HomeTag

Jonna Sundling

Sweden’s Svahn Takes the Win on Home Soil; Caldwell 7th in Seven Person Final

Not the backdrop one might expect from Scandiavia in mid-winter, rather, green grass, bare ski jumps, and a ribbon of snow were found in Falun, Sweden. However, what was lacking in snow was made up for by a densely packed crowd of cheering fans, erupting as athletes flew by in the women’s classic sprint. An occurrence that might meet our expectations is that the Swedish women showed up on home turf. Johanna Hagström won the...

With Winter Arriving in Planica, Sweden Asserts their Dominance with Team Sprint Win

With the tight racing and jostling for position the team sprint presents, another factor was in the mix during Sunday’s Planica, Slovenia women’s 7.2-kilometer freestyle team sprint: big, fat, and plentiful snowflakes.  Saturdays’ rainy, and lightning ridden sprint racing on an artificial snow loop, had a 180-degree backdrop flip-flop with a white winter arriving in Planica in time for the holidays and a World Cup TV broadcast. A several inch veneer of fresh snow covered...

Julia Kern Lands Her First World Cup Podium Behind Sweden’s Sundling and Nilsson; Caldwell 4th

Temperatures over 40 degrees Fahrenheit, steady rain that peppered camera lenses, sparse broods of fans huddled under umbrellas, and a ribbon of white farmed snow. After a wintery start to the season in snowy Ruka, Lillehammer, and Davos, athlete’s found their spring-like gear racing the 1.2-kilometer freestyle sprint in Planica, Slovenia. With many “all-arounders” choosing to sit out the sprint focused weekend to rest for the upcoming Tour de Ski, the intimate subset of athletes...

Johaug Dominates in Ruka; Three Americans in the Top Ten

Ruka, Finland looked quintessentially Nordic at the start of the 10-kilometer freestyle pursuit. December at 66 degrees north: temperatures in the low teens (F), flat Northern light, frosted pines looking as though they were spray-coated with foam. Athletes warmed up in puffy jackets with mittens, neck warmers, and taped faces while crowds huddled with cups of soup.   First out of the start and racing in a balaclava and mittens, Norway’s Theresa Johaug attacked the course...

A Big Day for Maubet Bjornsen as she Places Third in the Ruka Classic Sprint

A big day for Sadie Maubet Bjornsen of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) in Ruka, Finland. She placed third overall in the women’s 1.4-kilometer classic sprint.  Italy’s Lucia Scardoni established the time to beat in the qualifier, 3:03.01. Maubet Bjornsen played her fitness cards early as she qualified in second, 1:15 seconds back.  “It has been an interesting fall battling through some frustrating tendinitis in my feet that didn’t allow me to run or ski...

The World’s Great Age Begins Anew: Athletes Mark May 1

If you’re reading this website, you’re probably well aware that the nordic skiing training year begins on May 1. In a sport where most races happen between November and March, and demand of athletes that they repeatedly race to the point of nearly losing consciousness, the preparation for race season had better start a long time before that. As the well-worn, but accurate, saying has it, skiers are made in the summer. tretinoin Embracing the...

Falla Wins in Seefeld with a Turbo to the Finish; Diggins in 8th

Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla torched the start of the women’s 1.2-kilometer freestyle sprint on Thursday at the 2019 World Championships in Seefeld, Austria. She skied snappy and smooth – her compact frame channeling energy downstream and towards the awaiting finish line.   Like a prize fighter knowing she had her peers against the ropes, Falla first appeared to give the knock-out blow a minute into the race. She pushed over the top of the first...

2019 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Seefeld, Austria 1.2 k/ 1.6 k freestyle sprint Welcome to The Rundown, your quick primer of need-to-know information about the day’s racing. We’ll be updating this digest as the day goes on with additional results, photos and quotes. The Rundown is NOT a race report; stay tuned for complete race reports later today with interviews from the day’s top racers. The women’s 1.2-kilometer freestyle sprint at the 2019...

Norway Wins 11th Consecutive 4 x 5 K Relay; U.S. in Sixth with a Diggins Charge

“We have a strong team, many girls are going fast. We do this together so we are really happy,” Therese Johaug told the International Ski Federation (FIS) after Sunday’s 4 x 5-kilometer relay in Ulricehamn, Sweden. With wind, snow, and crowds lining the course the 4 x 5 k women’s relay appeared to simply be an illustration of Norway’s astounding plug-and-play depth. Sunday marked Norway’s 11th 4 x 5 k consecutive relay win dating back...

Sunday Race Rundown: Ulricehamn, Antholz, and Lake Placid (Updated)

FIS World Cup Ulricehamn, Sweden 4 x 5 k / 4 x 7.5 k relay The sun rises, the sun sets, and Norway wins the women’s 4 x 5-kilometer relay in Ulricehamn, Norway on Sunday. For the 11th time in a row, a Norwegian women’s team bested the world in the storied race format. Heidi Weng, Therese Johaug, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen, and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg won in a time of 57:06.3 minutes. For the first...

