Hellner, Bjornsen take world sprint titles

OSLO, Norway (Feb. 24) – Norwegian media were full of race previews pitting the epic sprint battle at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships between Norway’s Marit Bjoergen and pre-race favorite Kikkan Randall (Anchorage). Yet, it was a battle not to be as Randall fell in the quarterfinals. Andy Newell (Shaftsbury, VT) led the U.S. Ski Team in 10th.

The U.S. sprint star Randall qualified ninth and was in good form as she went into competition as an event favorite. She ended the day in 26th when a fall around a tight turn took her out of contention as thousand’s of fans gasped. Randall was a clear favorite of the fans here, recognized for both her skill and sportsmanship.

The first gold medals of the Championships were taken by Norway’s popular Marit Bjoergen in the 1.3k sprint and Sweden’s distance man Marcus Hellner in the men’s 1.5k event.

The USA put five skiers into the heats – the most ever in an Olympics or World Championships. Disappointed but still smiling, Randall spoke of the fall after the race.

“One moment I was skiing really well and the next I was going down backwards – and I was going fast,” she said. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t turn it around. I was going for that third position around the corner and I thought I had the advantage but my skis crossed with Ida’s [Ingemarsdotter] and it just whipped me around before I even knew what happened.”

Randall, who won back-to-back World Cups coming into the Championships, also saw it from a larger point of view.

“It’s sprint racing. Anything can happen. My plan was just to be relaxed and stay out of trouble and try to stay on my feet. I knew if I did that I could get to the final,” said Randall “I’m just really bummed. I definitely had more today. It’s just unfortunate to have the day end so early.”

Randall’s next race will be the 10k and she has another four races to go.

Newell led the U.S. finishing 10th. He was fourth in his quarterfinal heat but had one of the two fastest times among non-qualifiers of the day and moved to the semifinals  to advance as a lucky loser , where he finished fourth.

“I was feeling really good and even with a bad start lane I was able to get a good position on the back hill and was feeling really strong,” said Newell. “Coming into the flat before the downhill, I ran into a little bit of trouble and tangled up with Alex Harvey. He was right on my skis and I had to push off of him. I broke a basket on my pole which didn’t help in the finishing lanes.

“A goal for a medal today would have been a bit of a stretch for me but this is a better result than what I’ve had the last few weeks so I think it’s a positive,” he said. “It was still a fun day. Now I’m just focusing on the sprint relay.”

“It was a day that was both good and bad,” said Head Coach Chris Grover. “It was bad, in that we know Kikkan was in the kind of shape necessary to win but good in that we were really impressed by the young skiers with Simi [Hamilton], Jessie [Diggins] and Sadie [Bjornsen] all in the top 30. We are proud of them all and we had great skis.”

Other U.S. qualifiers included Simi Hamilton (Aspen, CO) who was 25th plus American women Sadie Bjornsen (Winthrop, WA) 24th and Jessie Diggins (Afton, MN) 25th.

The next event for the cross country is Saturday with the women’s 15k pursuit.

