NORDIC SKIING: Johaug sweeps distance races at World Championships in Seefeld

Norway's triple World Championships gold medalist Therese Johaug (Photo: Granada via Wikipedia)

The amazing comeback story of Norway’s Therese Johaug reached its peak in Seefeld (AUT), with her sweep of the distance races at the 2019 Nordic Skiing World Championships.

The Nordic Worlds were shaken by the arrests of five athletes for doping on the morning of 27 February, but on the snow, Johaug has been the story.

Returning from a doping suspension caused by a loaded lip balm given to her by a team physician, Johaug – now 30 – won all seven of her races in the World Cup season, but pointed for the Worlds. And she delivered, winning three races in three tries:

● 1st in Skiathlon, winning by 57.6 seconds
● 1st in 10 km Classical, winning by 12.2 seconds
● 1st in 30 km Mass Start Freestyle, winning by 48.8 seconds

Johaug also won a silver medal in the 4×5 km relay, giving her four total medals for the Championships. Her teammate and the World Cup overall leader, Ingvild Oestberg, won five medals, with silvers in the Skiathlon, 30 km Mass Start and Relay, and bronzes in the Team Sprint and 10 km Classical.

This is the second straight Nordic Worlds in which a Norwegian woman has won all three distance races. Marit Bjoergen, now retired, won the Skiathlon, 10 km Classical and 30 km Mass Start as well in 2017. For Johaug, she now has 10 career World Championships golds and 15 total medals, no. 6 on the all-time list (Bjoergen is the leader at 26).

Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov was the leading medal-winner among the men, with four silver medals. Norway’s Johannes Klaebo won three golds to lead all of the men’s Cross Country skiers, taking the Sprint, Team Sprint and Relay.

In the Nordic Combined, the man of the season – Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber – won the second individual competition, but Germany’s Eric Frenzel won his sixth and seventh golds and now also has 15 total World Championships medals (with seven gold).

In Ski Jumping, Germany’s Markus Eisenbichler led the medal parade with three, winning the individual 130 m hill, Team and Mixed Team titles.

Norway dominated the overall medal count, collecting 25 total medals (13-5-7), to nine for second-place Germany (6-3-0) and Austria (0-4-5). The U.S. had some good performances, but was shut out of the medals for the first time since 2011. Summaries:

FIS Nordic Skiing World Championships
Seefeld (AUT) ~ 19 February-3 March 2019

CROSS COUNTRY
(Full results here)

Men

1.6 km Sprint Freestyle: 1. Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR), 3:21.17; 2. Federico Pellegrino (ITA), +0.23; 3. Gleb Retivykh (RUS), +1.37; 4. Richard Jouve (FRA), +1.99; 5. Emil Iversen (NOR), +2.25; 6. Lucas Chanavat (FRA), +21.50.

Team Sprint Classical: 1. Emil Oversen/Johannes Klaebo (NOR), 18:49.86; 2. Gleb Retivykh/Alexander Bolshunov (RUS), 18:51.74; 3. Francesco de Fabiani/Federico Pellegrino (ITA), 18:53.89; 4. Oskar Svensson/Calle Halfvarsson (SWE), 18:54.59; 5. Richard Jouve/Lucas Chanavat (FRA), 18:58.99; 6. Max Hauke/Dominik Baldauf (AUT), 19:13.70; 7. Iivo Niskanen/Ristomatti Hakola (FIN), 9:17.38; 8. Simi Hamilton/Erik Bjornsen (USA), 19:18.42.

Skiathlon (15 km C + 15 km F): 1. Sjor Roethe (NOR), 1:10.21.8; 2. Alexander Bolshunov (RUS), 1:10:21.9; 3. Martin Johnsrud Sundby (NOR), 1:10:22.5; 4. Iivo Niskanen (FIN), 1:10:34.1; 5. Clement Parisse (FRA), 1:10.42.5; 6. Alex Harvey (CAN), 1:11:20.7; 7. Andrew Musgrave (GBR), 1:11:22.1; 8. Adrien Backscheider (FRA), 1:11:25.4.

15 km Classical: 1. Sundby (NOR), 38:22.6; 2. Alexander Bessmertnykh (RUS), 38:25.5; 3. Niskanen (FIN), 38:43.0; 4. Andrey Larkov (RUS), 38:45.4; 5. Didrik Toenseth (NOR), 38:46.9; 6. Dario Cologna (SUI), 38:55.0; 7. Roethe (NOR), 38:56.5; 8. Bolshunov (RUS), 39:21.1. Also in the top 25: 17. Erik Bjornsen (USA), 40:12.9.

50 km Mass Start Freestyle: 1. Hans Christer Holund (NOR), 1:49:59.3; 2. Bolshunov (RUS), 1:50:27.1; 3. Roethe (NOR), 1:50:57.1; 4. Sundby (NOR), 1:50:57.2; 5. Simen Hegsted Krueger (NOR), 1:51:00.4; 6. Calle Halfvarsson (SWE), 1:51:01.9; 7. Cologna (SUI), 1:51:03.3; 8. Andrew Musgrave (GBR), 1:51:03.8. Also in the top 25: 20. David Norris (USA), 1:51:21.9.

