"Close to Bodily Harm": Sharp Criticism After World Championship Race

"Close to Bodily Harm"
First, the female cross-country skiers compete in a 50-kilometer event at the Nordic Ski World Championships. However, because of the difficult conditions, the race became a genuine trial. After the race, there was considerable criticism.

Frida Karlsson, the new world champion, arrived at the finish line after nearly 2 hours and 25 minutes, ahead of Norwegian athletes Heidi Weng and Therese Johaug. An unfortunate fall in the last kilometer robbed Ebba Andersson of a chance at gold.

The race dealt more with battling through deep snow than with high-performance sports. Even the absolute top competitors struggled with the adverse conditions, making this the longest race in World Championship history.

Given the ordeal of nearly two and a half hours - and longer for many competitors - German head coach Peter Schlickenrieder stated, "50 kilometers are already tough under normal conditions, but this bordered on bodily harm."

Johaug Struggles with Conditions and Missed Gold

Similarly, the former skiing dominator Therese Johaug, who missed her desired 15th World Championship gold in this, her final World Championship race, shared her thoughts on the race conditions. "Of course, I hoped for gold. But under these conditions and this race scenario, I couldn't maximize my strengths," Johaug said, adding, "The whole World Championship felt a bit strange for me."

After their Olympic careers ended in 2022, Johaug, who was returning for her home World Championship after the birth of her first child, had previously claimed silver three times in Trondheim. She narrowly lost to Andersson over 10 km and in the Skiathlon, while the Norwegian team finished second in a tight decision behind their chief rivals.

As a result, gold in all six women's cross-country events went to Sweden, archrivals of Norway.

With contributions from Sport-Informations-Dienst (SID)