Sweden’s huge success in the World Ski Championships continues.
Ebba Andersson wins gold in the skiathlon – and Frida Karlsson wins silver.
Sweden’s ladies got off to a fantastic start at this year’s WC when there was a blue-yellow triple in the opening sprint. Jonna Sundling won gold ahead of Emma Ribom who won silver, Maja Dahlqvist who won bronze, and Linn Svahn who finished fourth. On Saturday, it was time for Sweden’s two biggest stars, Frida Karlsson and Ebba Andersson, to enter this year’s championship in Planica.
Big favorites
Karlsson and Andersson have been the big giants this season. Karlsson became the first Swede since Charlotte Kalla to win the Tour de Ski – and Ebba Andersson has lined up first places and great results, despite being ill and forced to take an involuntary training break.
Both Frida and Ebba have shown that you can perform in the WC before, and the hopes were thus high before their premiere of this year’s ski festival. And immediately when the skiathlon started, it was clear that the form has held for the two superstars.
READ MORE: Petter Northug’s perfectly clever joke to Charlotte Kalla – after the announcement that she is pregnant: “I am not…”
Overwhelming winner
Frida Karlsson and Ebba Andersson immediately took the lead, and when we approached the halfway point of the race and changed skis, the Swedish duo had made a small move, and there were not many who could keep up then. Ebba Andersson switched to new skis in the lead, close ahead of Frida Karlsson. Ebba and Frida immediately created a huge gap to the other riders – and after a few kilometers Ebba had also created a lead of a few seconds on Frida Karlsson.
With two-thirds of the race left, Ebba led by almost 20 seconds – but on a downhill Andersson fell in the loose snow, and then the distance between the two Swedes decreased. However, Ebba Andersson managed to shake off Karlsson again, and the distance only increased all the way to the finish. Ebba Andersson finally won gold with a margin of 22 seconds. Frida Karlsson came second by a good margin and won silver – and Sweden now has a total of five medals after only three days of competition in this year’s WC.
Third was the Norwegian Astrid Öyre Slind, who thus won her first WC medal as a 35-year-old(!).
READ MORE: Charlotte Kalla’s beautiful greeting to her former teammates after the all-Swedish triple success: “Words are not enough”