4 x 10 km Relay: 1. Norway (Iversen, Sundby, Roethe, Klaebo), 1:42:32.1; 2. Russia (Larkov, Bessmertnykh, Bolshunov, Ustiugov), 1:43:10.9; 3. France (Backscheider, Manificat, Parisse, Jouve), 1:43:33.1; 4. Finland, 1:43:34.9; 5. Sweden, 1:44:11.6; 6. Germany, 1:44:20.4; 7. Kazakhstan, 1:44:21.0; 8. Switzerland, 1:44:22.0. Also: 9. United States (Erik Bjornsen, Scott Patterson, David Norris, Kyle Bratrud), 1:46:38.5.

Women

1.2 km Sprint Freestyle: 1. Maiken Caspersen Falla (NOR), 2:32.35; 2. Stina Nilsson (SWE), +1.66; 3. Mari Eide (NOR), +2.84; 4. Jonna Sundling (SWE), +3.17; 5. Victoria Carl (GER), +5.71; 6. Maja Dahlqvist (SWE), +31.49.

Team Sprint Classical: 1. Stina Nilsson/Maja Dahlqvist (SWE), 15:14.93; 2. Katja Visnar/Anamarija Lampic (SLO), 15:15.30; 3. Ingvild Oestberg/Maiken Falla (NOR), 15:15.53; 4. Natalia Nepryaeva/Yulia Belorukova (RUS), 15:15.86; 5. Sadie Bjornsen/Jessica Diggins (USA), 15:17.72; 6. Victoria Carl/Sandra Ringwald (GER), 15:21.64; 7. Anne Kylloenen/Krista Parmakoski (FIN), 15:23.79; 8. Laurien van der Graaff/Nadine Faehndrich (SUI), 15:36.28.

Skiathlon (7.5 km C + 7.5 km F): 1. Therese Johaug (NOR), 36:54.5; 2. Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg (NOR), 37:52.1; 3. Natalia Nepyraeva (RUS), 37:53.2; 4. Astrid Jacobsen (NOR), 37:56.5; 5. Frida Karlsson (SWE), 38:01.9; 6. Charlotte Kalla (SWE), 38:07.8; 7. Heidi Weng (NOR), 38:14.7; 8. Krista Parmakoski (FIN), 38:28.2. Also in the top 25: 19. Julia Kern (USA), 39:50.0; … 24. Rosie Frankowski (USA), 39:55.1.

10 km Classical: 1. Johaug (NOR), 27:02.1; 2. Karlsson (SWE), 27:14.3; 3. Oestbesg (NOR), 27:37.7; 4. Parmakoski (FIN), 27:39.1; 5. Nadine Faehndrich (SUI), 28:06.0; 6. Anastasia Sedova (RUS), 28:07.0; 7. Nepryaeva (RUS), 28:09.6; 8. Teresa Stadlober (AUT), 28:10.0. Also in the top 25: 23. S. Bjornsen (USA), 28>43.1; 24. Rosie Brennan (USA), 28:47.2; 25. Diggins (USA), 28:54.0.

30 km Mass Start Freestyle: 1. Johaug (NOR), 1:14:26.2; 2. Oestberg (NOR), 1:15:03.0; 3. Karlsson (SWE), 1:15:10.2; 4. Diggins (USA), 1:15:32.1; 5. Kalla (SWE), 1:15:42.8; 6. Ebba Andersson (SWE), 1:15:43.5; 7. Nathalie von Siebenthal (SUI), 1:16:09.9; 8. Teresa Stadlober (AUT), 1:16:30.0. Also in the top 25: 15. S. Bjornsen (USA), 1:19:09.1; 16. Brennan (USA), 1:19:47.2.

4×5 km Relay: 1. Sweden (Andersson, Karlsson, Kalla, Nilsson), 55:21.0; 2. Norway (Weng, Oestberg, Jacobsen, Johaug), 55:24.1; 3. Russia (Belorukova, Sedova Nechaevskaya, Nepryaeva), 57:24.8; 4. Germany, 58:07.3; 5. United States (Julia Kern, Sadie Bjornsen, Rosie Brennan, Jessica Diggins), 58:27.0; 6. Finland, 59:08.7; 7. Italy, 59:15.9; 8. France, 59:21.9.

NORDIC COMBINED
(Full results here)

Gundersen 130 m hill/10.0 km: 1. Eric Frenzel (GER), 23:43.0; 2. Jan Schmid (NOR), +4.3; 3. Franz-Josef Rehrl (AUT), +8.7; 4. Mario Seidl (AUT), +15.3; 5. Jarl Magnus Riiber (NOR), +20.9; 6. Akito Watabe (JPN), +22.0; 7. Fabian Riessle (GER), +22.3; 8. Antoine Gerard (FRA), +29.6.

