Sometimes Justyna Kowalczyk has to fight for her wins, and for others it looks almost looks easy for her. "It was a relatively easy victory today," she said in front of the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden, where she won her fourth World Cup classic race in a row by 2.2 seconds on the 1.1 k city sprint course. Kowalczyk leads World Cup Finals by 7.1 seconds after the first stage.
Just when people were starting to doubt Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk, the 30-year-old put down a pace no one could keep up with – not even four-time 2013 World Champion Marit Bjørgen – on Sunday in Lahti, Finland.
In her 100th career World Cup start in Lahti, Finland, on Saturday, American Kikkan Randall won a photo-finish with Marit Bjørgen in the freestyle sprint and locked down the season-long quest for the crystal sprint globe for the second year in a row. "If you put in the work and stay dedicated then you can be the best in the world. And it’s pretty fun," Randall said afterwards.
The classic races of World Championships took place in Val di Fiemme: interval start, relay, marathon. Biathletes competed in Oslo, Americans held their own in Slavic Cup action, and Swedes (and everyone else) gave it their all in the Vasaloppet. Summaries of the action, along with links to reporting and results.
When you’ve already got 11 World Championship golds, it takes something really special to bring you to tears for the 12th one. Marit Bjørgen was overcome with emotion after winning Saturday's 30 k classic mass start, a race she had been focusing on for the last few years.
Marit Bjørgen earned her twelfth World Championships gold medal on Saturday with her victory in the 30 k classic in Val di Fiemme, Italy. Even with so many titles to her name, it was still an emotional win for the 32-year-old Norwegian star. Our photos from the race.
Marit Bjørgen's not unbeatable, but she's a pretty tough nut to crack. Therese Johaug proved its possible in a 10 k freestyle, winning the individual start on Tuesday for her second individual gold at World Championships. Yulia Tchekaleva broke through for Russia in third, German biathlete Miriam Gössner just missed a medal in fourth and American Liz Stephen captured fifth.
It was a sea of red on Saturday at the front of the women's 15 k skiathlon at World Championships. Marit Bjørgen took home her second gold medal of the week with an impressive show of strength on the final climb that left the field in her dust.
There are few ways to make a gold medal taste sweeter than it does on its own, but Marit Bjørgen and teammates Therese Johaug, Heidi Weng and Kristin Stoermer Steira somehow accomplished it for Norway in the women’s 15 k skiathlon on Saturday at the 2013 Nordic World Ski Championships. With Bjørgen leading the way, the women swept the top four spots in the finish for one of the most dominant performances ever seen from one country.
Marit Bjørgen gave the many Norwegian fans in Italy just what they came to see on the first day of the 2013 Nordic World Ski Championships. In her ninth career victory at the event, she won the classic sprint by over two seconds on an exciting, challenging course. Images from the day...
The Queen is back — as new snow fell in Val di Fiemme, Italy, on Thursday, Norwegian superstar Marit Bjørgen won the classic sprint by over two seconds to claim her ninth career World Championships gold medal. Ida Ingemarsdotter took silver and Maiken Caspersen Falla was third; Justyna Kowalczyk left the venue empty-handed after a disastrous fall in the final.
Though Marit Bjørgen made the last-second decision to skip Sunday's race, the Norwegian women were just fine in her absence. Therese Johaug claimed her first individual-start win in the 10 k in Davos, Switzerland, for a confidence-boosting tune-up before World Championships. She bested Justyna Kowalczyk and teammate Kristin Størmer Steira on the challenging course.
Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) skied away to victory, dominating each of her heats and displaying top form with World Championships just around the corner. Marit Bjørgen (NOR) was second and Anne Kylloenen (FIN) took third.
Things almost looked scary for Norway when Heidi Weng fell and broke a pole in the first kilometer of the 4 x 5 k relay in La Clusaz, but even the tangle couldn't stop Marit Bjørgen from finishing with a 27-second gap on the field. Finland finished second and Norway II took third.
Marit Bjørgen rose above an irregular heartbeat and a month out of World Cup racing to top Norwegian teammate Therese Johaug and Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk in the 10 k classic mass start Saturday in La Clusaz, France.
After taking a break from racing since experiencing an irregular heartbeat in December, Norway's Marit Bjørgen is set to return to the World Cup this weekend in La Clusaz, France, for the 10 k classic and 4 x 5 k relay.
Just when you thought you couldn’t go another day without races to follow and results to check, the Tour de Ski is here to deliver a concentrated dose of cross country drama. The seventh edition of the event begins on Saturday with a freestyle prologue in Oberhof, Germany. Here's a taste of what to expect.
An abnormally high pulse in training Saturday morning prompted Norwegian Marit Bjørgen to go to the hospital, and on Sunday, the defending World Cup champion was discharged after being examined for cardiac dysrhythmia, also known as arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat.
It didn’t look like Marit Bjørgen ever looked back Sunday in Kuusamo, Finland. It would’ve been pointless to do so; she was always more than a minute ahead, and the white-out conditions made the visibility near zero. Bjørgen won by more than a minute and 20 seconds, ahead of Justyna Kowalczyk, Heidi Weng and Therese Johaug.
Kikkan Randall (USA) continues to make history, earning her second distance podium of the young season. Randall placed second to Marit Bjørgen (NOR) in the 5k skate in Kuusamo. Yulia Tchekaleva (RUS) was third.