Norway’s Falla Leaves No Doubt with Otepää Win; Diggins in 12th

Some proverbs hang in there. From situation to situation they simply capture, in the moment, how best to move forward. “Patience is a virtue,” has an etymology going way back. Yet the timeworn saying and it’s wait-wait-wait underpinnings helped dictate the outcome of Saturday’s World Cup 1.3-kilometer classic sprint in Otepää, Estonia. That is until Maiken Caspersen Falla broke up the final. But we’ll get to that in a moment. It was the modern course...

Saturday Race Rundown: Otepää Classic Sprints and Beyond (Updated 2x)

FIS World Cup Otepää, Estonia 1.3 k / 1.6 Classic Sprint Starting the day’s performance benchmarks off was Stina Nilsson of Sweden with the fastest qualifier in the women’s 1.3-kilometer classic sprint in Otepää on Saturday. She stopped the clock in 3:07.62 minutes. The U.S. Ski Team’s (USST) Jessie Diggins was the top-qualifying North American in 18th (+5.37). Sadie Bjornsen (USST) qualified 20th (+5.71), and Ida Sargent 27th (+8.38). On a course rewarding patience and...

By A Boot String, U.S. Finishes Dresden City Team Sprint in 4th, Sweden For the Win

If the Grand Prix were to host a ski race, it might look like the Team Sprint in Dresden, Germany. With 10 teams racing the 6 x 1.6-kilometer final and the racetrack style, three-lap loop situated in the city’s center, the tactics of a Formula One driver seemed employable on the relatively flat course. For most teams’ skiers, that meant patience; staying in one’s lane and in contact until the last lap. Norway’s Team I...

Sunday Race Rundown: Dresden Team Sprints & Oberhof Relays (Updated 2 x)

FIS World Cup Dresden, Germany 6 x 1.6 k Freestyle Team Sprint The first World Cup team sprint of the season was run amidst drizzle and the Dresden, Germany city-scape as the women raced a total of six 1.6-kilometer laps. Round and round on the looping course, the pace was a mix of tactically subdued speeds with sustained bursts of energy to break the pack. After all the speed changes and exchanges with one athlete...

Sweden takes 1, 2 and 3, with Nilsson Leading the Way in Dresden City Sprint; Caldwell 5th

  With the 2019 Tour de Ski complete, World Cup athletes returned to competition on Saturday for a 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint. The race took place in the city of Dresden, Germany–an icy, two lap sprint course along the Elbe river  offered racers the non-traditional backdrop of cathedrals and other gothic architecture. Temperatures hung around 40 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday and the snow that was trucked in to cover the streets made for a hard packed,...

FIS World Cup Dresden, Germany 1.6 k Freestyle Sprint The city of Dresden resting alongside the River Elbe hosted a 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint for the second year running. Hannah Falk of Sweden, last year’s sprint winner in Dresden, won the qualifier in a time of 3:41.85 minutes. The U.S. Ski Team’s (USST) Sophie Caldwell was the second fastest qualifier (+0.49), with Falk’s teammate, Stina Nilsson, qualifying in third (+0.80). Canada’s Dahria Beatty placed 20th (+8.72) in...

Sweden’s Sundling Scores First World Cup Win; Sadie Bjornsen Podiums in Lillehammer Skate Sprint

With the two big climbs over 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint course, the women’s World Cup freestyle sprint course in Lillehammer, Norway packs a quad-burning punch. With lungs then legs poaching any extra oxygen, the women’s final, which featured four of six athletes from Sweden, was a primetime show. Nilsson is a finisher, known for her closeout efforts in the finishing straight. But as she and twenty-three-year-old Sundling glided into the S-turns before the final 100 meters,...

Sunday Rundown: Diggins and Harvey 2nd, Bjornsen 3rd in Falun Pursuit; Dunklee 3rd in Oslo (Updated)

FIS Cross Country World Cup Finals (Falun, Sweden): 10/15 k freestyle pursuits Time of day | Final Distance World Cup rankings Men: Pursuit | Final Overall World Cup rankings | Women’s pursuit report | Men’s relay report In her last race of the season, Susan Dunklee returned to the podium. The American started fourth in Sunday’s 10-kilometer pursuit at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Oslo, then made her way into third by the final...

Friday Rundown: Falk, Klæbo Win Last Sprint of Season in Falun; Caldwell 6th

FIS Cross Country World Cup Finals (Falun, Sweden): Freestyle sprints Men’s report In the last sprint of the season and the first race of the three-day World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden’s Hanna Falk and Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won their respective 1.4-kilometer freestyle sprint finals, while Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla and Klæbo claimed the season-long Sprint Crystal Globes and Sophie Caldwell of the U.S. placed third in the Sprint World Cup. Falk started Friday...

Saturday Rundown: Falun & Duszniki-Zdrój (Updated x2)

FIS Cross-Country World Cup (Falun, Sweden): Men’s & women’s freestyle sprints Men’s report [UPDATED] Kikkan Randall reached the final for the first time since March 2015 on Saturday in the women’s 1.4-kilometer freestyle sprint at the World Cup in Falun, Sweden. The American qualified 26th and went on to advance in second out of her quarterfinal and semifinal to reach the six-woman final, where she ended up fifth. Sweden’s Stina Nilsson won the final by one-hundredth of...