For the first time ever, the entire podium turned blue-yellow on the women’s side in a cross-country skiing world championship. Gold to Jonna Sundling, silver to Emma Ribom and bronze to Maja Dahlqvist.
On the men’s side, however, it has happened twice before: Gunnar Eriksson, Enar Josefsson and Nils Karlsson did it in the five-mile in Lake Placid in 1950 and Gunde Svan, Torgny Mogren and Lars Håland swept clean in 15 kilometers in Lahtis in 1989.
Mogren, today an expert at Radiosporten, can’t help but be impressed by the Swedish sprint success in Slovenian Planica on Thursday.
— It’s big and you know how tough it is to succeed in it. Everyone has to have a great day, otherwise you’ll never be able to do it. And especially in sprints too, it’s a bit risky, everyone is on the edge and wants to be there at the front and win, he tells TT.
TT: Is it a greater achievement to do it in a sprint versus 15 kilometers like you did?
— I would almost dare to say that, to manage to have three at all, now it was even four (Linn Svahn in fourth place), it is incomparable. That a national team has three to four in the final. It rarely happens. It is really difficult. It’s an incredible feat.
Mogren beats the big drum when he has to rank the current Swedish women’s national team compared to previous versions.
— I don’t think we’ve ever been close to what we have today in terms of strength and the amount of riders to choose from – it’s absolutely incredible. It is outstanding.