PHOTO: Bildbyrån
No one could beat the Norwegians today either…
Who won his fifth consecutive WC gold completely superior in the relay.
And Sweden once again missed out on a medal on the men’s side when they finished sixth.
Norway was the big favorite for the men’s relay on Friday. Nor would they disappoint a single Norwegian in their home country during the race.
Norwegian gold rush
Because right from the start set Hans Christer Holund off at breakneck speed and got a gap after only a few minutes into the relay. No other rider either wanted or had the strength to hook the Norwegian, who gave Norway a huge lead at the first switch.
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Swedish Johan Häggström did his best to hang on there behind and fought valiantly to keep up with the other medal contenders. Then took Jens Burman over on the second stretch and also saw the Finns pull away from the rest of the riders and then the aim was set more towards a Swedish bronze medal instead.
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Finnish silver
On the third leg, it was time for Sweden’s best men’s rower in the WC so far to take over and William Poromaa did extremely well to keep Sweden in the medal hunt. When the 22-year-old handed over to Calle Halfvarsson he collapsed from exhaustion at the changing area.
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Norway was able to ride completely unthreatened during the relay and easily took care of another WC gold when the last man Johannes Hösflot Kläbo glided across the finish line in peace. Behind there was also a comfortable WC silver for Finland, but the bronze money was the bigger fight for.
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Sweden’s miss
It was between France, Germany, Sweden and Canada for a long time, but on the final lap, Halfvarsson finally had to give up. France and Germany withdrew and then had to settle for a dramatic bronze showdown.
Germany proved to be the strongest and took care of the WC bronze. While Sweden had to settle for just sixth place in the men’s relay, behind France in fourth place and Canada in fifth place.
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