Gundersen 109 m hill/10.0 km: 1. Riiber (NOR), 25:01.3; 2. Bernhard Gruber (AUT), 25:02.7; 3. Watabe (JPN), 25:05.9; 4. Rehrl (AUT), 25:31.1; 5. Ilkka Herola (FIN), 25:37.7; 6. Espen Bjoernstad (NOR), 25:42.7; 7. Seidl (AUT), 25:45.6; 8. Johannes Rydzek (GER), 25:55.1.

Team Sprint 130 m hill/2×7.5 km: 1. Eric Frenzel/Fabian Riessle (GER), 28:29.5; 2. Jan Schmid/Jarl Magnus Riiber (NOR), +8.2; 3. Franz-Josef Rehrl/Bernhard Gruber (AUT), +9.2; 4. Yoshito Watabe/Akito Watabe (JPN), +56.4; 5. Aaron Kostner/Alessandro Pittin (ITA), +1:37.1; 6. Antoine Gerard/Maxime Laheurte (FRA), +1:44.6; 7. Ilkka Herola/Eero Hirvonen (FIN), +2:03.1; 8. Szczepan Kupczak/Pawel Slowiok (POL), +2:30.4. Also: 9. Taylor Fletcher/Ben Loomis (USA), +2:56.8.

Team 109 m hill/4×5 km: 1. Norway (Bjoernstad, Schmid, Graabak, Riiber), 50:15.5; 2. Germany (Rydzek, Frenzel, Riessle, Geiger), 50:16.5; 3. Austria (Gruber, Seidl, Rehrl, Klapfer), 50:20.5; 4. Japan, 50:44.2; 5. Finland, 51:25.1; 6. France, 51:27.5; 7. Italy, 52:54.6; 8. Poland, 53:09.5. Also: 10. United States (Taylor Fletcher, Grant Andrews, Jared Shumate, Ben Loomis), 57:05.2.

SKI JUMPING
(Full results here)

Men’s 130 m hill: 1. Markus Eisenbichler (GER), 279.4; 2. Karl Geiger (GER), 267.3; 3. Killian Peier (SUI), 266.1; 4. Ryoyu Kobayashi (JPN), 262.0; 5. Kamil Stoch (POL), 259.4; 6. Stefan Kraft (AUT), 256.1; 7. Johann Andre Forfang (NOR), 250.9; 8. Robert Johansson (NOR), 248.9.

Men’s 109 m hill: 1. Dawid Kubacki (POL), 218.3; 2. Stoch (POL), 215.5; 3. Kraft (AUT), 214.8; 4. Philipp Aschenwald (AUT), 214.5; 5. Richard Freitag (GER), 211.3; 6. Stephan Leyhe (GER), 210.6; 7. Eisenbichler (GER), 210.5; 8. Yukiya Sato (JPN), 210.5.

Men’s Team 130 m hill: 1. Germany (Geiger, Freitag, Leyhe, Eisenbichler), 987.5; 2. Austria (Aschenwald, Hayboeck, Huber, Kraft), 930.9; 3. Japan (Sato, Ito, J. Kobayashi, R. Kobayashi), 920.2; 4. Poland, 909.1; 5. Norway, 900.2; 6. Slovenia, 858.7; 7. Switzerland, 837.0; 8. Czech Rep., 818.4.

Women’s 109 m hill: 1. Maren Lundby (NOR), 259.6; 2. Katharina Althaus (GER), 259.1; 3. Daniela Iraschko-Stolz (AUT), 247.6; 4. Juliane Seyfarth (GER), 244.4; 5. Eva Pinkelnig (AUT), 241.8; 6. Sara Takanashi (JPN), 236.7; 7. Nika Kriznar, (SLO), 236.1; 8. Ursa Bogataj (SLO), 231.7.

Women’s Team 109 m hill: 1. Germany (Seyfarth, Straub, Vogt, Althaus), 898.9; 2. Austria (Pinkelnig, Seifriedsberger, Hoelzl, Iraschko-Stolz), 880.3; 3. Norway (Stroem, Braaten, Opseth, Lundby), 876.9; 4. Slovenia, 828.1; 5. Russia, 820.3; 6. Japan, 806.1; 7. France, 718.1; 8. Italy, 690.5. Also: 10. United States (Logan Sankey, Nina Lussi, Tara Geraghty-Moats, Nita Englund), 291.6.

Mixed Team 109 m hill: 1. Germany (Althaus, Eisenbichler, Seyfarth, Geiger), 1,012.2; 2. Austria (Pinkelnig, Aschenwald, Iraschko-Stolz, Kraft), 989.9; 3. Norway (Stroem, Johansson, Lundby, StJernen), 938.4; 4. Slovenia, 930.8; 5. Japan, 928.6; 6. Poland, 914.9; 7. Russia, 896.2; 8. Italy, 801.4.