The 1.2km individual classic sprint at the Oberstdorf Worlds has begun with the preliminary qualification round.
Incredibly, the pre-race favorite Marit Bjoergen, who has won every world cup sprint this season save one, failed to qualify and ended up 17th. Bjoergen's teammates Ella Gjoemle and Guro Stroem Solli managed to advance to the quarterfinal heats, so it appears unlikely that there were any major waxing problems for the Norwegian team.
