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Team Sweden must face tricky circumstances in selecting its team for World Cup Sprint events, but their dilemma is made simpler by the apparent set of protocols the team follows when deciding who will race. Typically, Sweden brings only those skiers who can earn spots on the podium. Everyone else is racing back home in what we can only imagine must be the must competitive B-Team event in the world of women’s sports. In Lake Placid’s Freestyle Sprint, Sweden’s roster consisted of Jonna Sundling, Linn Svahn, Johanna Hagstroem, Maia Dahlqvist, Moa Ilar, and Emma Ribom (who did not start today’s Freestyle Sprint). That’s a fairly impressive set of starters: Sundling is 2022 Olympic Champion (and world champ from 2025), Svahn is 2026 Olympic Champion, Dahlqvist leads the World Cup Sprint standings, and Hagstroem is poised to win this year’s World Cup if Dahlqvist were to falter. Put those skiers on the starting line of a Sprint final, and it will be very difficult for any other nation to truly challenge them.
And that is precisely what Team Sweden did . . . though not without needing to come through a chaotic and unexpectedly close Freestyle Sprint final. In the end, Svahn notched her second victory of the weekend (after yesterday’s 10 k Classic victory) ahead of Sundling and Dahlqvist (who claimed her fourth World Cup Sprint Crystal Globe). Team Sweden swept its second straight podium of the World Cup final . . . with one race (tomorrow’s 20 k Mass Start) still to be run.
“It was so much fun—all these people, all this cheering—it’s amazing,” said Sundling.
“Honestly, I was just trying to do as good race as I could for the day,” said Dahlqvist. “The bonus would just be the points for the overall. I just wanted a good race for today.”
“It’s like my second home, honestly! So many people screaming my name,” said Dahlqvist.” It was really cool.”
Twelve Americans entered Lake Placid’s Freestyle Sprint qualifying: Jessie Diggins, Samantha Smith, Julia Kern, Alayna Sonnesyn, Lauren Jortberg, Rosie Brennan, Erin Bianco, Hailey Swirbul, Ava Thurston, Renae Anderson, Emma Albrecht, and Nina Schamberger. Diggins, Smith, and Kern all advanced beyond qualifying with Diggins advancing into the semifinals.
Freestyle Sprint
Diggins drew the first heat where she would meet up with Sundling and Faehndrich. That top-heavy field seemed to insure that this would be a fast heat, one likely to produce a lucky loser or two. Diggins’ strategy throughout the season has remained consistent: use her speed to keep heats fast, claim at least a lucky loser spot, and rely on her endurance to give her chances later in the heats when pure sprinters may be spent.
Diggins bobbled a bit out of the start gate, allowing Sundling to burst forward to set the early pace (Sundling is typically a fast-starter and aggressive pace-setter; she was likely to try that, anyway). Diggins needed to work a bit to get around Julie Myhre (NOR) on the first uphill, but from then on it was a three-woman race. That triad was interrupted when Diggins stepped on Faehndrich’s pole basket, sending the Swiss woman tumbling in a hairpin right-hand turn. Diggins lost some speed behind the tangle of skis and poles, but she would recover before the finishing straightaway. Faehndrich would pull off a miraculous recovery of her own, hopping back to her feet after her fall, chasing down the pack, and sprinting past Diggins into the third spot. The two of them would wait to see if their times would be fast enough to advance as lucky losers.
Svahn led a moderate-paced Heat 2, confident that no one else would be eager to lead. Jasmi Joensuu (FIN) went to the front in the loose snow of the final uphill, only to find her efforts eclipsed by Svahn swooshing out of the draft on the subsequent downhill. Svahn would advance easily, followed by Joensuu. Slow heat . . . Faehndrich and Diggins still safe.
Kern re-entered the World Cup scene after a few idle weeks following the Olympic Games where she had begun feeling some pulmonary stress. She appeared recoved with an impressive 17th place qualifier, but her performance in theheats made it clear that she may still be a bit rusty. Kern got pinched out of position numerous times in the quarterfinal, then lost her balance rather dramatically on the last right-hander before the finishing straightaway. Her speed having been lost, Kern would cross the line sixth. Her day would end with a mnmnmnmn place finish. For Faehndrich and Diggins . . . so far, so good.
