Comments From Day 1 At Junior Worlds

FasterSkier · March 22, 2005

Source: Langrenn.com Translated by Anders Haugen

Here are some comments from the Junior World’s pursuit champions.

Petter Northug Jr. is Norway’s undisputed champion in the oldest junior class. During the junior Norwegian Championships he won every race there was and at Junior Worlds he has started in much the same fashion by winning the pursuit.

In an earlier interview he stated that if he managed to hang with the leaders till the skating portion there would be no one that could hang with him from there. The 19 year old followed up on these comments today.

-They tried to pull away from me several times and I thought a few times I would have to let them go. Luckily I was able to just tough it out and hang with. In the final stretch I got out front and managed to glide in the last 10 meters. It was huge. There might even have been some tears of happiness, says the Norwegian.

With a gold on the first day of competitions, Petter has set a standard for himself for the rest of the competitions.

-I’m not setting a goal for results, instead I’m just going to try to ski as best as possible. That is my ambition. But the first day was above all expectations. I’m going to try to calm myself down before the next races, I’ve been good at that before, says the junior.

For the girls, Norway’s Marte Elden glided into first place in today’s pursuit. This was something she had never even dared dream about.

-It just feels amazing. I had never once thought that I would manage to win a gold. It is unbelievable. It was a perfect race. I’m just now starting to realize that I’m a World Champion. It feels a little funny but is incredibly fun, says the 18 year old.