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On paper, no one beats Sweden. After the first three events of these Olympics, Sweden had won all three gold medals. Before the games began, most ski-experts gave few other nations a chance of grabbing any gold in Women’s Cross-Country . . . especially not in the relay. Just consider Sweden’s roster: Linn Svahn, Ebba Andersson, Frida Karlsson, Jonna Sundling. Svahn is the world’s best sprinter. With two silver medals thus far, Andersson has proven herself the second best distance skier at these Olympics. The first two gold medals in Olympic distance races have been won in peerless fashion by Karlsson. And Sundling has been Sprint racing’s World Championship and Olympic Gold medalist. If you wanted to construct a relay team that was certain to win gold, those are the names you’d print on your entry.
On paper, no one beats Sweden, but cross-country ski racing is a sport that regularly refuses to follow the script, and Olympic medals aren’t handed out based on which team submits the most impressive set of skier résumés. Ski racing happens out on a snow covered course between start lines and finish lines: punishing uphills, treacherous downhills, sharp curves, and variable snow. It’s not a running race . . . and the challenges of racing at high speeds on long, flexible skis with no metal edges means that just about anything can happen.
And it did . . .
Scramble
Skiers call Leg 1 of the relay the “Scramble Leg,” a self-evident appellation that often finds teams assigning a capable sprinter to the task. The first kilometer of Leg 1 can be a crowded scrum—shoulders rubbed, elbows thrown, ski tails trod upon, poles at risk. The job of the Leg 1 skier is simple: weave through traffic, stay out of trouble, don’t get dropped. The Val di Fiemme course has already shown that it challenges racers with its tight turns and slushy snow. Falls have been common and consequential in Nordic events thus far in the Olympics. And a race day that offered 40 degree temperatures and light rain made the waxing a bit of a tricky prospect for the first two Classic legs.
Racers would ski two laps of 3.75 kilometers each. Though the field endured the rippling effects of a crash in the opening kilometers, the race settled quickly into a pack of 12 contenders. By the second lap of Leg 1, Svahn had begun to open a gap—not so much a breakaway as it was a demonstration of a team racing at a different level. Norway’s Kristen Austgulen Fosnaes and Italy’s Iris di Martin Pinter gave chase, but it appeared that the expected Swedish dominance had begun.
Julia Kern (USA) maintained her position in the top 12, but seemed to be struggling a bit to do so. The American team has struggled with slow Classic skis thus far in these Olympics, but Kern appeared determined to keep her team in contention.
Leg 2
Kern had continued moving forward through the field, and tagged Rosie Brennan with Team USA in seventh place. Early in the second leg, Andersson suffered an awkward fall that allowed Norway’s Astrid Oeyre Slind to move to the front. Slind and Italy’s Caterina Ganz did their best to add to their advantage as Andersson struggled to overcome the deficit. Just like that, Sweden had a problem: Slind was now racing to win, and Ganz was racing in her home country. Both appeared energized and fresh.
Andersson ultimately reeled in Ganz, but Slind continued to widen the gap. Behind her, the brilliant Classic technician, Kerttu Niskanen had worked Finland back into the race alongside Italy. Brennan continued to maintain USA’s place in the top seven, as Andersson continued working her way back toward the front. Team Swedn knew htat if it could get back to Slind, then Karlsson and Sundling would likely still be able to deliver victory.
And then the wheels fell off the Swedish juggernaut . . . and in most spectacular fashion. Andersson had often appeared uncomfortable during her relay leg. Then, on a fast slushy downhill, she caught the tentative outer edge of a high-speed snowplow, somersaulting her across the course in a violent, end-over-end crash that left her briefly stunned and scattered. Andersson scrambled quickly to her feet, only to find herself standing on only one ski, the other one coasting down the slope with a broken binding. Andersson sprinted forward to collet her ski, but the damage to the binding was too severe. Only one thing left to do: run for it. Cradling her crippled ski in her arms, Andersson began frantically scooter-pushing her way up the course. There are plenty of places on a world-class ski course where coaches and team personnel wait with spare poles (just in case one gets snapped). When skiers break a pole, it’s definitely going to affect their progress and their placing, but those poles will likely be replaced pretty quickly. A broken ski is another matter, entirely . . . and the likelihood of a coach standing in the right place wearing skis preppred with decent race wax is not all that high. Andersson knew her team’s chances were fading, and she ran for her life. Eventually, a coach appeared with a ski that must’ve been a decent match, and Andersson was able to get back into the race.