Women’s Results

Rank	Bib	FIS Code	Name	Year	Nation	Time	FIS Points
1	1	1303777	BJOERGEN Marit	1980	NOR
2	11	1138877	FOLLIS Arianna	1977	ITA
3	14	1276714	MAJDIC Petra	1979	SLO
4	15	3565002	FABJAN Vesna	1985	SLO
5	13	3435001	KOWALCZYK Justyna	1983	POL
6	25	3705003	PROCHAZKOVA Alena	1984	SVK
7	8	3195059	BARTHELEMY Laure	1988	FRA
8	2	3505217	KALLA Charlotte	1987	SWE
9	4	3425183	JACOBSEN Astrid Uhrenholdt	1987	NOR
10	30	3505481	BRODIN Hanna	1990	SWE
11	7	3505405	FALK Hanna	1989	SWE
12	22	3505090	INGEMARSDOTTER Ida	1985	SWE
13	3	3425365	FALLA Maiken Caspersen	1990	NOR
14	12	3425275	BRUN-LIE Celine	1988	NOR
15	16	1373617	FESSEL Nicole	1983	GER
16	6	3185256	LAHTEENMAKI Krista	1990	FIN
17	10	1250524	GENUIN Magda	1979	ITA
18	18	3485170	ILJINA Natalja	1985	RUS
19	19	3565034	CEBASEK Alenka	1989	SLO
20	27	3105040	GAIAZOVA Daria	1983	CAN
21	5	3565005	VISNAR Katja	1984	SLO
22	17	3515004	BUCHER Silvana	1984	SUI
23	20	3205075	HERRMANN Denise	1988	GER
24	28	3535320	BJORNSEN Sadie	1989	USA
25	29	3535410	DIGGINS Jessica	1991	USA
26	9	1365857	RANDALL Kikkan	1982	USA
27	21	3185004	SARASOJA Riikka	1982	FIN
28	23	3105013	CRAWFORD Chandra	1983	CAN
29	24	3105019	JONES Perianne	1985	CAN
30	26	3485342	DOTSENKO Anastasia	1986	RUS
31	31	3195056	JEAN Aurore	1985	FRA
32	32	3485032	KOROSTELEVA Natalia	1981	RUS
33	33	3185137	KYLLOENEN Anne	1987	FIN
34	34	3395048	OJASTE Triin	1990	EST
35	35	3295167	VUERICH Gaia	1991	ITA
36	36	3055066	SMUTNA Katerina	1983	AUT
37	37	1169432	NATSUMI Madoka	1978	JPN
38	38	1255471	MURANEN Pirjo	1981	FIN
39	39	3485717	SOBOLEVA Elena	1992	RUS
40	40	3515087	VAN DER GRAAFF Laurien	1987	SUI
41	41	1319976	KOLOMINA Elena	1981	KAZ
42	42	1181848	YATSKAYA Oxana	1978	KAZ
43	43	3205225	ANGER Lucia	1991	GER
44	44	1365178	BOTTOMLEY Esther	1983	AUS
45	45	3535124	SARGENT Ida	1988	USA
46	46	3295000	BROCARD Elisa	1984	ITA
47	47	3435098	MARCISZ Ewelina	1991	POL
48	48	3675007	ROCHSHINA Tatyana	1987	KAZ
49	49	3435004	SZYMANCZAK Agnieszka	1984	POL
50	50	1345390	VINA Emilie	1982	FRA
51	51	3695011	GRYGORENKO Kateryna	1985	UKR
52	52	3435031	MACIUSZEK Paulina	1985	POL
53	53	3225005	MUSGRAVE Rosamund	1986	GBR
54	54	3675019	SLONOVA Anastasia	1991	KAZ
55	55	3155041	NYVLTOVA Eva	1986	CZE
56	56	3395010	PORMEISTER Piret	1985	EST
57	57	3695016	ANTSYBOR Maryna	1987	UKR
58	58	3095004	MALCHEVA Teodora	1983	BUL
59	59	3205224	KOLB Hanna	1991	GER
60	60	1316193	JAKIMCHUK Vita	1980	UKR
61	61	3785008	KREIVENAITE Lina	1988	LTU
62	62	1354799	GYORGY Monika	1982	ROU
63	63	3175001	BERTHELSEN Niviaq Chemnitz	1989	DAN
64	64	3785012	ARDISAUSKAITE Ingrida	1993	LTU
65	65	3395038	UDRAS Kaija	1986	EST
66	66	3705007	GARAJOVA Katarina	1987	SVK
67	67	3695015	ZAVIEDIEIEVA Zoya	1985	UKR
68	68	3385017	BROZNIC Nina	1991	CRO
69	69	1258769	LEE Chae-Won	1981	KOR
70	70	3555000	DAUSHKANE Inga	1980	LAT
71	71	3385016	MALEC Vedrana	1990	CRO
72	72	3085002	MOURAO Jaqueline	1975	BRA
73	73	3225004	YOUNG Sarah	1989	GBR
74	74	3775007	KHODIAKOVA Irina	1990	KGZ
75	75	3245002	VICZIAN Vera	1972	HUN
76	76	3755000	KIROSKA Rosana	1991	MKD
77	77	3555023	LIEPINA Kristine	1994	LAT
78	78	3245004	SIMON Agnes	1974	HUN
79	79	3555025	KOVALOVA Natalija	1993	LAT
80	80	3245014	PAPP Ildiko	1982	HUN
81	81	3245000	ZAMBO Viktoria	1977	HUN
82	82	3745004	VAROSYAN Syuzanna	1987	ARM
83	83	3755001	ANGELOVA Ana	1992	MKD
84	84	3745005	VAROSYAN Valya	1992	ARM
85	85	3555024	EGLITE Zane	1994	LAT
86	86	3775002	RESHETKOVA Olga	1982	KGZ
Did not start
	1001	1341316	GOSLING Brooke	1980	CAN

