Sundling Reigns in World Championship Sprint, Kern Fifth

FasterSkier’s coverage of this week’s FIS World Championships stands as a proud tribute to American Skiing Icon Marty Hall, who (with his wife, Kathy Hall, and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award) has generously supported our coverage of international cross-country ski events. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, please contact info@fasterskier.com. We’ll miss you, Marty. 

The Women’s Freestyle Sprint is Sweden’s race to lose, but it’s Norway’s home turf to defend. This is gonna be good . . .

The Swedes—Jonna Sundling, Johanna Hagstroem, Maja Dahlqvist, and Linn Svahn—have all claimed Sprint victories during this World Cup season. Think what Team Sweden’s training camps must be like: wake up on the wrong side of the bed one morning and you may find yourself a distant fourth in the day’s training. One week later, you could be World Champion. That’s the kind of athletic and emotional roller coaster that these Swedish Sprinters must ride if they’re to have a chance in Trondheim. And it may be that Trondheim itself represents the biggest hurdle they’ll need to overcome. This is one of Norwegian skiing’s favorite hometowns. The crowds will be close; the cheering will be intense; the stakes will be extraordinarily high. While Norway’s chances may rest on the shoulders of a single skier—Kristine Stavaas Skistad—she has shown herself capable of disrupting, intimidating, and upending the efforts of Team Sweden’s best. The Freestyle format may offer a slight advantage to the Swedes, but Skistad has won Freestyle Sprints before . . . and the crowd would be on her side.

“It’s a phenomenal Sprint course, and I can’t wait to see how it plays out,” said FasterSkier’s Devon Kershaw.  “Different athletes will have different strategies. Someone like Sundling . . . is going to probably press from the bottom of that last big, long climb before coming into the downhill: try and get a gap on someone like Skistad, for example, who is so good on the descending parts and the sprint finish.”

This is gonna be good . . .

Women’s Freestyle Sprint

Americans Julia Kern and Rosie Brennan lined up in the second quarterfinal, where Kern was able to advance to the semifinal by finishing second behind Jasmi Joensu (FIN). Diggins qualified only 26^th. She would exit the heats after a fifth-place finish in her quarterfinal. Kate Oldham qualified 22^nd, but could not advance beyond the fifth quarterfinal. She would finish the day in 22^nd. Among Canadians, Lilliane Gagnon was 27th, Sonjaa Schmidt 37th, Alison Mackie 35th, and Katherine Weaver 42^nd.

Svahn was forced to withdraw prior to today’s Sprint competition, but her teammates more than held up the side. Sundling races from the front, just daring other skiers to go with her. When she’s at her best, she’s incredibly hard to beat. Dahlqvist races from the rear (often storming to victory after few could even remember having seen her during the race at all). Svahn showed herself to be practically unbeatable a few seasons ago; her recent performances are an approximation of that former dominance. Skistad never really looks like she’s sprinting until she’s steamrolling past other skiers in the home stretch. Combine the four of them in a potential Sprint Final with the likes of Nadine Faehndrich (SUI), Jasmi Joensu (FIN), Laura Gimmler (GER), and Jessie Diggins (USA) . . . fireworks are the likely result.

Sundling remained true to form, qualifying way ahead of the rest of the field. She skied the first quarterfinal off the front while her rivals competed for second (including Skistad, who would qualify easily but well behind Sundling).

Semifinals

Kern found herself in a loaded semifinal heat alongside Joensu, Faehndrich, Skistad, and Sundling. True to form, Sundling shot off the front (followed at a distance by Skistad). Sundling controlled from the front, while Skistad showed very fast skis that could become a factor in the final. Those two advanced automatically, while Kern won the battle with Joensu for fourth, claiming the lucky loser spot into the final.

The second semifinal was a less contentious, more tactical affair led out by Andorra’s Gina del Rio (fresh off medal-winning performances at Junior World Championships). Hagstroem was happy to sit in behind the leader while Dahlqvist hovered near the rear. On the soft and melting final turn, Hagstroem tripped through the slush and went down, allowing Lotta Udnes Weng (NOR) to take the semifinal win, followed by a hard-charging Dahlqvist.

Women’s Sprint Final

All day long, Sundling had been bullying the Sprint heats, setting a scorching pace at the front. In the final, though, it was Skistad who shot into the lead, daring Sundling to over-commit. They quickly separated themselves from the rest, with only Faehndrich attempting to close the gap. Together, the Swede and the Norwegian skied stride for stride until the top of the final hill when an acceleration from Sundling finally created some daylight.

She flew down the finishing straightaway to claim the Sprint World Championship for the third time (2021, 2023, 2025). Skistad collapsed as she crossed the finish line to claim second ahead of Faehndrich. Dahlqvist held on for fourth ahead of Kern in fifth.

Women’s Freestyle Sprint RESULTS

Women’s Freestyle Sprint QUALIFYING

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Our ski boots on the ground coverage was provided by Nat Herz, Stuart Harden, and Aidan O’Connell.

This reporting costs money. Please support this coverage with a voluntary subscription (below) so FasterSkier can provide this level of access to the sport we all love year-round.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –