Cross-country skiing: Kristin Austgulen Fosnäs and Norway lost the gold on the last leg

Originally published in SVT Sport on March 07, 2025

Cross-country skiing: Kristin Austgulen Fosnäs and Norway lost the gold on the last leg

Kristin Austgulen Fosnäs went out 37 seconds ahead of Jonna Sundling on the last leg of the relay.

Despite this, Norway had to settle for silver.

– It was mostly relief afterwards that it’s done, says Fosnäs to SVT Sport.

Heidi Weng, Astrid Öyre Slind, and Therese Johaug had created a dream scenario for a Norwegian gold before the women's relay's last stretch. The distance down to Sweden was up to 37 seconds when championship debutant Kristin Austgulen Fosnäs was sent out.

– The tactic was to go strong from the start and try to create as big a gap as possible, because we know Jonna is in monster form, says Slind.

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Kristin Austgulen Fosnäs chased by Jonna Sundling, and she quickly made up the distance. By the two-kilometer mark, Sundling had already caught up entirely. Fosnäs kept up until the finish line, but there Sundling was superior.

"Scared"

– I was very nervous. She (Jonna) came in an instant. It was a lot of time on a short stretch, and that scared me a little.

After the race, Fosnäs admitted to some significant nerves before the race, and the support from her teammates was crucial.

– Now I can sleep again. I am very thankful to my teammates. They have been really kind and have just backed me up; I am very thankful for that.

– It’s clear there is a lot of pressure, but I am very impressed by how she handles it, says Johaug regarding Fosnäs's stretch, and Weng concurs:

– We really won silver today. I am immensely impressed by Kristin, she adds.

"Thrown to the wolves"

Before the race, there was criticism directed at the Norwegian management for putting Fosnäs on the last leg of the relay.

– One thinks that Fosnäs was thrown to the wolves when they place a young debutant in such a task. In the first lap, she was almost stunned and paralyzed, says Anders Blomquist, adding:

– Norway’s obvious tactic was to decide the relay before the last leg; that tactic almost succeeded. Maybe it would have gone differently if they had lined up the team another way, but I honestly don’t think so.