Men’s Results

Rank	Bib	FIS Code	Name	Year	Nation	Time	FIS Points
1	5	3500139	HELLNER Marcus	1985	SWE
2	10	3420239	NORTHUG Petter jr.	1986	NOR
3	12	3500259	JOENSSON Emil	1985	SWE
4	7	3420077	HATTESTAD Ola Vigen	1982	NOR
5	1	3500407	MODIN Jesper	1988	SWE
6	17	3390003	KUMMEL Peeter	1982	EST
7	9	3100110	HARVEY Alex	1988	CAN
8	28	3480280	MORILOV Nikolay	1986	RUS
9	4	3510023	COLOGNA Dario	1986	SUI
10	24	3530005	NEWELL Andrew	1983	USA
11	3	3510249	JAEGER Martin	1987	SUI
12	15	3290326	PELLEGRINO Federico	1990	ITA
13	2	3420376	GLOEERSEN Anders	1986	NOR
14	16	3480021	PETUKHOV Alexey	1983	RUS
15	21	3100097	VALJAS Len	1988	CAN
16	23	3500330	PETERSON Teodor	1988	SWE
17	6	3420365	BRANDSDAL Eirik	1986	NOR
18	11	3290007	HOFER David	1983	ITA
19	18	3480287	DEVJATIAROV Mickail Jun.	1985	RUS
20	19	3180114	STRANDVALL Matias	1985	FIN
21	13	3050159	TRITSCHER Bernhard	1988	AUT
22	14	3180221	JYLHAE Martti	1987	FIN
23	20	1175058	KOUKAL Martin	1978	CZE
24	25	3150035	KOZISEK Dusan	1983	CZE
25	29	3530120	HAMILTON Simeon	1987	USA
26	8	1276617	ONDA Yuichi	1980	JPN
27	22	3200096	HEUN Daniel	1986	GER
28	26	3220002	MUSGRAVE Andrew	1990	GBR
29	27	3200229	TSCHARNKE Tim	1989	GER
30	30	1223267	PASINI Renato	1977	ITA
31	31	3100006	KERSHAW Devon	1982	CAN
32	32	3180250	PENTSINEN Anssi	1986	FIN
33	33	3430103	STAREGA Maciej	1990	POL
34	34	3390008	SAAREPUU Anti	1983	EST
35	35	3190135	BOEUF Alexis	1986	FRA
36	36	1365954	KOOS Torin	1980	USA
37	37	3481161	BELOV Evgeniy	1990	RUS
38	38	3510207	KINDSCHI Joeri	1986	SUI
39	39	3200014	WENZL Josef	1984	GER
40	40	1268566	EIGENMANN Christoph	1979	SUI
41	41	3420089	PETTERSEN Oeystein	1983	NOR
42	42	3190070	MIRANDA Cyril	1985	FRA
43	43	3290004	SCOLA Fulvio	1982	ITA
44	44	3390033	EINASTE Kein	1985	EST
45	45	3200208	DOTZLER Hannes	1990	GER
46	46	3690014	BILOSYUK Ivan	1984	UKR
47	47	3390050	SIMONLATSER Timo	1986	EST
48	48	3300021	NARUSE Nobu	1984	JPN
49	50	3560062	KLAVZAR Bostjan	1990	SLO
49	49	1310470	KRECZMER Maciej	1981	POL
51	51	1321237	KUHN Stefan	1979	CAN
52	52	3150000	NOVAK Petr	1982	CZE
53	53	3050043	WURM Harald	1984	AUT
54	54	3050088	BADER Markus	1988	AUT
55	55	3050179	HAUKE Max	1992	AUT
56	56	3670006	CHEREPANOV Sergey	1986	KAZ
57	57	3780015	VAICIULIS Modestas	1989	LTU
58	58	1285347	FREEMAN Kris	1980	USA
59	59	3460018	PEPENE Paul Constantin	1988	ROU
60	60	3780005	NOVOSELSKI Aleksei	1985	LTU
61	61	3220016	YOUNG Andrew	1992	GBR
62	62	3700049	MLYNAR Peter	1988	SVK
