PHOTO: Bildbyrån
The 2022-2023 ski season rolls on.
On Friday, it was time for the 10 kilometer freestyle for the Swedish ladies who had made it to Norway and Lillehammer.
But it wasn’t Sweden’s day – instead, Jessie Diggins took home the victory after a great race.
Six Swedish women were on the starting line in Lillehammer when it was set up for the 10 kilometer freestyle on Friday. Frida Karlsson and Ebba Andersson were the brightest stars for Sweden, but also came to the start Lovisa Modig, Ingrid Hallquist, Moa Ilar and Jenny Solin.
Good Swedish start
Frida Karlsson started a couple of minutes before Ebba Andersson, and Karlsson went full speed straight away. She was in the lead after the first interval, while Ebba Andersson also started offensively. And a bit into the race it was double Swedish at the top.
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But there were a couple of threats in the trail, including German Katharina Hennig and Norwegian Heidi Weng which pushed hard in the groove. Above all Hennig, who after just over half the race was in the lead – three seconds ahead of Ebba Andersson.
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Diggins won after a powerful sprint
The second half of the race was a thriller then another German in the form of Victoria Carl mixed in in addition to Hennig who was on his way to a real bang after having previously only collected four podium places in his career without ever managing to end up at the top of the podium. Nor does Victoria Carl have any major individual merits since before – only one podium but no victory. However, Hennig and Carl won Olympic gold in the sprint relay earlier in the year.
When Frida Karlsson crossed the finish line, she did so as second, but was almost immediately pushed down. Ebba Andersson came shortly after but could not compete with the superb Katharina Hennig, and was only a tenth behind Heidi Weng.
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Andersson looked for a long time to grab third place after Victoria Carl got a little tired at the end, but unfortunately the American was there Jessie Diggins still on track. And after a great race and a mega sprint, she took home the victory, just over three seconds ahead of Hennig. For Sweden, there was no podium – Ebba Andersson finished fourth and Frida Karlsson had to settle for eighth place. It was the first time this season that Ebba Andersson and Frida Karlsson missed the podium in a distance race in the World Cup.
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