Madshus racers snagged two gold medals and a bronze in two days to open the 2021 World Championships season.
On the first day of the 2021 IBU biathlon World Championships, national team rookie Sturla Holm Lægreid skied the opening leg for Norway in the mixed relay, delivered a solid race and set the stage for GOLD in the very first eventof the 12-day championship in Pokljuka (SLO). As always, Lægreid was cool as a cucumber at the range and lightning fast on the course, despite extremely challenging conditions in the.
“That was amazing,” the collected 23-year-old said after bagging his first World Championship medal on Wednesday, February 10.
On Friday, Lægreid was seventh in the sprint, moving up to sixth place in the pursuit on Sunday.
There are still two individual races and two relays to come at the 2021 IBU biathlon World Championships, which continue on Tuesday and conclude on Sunday, February 21.
Story continues below
On the podium in two of the three FIS U23 World Championships races
Among the cross-country skiers, Madshus racers snagged four top-10 finishes in the 10-kilometer skate race at the FIS U23 World Championships in Vuokatti (FIN): Hedda Østberg Amundsen (NOR) bagged her first World Championship medal for the season with third place in the brutally cold skate race, while Sophia Laukli (USA) was 5th, Hailey Swirbul (USA) was 8th and Tiril Liverud Knudsen (NOR) was 9th.
“I tried to stay calm and not burn too much fuel on the first lap. I focused on taking advantage of my strength on the flatter and rolling terrain while conserving energy on the steepest hills. That turned out to be crucial for the last laps,” says Østberg Amundsen after her bronze medal race.
Story continues below
On Saturday, Østberg Amundsen capped her U23 World Championship week with a gold medal, anchoring Norway to victory in the mixed relay for the second year in a row.
“The relay was awesome. Everyone on the team did a solid job, and sent me off with a 10-second lead. I’m always a bit nervous when I ski the last leg, but I managed to keep the chasing pack behind me all the way to the finish,” she says, after taking home medals from two of the three World Championship races in Finland.
Additionally, Madshus junior Siri Wigger helped Switzerland to 4th place in the relay at the FIS Junior
World Championships, which also took place in Vuokatti (FIN).
Up next are the 2021 FIS Nordic World Championships. The events will take place in Oberstdorf (GER) on February 22 through March 7.
Inge Scheve
Inge is FasterSkier's international reporter, born and bred in Norway. A cross-country ski racer and mountain runner, she also dabbles on two wheels in the offseason. If it's steep and long, she loves it. Follow her on Twitter: @IngeScheve.