63	63	3040011	SIM Ben	1985	AUS
64	64	3670017	MATVIYENKO Gennadiy	1988	KAZ
65	65	3550054	KOSTJUKOVS Rinalds	1992	LAT
66	66	3690018	BILOSYUK Myroslav	1985	UKR
67	67	3170012	HULGAARD Jens	1989	DAN
68	68	3550123	DAMSHKALNS Juris	1983	LAT
69	69	3170014	HULGAARD Lasse	1991	DAN
70	70	3040028	VAN DER PLOEG Mark	1985	AUS
71	71	3040039	GRIMMER Nick	1983	AUS
72	72	1277393	LEYBYUK Roman	1977	UKR
73	73	3090025	BURGOV Ivan	1986	BUL
74	74	3220019	SMITH Callum	1992	GBR
75	75	3670032	AKHMADIYEV Yerdos	1985	KAZ
76	76	3170013	MOELGAARD Asger Fischer	1983	DAN
77	77	1281952	TAGSCHERER Zoltan	1976	HUN
78	78	3550124	MUIZHNIEKS Oskars	1989	LAT
79	79	3770006	ROJIN Artem	1986	KGZ
80	80	3460021	HOGIU Petrica	1991	ROU
81	81	3020000	SOULIE Francois	1978	AND
82	82	3240009	SZABO Milan	1990	HUN
83	83	3090089	DEYANOV Simeon	1994	BUL
84	84	3380033	DADIC Edi	1993	CRO
85	85	3170006	WULFF Kristian	1985	DAN
86	86	3230056	KAPPAS Dimitrios	1989	GRE
87	87	3090093	SINAPOV Anton	1993	BUL
88	88	3910034	PINZARU Victor	1992	MDA
89	89	3220013	PLATT Simon James	1989	GBR
90	90	3550056	SLOTINS Roberts	1991	LAT
91	91	3740021	MIKAYELYAN Sergey	1992	ARM
92	92	3670020	OSSIPOV Aleksandr	1987	KAZ
93	93	3040001	DARLINGTON Chris	1982	AUS
94	94	3260033	KANGARLOO Beejan	1985	IRA
95	95	1295338	TAGSCHERER Imre	1972	HUN
96	96	3380009	BURIC Andrej	1989	CRO
97	97	3710014	PLAKALOVIC Mladen	1991	BIH
98	98	3780025	STROLIA Vytautas	1992	LTU
99	99	3240008	GOND Balazs	1987	HUN
100	100	3280000	KUZMIN Daniel	1978	ISR
101	101	1254598	LANNES Carlos	1979	ARG
102	102	3740023	POGHOSYAN Tadevos	1993	ARM
103	103	3260013	SEYD Seyed Sattar	1987	IRA
104	104	3230036	GKOUNKO Alexis	1975	GRE
105	105	3270003	BARRON Peter-James	1989	IRE
106	106	3080005	RIBELA Leandro	1980	BRA
107	107	3260023	SAVEI Abolfazl	1989	IRA
108	108	3740010	SARGSYAN Hovhannes	1987	ARM
109	109	3260049	SHEMSHAKI Yasin	1988	IRA
110	110	3750022	PETROV Andrej	1993	MKD
111	111	3740033	GASPARYAN Shavarsh	1992	ARM
112	112	3030004	CICHERO Federico Pablo	1983	ARG
113	113	3750018	ANDRESKI Sote	1993	MKD
114	114	3230019	NAKAS Georgios	1978	GRE
115	115	3750024	STANOESKI Toni	1993	MKD
116	116	3920002	BAENA Cesar	1986	VEN
117	117	3750020	STANOESKI Toso	1993	MKD
118	118	1287384	BOIT Philip	1971	KEN
119	119	3270001	MORRISH Rory	1968	IRE
120	120	3920005	BAENA Bernardo	1990	VEN
Did not start
	1002	3410009	KOONS Nils	1988	NZE
	1001	3410002	KOONS Benjamin	1986	NZE