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