup. The Norwegians looked like the main favorites in both matches. But if the men demonstrated their superiority, the women failed to make the top three in the World Cup for the first time since March 2007!

“We will be dangerous in the future”

The past few cross-country skiing World Cup relay seasons have been something of a rarity. Even rarer is the victory of the Swedish women’s team in the same races. Think about it: the last time the girls, who are among the favorites in the individual races, won the relay stages 14 years ago. Yes, they became champions at the Sochi Olympics and won the relay at the 2019 World Championships, but they had no luck at the World Cup for a long time!

On the home stage in Gällivare, the Swedes finally managed to reach the coveted relay gold. The main creator of success was Ebba Andersson.

Ebba is ready to fulfill her dream:

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Until halfway through the race the advantage was on the side of the Americans. In the first stage, Jessica Diggins took off from the start. Only Sweden’s Moa Lundgren, who could barely keep up, and Norway’s Heidi Weng, who overtook Diggins closer to the relay handover, were able to keep up with him.

This did not save Norway. In the second stage, Margrethe Bergane fell from the fight, giving way to the American Rosie Brennan, the German Katharina Henning and the Swede Emma Ribohm. Neither Anne Kjersti Calvo nor Lotta Udnes Veng were able to correct the situation at the finish line. The Norwegians simply failed in the relay.

In the third stage, the Americans’ nearly 20-second lead vanished. Sophie Lockley could not cope with the onslaught of Ebba Andersson, and while the Swedish finalist Moa Ilar achieved a historic victory, the American Julia Kern also lost to the German Victoria Karl in the fourth stage.

“Finally! Everyone gave it their all and we fought for every second. Magically! There was a great atmosphere, so it was great to cross the finish line,” Moa Ilar shared her emotions.

“We have broken the curse and now we will be dangerous in the future,” said Swedish coach Stefan Thompson.

The Swedes won despite the epidemic:

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Norwegian men are out of the competition!

Unlike the women, the men walked in a group of 11 people in five seconds until the middle of the second stage. But closer to the handover of the baton, Kalle Halfvarsson and Martin Lövström Nyenget managed to separate themselves from the group.

In the third phase, Simeon Kruger seemed the favorite against the Swede Leo Johansson. During the first five kilometers, the Norwegian increased his advantage over his closest pursuer, but Leo was not going to give up. The Swede took the lead in the final kilometers of the race, giving team finisher Edwin Anger a lead of 1.8 seconds.

Anger immediately picked up speed and increased the lead to four seconds, but then he weakened, braked and let the Norwegian pass. The Swede got closer and then fell behind the leader again, but in the last 900 meters he completely despaired and gave up the fight, finally finishing 17 seconds behind Jan Jenssen.

The Norwegians won without Northug and Klebo:

No one noticed Klebo’s absence. The Norwegians still took the entire podium

The Norwegian men once again demonstrated their undeniable advantage, unlike the women, who this season seem quite weak. The Swedes imposed a truly serious fight on their neighbors, but they could not outshine the girls on their team, who finally broke the streak of failures in the relay races, showing that they are favorites not only in the individual races.