Scandinavian countries dominate, Renner on track towards first career podium with 8th place finish
World sprint champions Thobias Fredriksson of Sweden and Norwegian Marit Bjoergen won World Cup freestyle sprints Sunday in Nove Mesto. Kris Freeman (Andover, NH), the lone American on the World Cup tour at the moment, did not race after not feeling 100 percent in Saturday's 15K classic race where he was 29th.
Canada’s Sara Renner is on track towards grabbing her first career World Cup podium after equaling her best ever World Cup result with an eighth-place finish in the one-kilometre sprint on Sunday in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.
, Renner advanced into the final round of 16.</p>
<p>The finals have four athletes racing simultaneously around the one-kilometre track, which consisted of hard-packed snow conditions under partly cloudy skies. The top-two athletes in each heat move on until there are four left for the overall final.</p>
<p>Renner, who is often caught in the shadows of Canada’s top female cross-country skier, Beckie Scott, battled some heavyweights to claiming her best performance ever. The 27-year-old knocked off Neumannova, the fastest qualifier, in her quarterfinal heat, and was eliminated in the semi-final after being matched against the eventual gold and silver medal winners on the day.</p>
<p>Norway’s Marit Bjoergen captured first step on the podium, while two Finnish athletes, Vippi Kuitunen and Pirjo Manninen grabbed second and third.</p>
<p>It was a great day in the Renner household on Sunday. Her husband, 13-time Canadian alpine ski champion Thomas Grandi, also enjoyed his best ever slalom performance, finishing fifth at a World Cup in Switzerland.</p>
<p>“It was an awesome day for both of us,” said Renner, who had a disappointing finish in Saturday’s 10-kilometre classic event. “He is winning the results challenge in the house right now, but I told him to watch out because I’m closing in on him.”</p>
<p>Two Canadian men also got exposed to their first World Cup sprint competition of the season. Not known as sprinting specialists, Chris Jeffries, of Chelsea, Que., and George Grey, of Rossland, B.C., capped off a tiring week of travel and getting adjusted to life on the World Cup by finishing 54th and 57th respectively. Jeffries posted a qualification time of 2:21.29, while Grey was 2:21.68. The leading mark was 2:11.84.</p>
<p>Sweden finished one-two on the podium in the men’s competition, with Thobias Fredriksson stealing the gold over teammate Peter Larsson. Norway’s Haavard Bjerkeli rounded out the top-three.</p>
<p>Beckie Scott, the 2002 Olympic gold medallist remains at home in Bend, Oregan on Sunday, training for the final stretch of the World Cup season. The 29-year-old will rejoin the team next week, and begin competing when the Canadian squad heads to France in two weeks.</p>
<p>For complete results and World Cup standings, go to:<br />
<<a href=results.php?http://www.fis-ski.com/calendar/event.php?id=12187target=results><B>Full Nova Mesto Results</B></a></p>
<p>Sources: Cross Country Canada, USSA</p>
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