Sara Renner has long lived in the shadow of her Canadian teammate and Olympic Gold Medalist, Beckie Scott. This was true right up through the qualification round of the World Championship individual classic sprint, where Beckie qualified for the head-to-head elimination heats with a strong 5th place effort and Renner managed “only” 12th, still within qualification range.
But when it came down to business in her quarterfinal heat, Beckie Scott could not match the pace of her teammate; nor could the top Norwegian qualifier, Ella Gjoemle. Renner finished comfortably behind Viola Bauer of Germany and advanced to the semifinals. Beckie Scott was out.
Quarterfinal 2:
1 13 Bauer Viola GER *12:34 2:17.5 0.0 Q
2 12 Renner Sara CAN *12:34 2:19.0 +1.5 Q
3 4 Gjoemle Ella NOR *12:34 2:20.0 +2.5
4 5 Scott Beckie CAN *12:34 2:20.8 +3.3
16,000 spectators stood riveted, as Emelie Oehrstig, Anna Dahlberg, Lina Andersson, and Sara Renner stepped up to the line. Renner was the lone Canadian in an otherwise Swedish A-final. After an explosive start, Renner was forced to the back of the pack, and towards the end of the short 0.9km course the stage looked set for a Swedish clean-sweep of the medals.
Then, in the final 200-meter finishing straight, Renner put on an incredible finish sprint that put Anna Dahlberg out of medal contention, and resulted in a photo-finish with eventual silver medal winner Lina Andersson. Just 0.1 seconds from silver and 1.4 seconds from Emelie Oehrstig's gold, Sara Renner has become the first Canadian woman ever to win a World Championship medal.
Women's A-Final:
1 1 Oehrstig Emelie SWE * 2:15.5 0.0
2 2 Andersson Lina SWE * 2:16.8 +1.3 FD
3 12 Renner Sara CAN * 2:16.9 +1.4 FD
4 3 Dahlberg Anna SWE * 2:17.9 +2.4
Final Standings — Oberstdorf World Championships, Women's Classic Sprint:
1 1 1242958 OEHRSTIG Emelie 1978 SWE
2 2 1283116 ANDERSSON Lina 1981 SWE
3 12 1128886 RENNER Sara 1976 CAN
4 3 1237817 DAHLBERG Anna 1976 SWE
5 8 1166037 KUITUNEN Virpi 1976 FIN
6 13 1133445 BAUER Viola 1976 GER
7 6 3185003 MALVALEHTO Mona-Liisa 1983 FIN
8 15 1255665 SAARINEN Aino Kaisa 1979 FIN
9 4 1304165 GJOEMLE Ella 1979 NOR
10 10 3425115 SOLLI Guro Stroem 1983 NOR
11 11 1113754 HENKEL Manuela 1974 GER
12 16 3435001 KOWALCZYK Justyna 1983 POL
13 5 1128789 SCOTT Beckie 1974 CAN
14 7 1367021 SIDKO Alena 1979 RUS
15 9 1220648 KUENZEL Claudia 1978 GER
16 14 1276714 MAJDIC Petra 1979 SLO
17 17 1303777 BJOERGEN Marit 1980 NOR
18 18 3705003 PROCHAZKOVA Alena 1984 SVK
19 19 1293107 BOEHLER Stefanie 1981 GER
20 20 1181848 JATSKAJA Oxana 1978 KAZ
21 21 3485039 KURKINA Larisa 1973 RUS
22 22 1129177 THERIAULT Milaine 1973 CAN
23 23 1218611 VAELIMAA Kirsi 1978 FIN
24 24 1155658 WAGNER Wendy Kay 1973 USA
25 25 1296114 KELDER Cristina 1981 ITA
26 26 1107837 EK Elin 1973 SWE
27 27 1124424 ANTONOVA Elena 1971 KAZ
28 28 1303874 BJOERNAAS Kine Beate 1980 NOR
29 29 3485032 KOROSTELEVA Natalia 1981 RUS
30 30 1365857 RANDALL Kikkan 1982 USA
31 31 1345099 BOURGEOIS PIN Elodie 1982 FRA
32 32 1169432 NATSUMI Madoka 1978 JPN
33 33 1088922 SAVIALOVA Olga 1972 RUS
34 34 1312701 MISCHOL Seraina 1981 SUI
35 35 3565002 FABJAN Vesna 1985 SLO
36 36 1350628 FUKUDA Nobuko 1980 JPN
37 37 1319976 KOLOMINA Elena 1981 KAZ
38 38 1305426 SKOFTERUD Vibeke W 1980 NOR
39 39 1098622 SUIJA Silja 1974 EST
40 40 3665001 VASILJONOK Olga 1980 BLR
41 41 1217156 BALATKOVA ERBENOVA Helena 1979 CZE
42 42 3535177 DUSSAULT Rebecca 1980 USA
43 43 3125005 CHUNLI Jiang 1981 CHN
44 44 3695000 MALETS LISOGOR Marina 1983 UKR
45 45 1320267 VOLOSHENKO Yevgeniya 1979 KAZ
46 46 3105013 CRAWFORD Chandra 1983 CAN
47 47 3195001 JAEGGY Aurelie 1984 FRA
48 48 1345390 VINA Emilie 1982 FRA
49 49 3395005 SIRGE Kaili 1983 EST
50 50 3695007 ZAVALIJ Tatjana 1981 UKR
51 51 1365178 BOTTOMLEY Esther 1983 AUS
52 52 3565000 SOKLIC Mirjam 1983 SLO
53 53 1289227 SANNIKOVA Alena 1980 BLR
54 54 3565001 BENEDICIC Maja 1982 SLO
55 55 3785000 TERENTJEVA Irina 1984 LTU
56 56 3125003 CHUNLI Wang 1983 CHN
57 57 3245001 GYENESEI Judit 1986 HUN
58 58 1327348 CALDER Katherine 1980 AUS
59 59 1354799 GYORGY Monika 1982 RUM
60 60 3665006 KALINOVSKAJA Natalia 1977 BLR
61 61 3045004 BRUMLEY Clare-Louise 1977 AUS
62 62 3385000 KEZELE Maja 1979 CRO
63 63 3125006 HONGYAN Liu 1979 CHN
64 64 3095004 MALCHEVA Teodora 1983 BUL
65 65 3915001 GOROHOVA ELENA 1972 MDA
66 66 3725003 OCHIRSUREN ERDENE Ochir 1985 MGL
67 67 3525001 AYDIN Kelime 1982 TUR
68 68 3745000 SARIBEKYAN Aida 1985 ARM
69 69 3245000 ZAMBO Viktoria 1977 HUN
70 70 3095008 KOUVA Rayna 1987 BUL
71 71 3285000 KUZMINA Katrina 1983 ISR
72 72 3085000 BECSKEHAZY Franziska 1966 BRA