“Yeah, it was a lot of emotions going through my whole body and the mind at that moment,” said Andersson in post-race interviews. “And, yeah, it was a completely disaster. And first I was thinking, ‘oh, I need to fix it by myself.’ But then I understood that, okay, I won’t be able to do it. So then I just tried to go as fast as possible down the hill and to one of our coaches that was running with a new one. After that, I just tried to minimize the disaster that was already done.”
But the damage had been done. Sweden now trailed by over a minute, and a rejuvenated Team Norway was forcing the pace at the front.
Leg 3
Karlsson would start with a deficit of 1:18. She’d start whittling away at that gap as soon as she took to the course. Slind would hand Karoline Simpson-Larsen a lead of 23 seconds over Finland and Switzerland. But every fan’s attention would have been directed to Karlsson as she began Leg 3 with a deficit of 1:18. Karlsson appears to be in tby far the best form of any of the distance skiers at these Olympics, but so wide a gap would be nearly impossible to solve. Nonetheless, she set off in pursuit.
Novie McCabe skied brilliantly to move Team USA into fifth place, but even as she did she found her position eclipsed by the flashing white suit of Karlsson who appeared determined to bring Sweden back into medal position. Like Karlsson, Martina diCenta turned up the speed to overtake Switzerland’s Marina Kaelin, moving the host nation back into third place as the field neared the stadium.
Anchor Leg
Simpson-Larsen handed Weng a lead of 48 seconds, followed another nine seconds later by Italy. Yet another nine seconds later, Karlsson tagged Sundling, who set off in pursuit of the medals. Finland’s Jasmi Joensuu held second place, and Italy’s Federica Cassol clung stubbornly third . . . but Sundling was flying, and Italy and Finland would have no answers for a hard-charging World and Olympic champion.
The anchor leg played out in three segments. At the front, Weng continued to race on alone, checking her speed on each downhill curve, but working the uphills and flats like the former World Cup champion she is. In the medal chase, Sundling was storming forward through the contenders, having already caught Italy, and reeling in Finland before the beginning of the penultimate lap. Behind the medal struggle, Diggins led a small group of chasers poised to claim prizes if any other disasters befell the leaders.
In the end, Weng would hold on to Norway’s lead, jubilantly sprinting across the line even with a lead that needed no such efforts. She screamd with joy at the finish line where she was immediately embraced by her teammates. Norway had felled Goliath, and proved the experts wrong. Behind them, Sundling would shed Joensuu and coast across the line for silver. Sundling skied into the embrace of her teammates, but their posture was anything but celebratory. Finland would claim bronze, followed by Germany, United States, and Italy.
On paper, no one beats Sweden. But cross-country ski racing is a sport raced on snow rather than paper, and Olympic medals are won, not given. Sweden can be proud of an Olympic sliver medal in the Team Relay, but the gold that Norway takes home will be one that will be treasured and remembered for ages.
Women’s Olympic 4 x 7.5 k Relay RESULTS
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John Teaford
John Teaford has been the coach of Olympians, World Champions, and World Record Holders in six sports: Nordic skiing, speedskating, road cycling, track cycling, mountain biking, triathlon. In his long career as a writer/filmmaker, he spent many seasons as Director of Warren Miller’s annual feature film, and Producer of adventure documentary films for Discovery, ESPN, Disney, National Geographic, and NBC Sports.