Smith has repeated a pattern in recent world Cup Sprints, dropping to the rear early in each heat, only to unleash a torrential sprint in the closing meeters. Smith found an open lane to drive forward on the first uphill, puling even with Maia Dahlqvist (SWE) at the summit. Smith once again found a lane on the final uphill, hop-skating past Lotta Udnes Weng (NOR) before expertly pinching her out of second position. Smith entered the downhill well positioned on the tails of Dahlqvist. Smith’s good tactics would not continue as the field reached the final flats. Weng was able to wind past her, as well as Federica Cassol (ITA) who crowded Smith into abbreviated skate strokes in the finishing meters. Smith would finish fourth in the heat, and mnmnmnmnm in the day. Faehndrich and Diggins? Still in lucky loser positions with only one quarterfinal remaining.
Faehndrich and Diggins kept their fingers crossed that the final heat would be a slow one. It was a nervous position to occupy: Hagstroem highlighted the Quarterfinal 5; she’s a skier who often ignites the pace to exhaust her rivals . . . but her first strokes out of the start gate indicated that would not be her strategy on this day. Hagstroem would hold the lead across the finish line ahead of Coletta Rydzek whose clever footwork allowed her to sprint forward to claim the second automatic advancement spot. Hagstroem’s languid pace allowed the advancement of both Faehndrich and Diggins. the home-crowd breathed a sigh of relief.
Semifinals
Diggins lucky loser journey continude in Semifinal 1 where her desire to push the pace found itself in the backseat compared to the similar desires of Svahn and Sundling. The Swedish pair rocketed to the front as Diggins trailed the field. But it quickly became apparent that Sundling and Svahn had no interest in setting a fast pace—they only wanted to clog the front, daring others to take the lead. On Lake Placid’s Sprint course, taking the lead had proven to be a self-destructive tactic, while attacking from behind had proven to be a risky one. Diggins found an open lane on the final climb, but found the pace too high to allow her to advance.
The Swedes had looked supernaturally calm and relaxeda t the front, but on the final downhill the dangers of Lake Placid’s Sprint course revealed themselves again as Svahn was absorbed by skiers rushing from the rear, and Sundling found herself edged out of the lead by Anja Weber (SUI). The Swedes would call upon their superior speed to fight back into the lead before the finish line. Myhre would cross third, followed by Joensuu in fourth. Diggins would cross fifth to finish ??? on the day. The Swedes apeared relieved—and a little bit shell-shocked—in the finish area. They’d be unlikely to commit those tactical errors again.
Dahlqvist and Faehndrich—#1 and #2 in the current World Cup Sprint standings would face off in the second semifinal. After the grinning embarassment of an initial false start, Dahlqvist would allow her teammate, Hagstroem, to vault into the lead, followed closely by Faehndrich and Rydzek. Hoping to distance herself from Dahlqvist, Faehndrich drove to the front on the final uphill. using Hagstroem as a way to block any other pursuit. Faehndrich and Dahlqvist would cross the finish line togehter, followed by lucky losers, Hagstroem and Rydzek.
Sprint Final
Svahn, Sundling, Hagstroem, and Dahlqvist highlighted the Sprint final, where they were joined by Faehndrich and Rydzek. With three closely-bunched contenders (Dahlqvist, Hagstroem, and Faehndrich) in the year-long Sprint World Cup competition all being present in the final, the Crystal Globe would be decided in this race. Sundling an Svahn set the pace, Faehndrich and Dahlqvist marked them closely. Hagstroem and Rydzek trailed. With Dahlqvist leading by only six points over Hagstroem—and with Faehndrich only a few more points behind them—the mathematical possibility existed for the cup to change hands at the finish line. In the end, Svahn pulled away from Sundling, and Dahlqvist separated herself from Faehndrich. Sweden would sweep the podium, and Dahlqvist would cross the finish line with arms raised as the winner of the Sprint Crystal Globe.
World Cup Final Women’s Freestyle Sprint RESULTS
World Cup Final Women’s Freestyle Sprint QUALIFYING
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World Cup racing continues this weekend from Lake Placid and Mount van Hoevenberg:
Sunday, March 22
12:30 pm | Men’s 20km Mass Start Free
2:30 pm | Women’s 20km Mass Start Free
4:30 pm | ONE LAST LAP w/Jessie Diggins & the Retiring Stars
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.
