Iivo Niskanen's Favorite Collapses During MM Victory Battle – Offers Unusual Explanation

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Norway's superstar Johannes Hösflot Kläbo continued his streak of victories at the World Championships held in Trondheim, winning the traditional 10 km individual race. Kläbo, who is aiming for six gold medals in his hometown, earlier secured wins in sprints and the combined event.

– Kläbo might find a challenger in the upcoming 50 km race, but he could still stand at the top spot there too. Both relays strongly hint at Norway's dominance, said Yle's skiing expert Ville Nousiainen regarding this historic gold chase.

Norway also achieved a threefold victory after dramatic events. Erik Valnes, who skipped the sprint due to back pain, took silver, while Harald Östberg Amundsen received bronze.

Valnes was very emotional during the Yle interview.

– It is hard to describe this. From one of the worst days in my life to the best, the tearful Norwegian explained.

Valnes shared that he was in good shape before the championships, but encountered unfortunate circumstances.

– The entire competition was a bad experience. It felt terrible to sit out. I wanted to perform well in these championships.

Norway was also close to a fourth victory but Martin Löwström Nyenget fell towards the end, finishing fifth.

– It was inconsistent the whole time. I was probably quite tired and jammed, so it was hard to stay upright, a disappointed Nyenget told Yle Sports.

He believed he would have been in silver position without the fall.

– I have trained for this race for many years, so this is a tough moment, Nyenget expressed.

Before the race, Kläbo and Sweden's William Poromaa engaged in a war of words.

Kläbo responded to Poromaa's jibes firmly while referencing Finland's top star Iivo Niskanen.

Niskanen won the traditional 10 km at the World Cup in Falun but reminded everyone that Poromaa was not in that race. Niskanen missed the championships after falling ill with the flu.

– I believe it’s going to be a tough race tomorrow. Iivo said in Falun that Poromaa is hard to beat. Poromaa also said he could be drunk and still keep up with our speed in the classic segment of the combined race.

– I believe Poromaa will win it big tomorrow, Kläbo tossed in after his historic victory in Saturday's combined event.

Johannes Hösflot Kläbo gave William Poromaa a stark rebuttal.

Now Poromaa found himself humbled, finishing sixth. He lost to Kläbo by 15.3 seconds and wasn’t even the best Swede. Edvin Anger squeezed in between him for a fourth-place finish.

Poromaa felt disappointed after the race. He lost to Kläbo by a whopping 11.2 seconds in the last 800 meters. Even at the last time check before the finish, Poromaa was in second place.

– I couldn't see anything. My glasses were fogged up. It was difficult to control anything, Poromaa explained to SVT.

The conditions were tough, with heavy snow falling. The best Finn was Ville Ahonen, who finished tenth.

Ahonen also spoke about his experiences with his glasses. He wasn’t as harsh as Poromaa.

– The glasses get so wet and snowy that you can hardly see through them. It didn’t bother my face that much when I lifted them. I could run about half the race with the glasses on, Ahonen described.

Ahonen impressed, finishing just 37.9 seconds behind Kläbo.

– That gap is really small in such a competition. It reflects how well Ahonen skied today, exclaims Ville Nousiainen in Yle’s sports studios.

As Ahonen crossed the finish line, Yle Urheilu’s ski expert Aino-Kaisa Saarinen pointed out the poor condition of the finish line after the snowfall.

– That finish line is in really absurd condition. Ahonen’s performance was absolutely fantastic! Saarinen praised in the World Championships chat.

Ahonen commented on his feelings upon finishing.

– There wasn’t really any track left. It was quite a long finish. In that scream, it didn’t bother as much.

Ahonen described the conditions as “workable.”

– The pacing was pretty even overall. A lot of alternating skiing was to be done. I don’t know how much the slow weather suited, but alternating skiing suits me. It was good to ski that way.

Ahonen was tenth two years ago in the sprint at the Planica World Championships. At that time, he had a bitter taste after falling in the semifinals. Now he was really satisfied.

– This was one of my best, if not the best, normal-distance races of my career. One of the most important moments of my career, Ahonen rejoiced.

The fierce conditions also posed challenges. Ski tests took a long time.

– From the start, it was clear that we’d go with grip wax, but I chose a new ski. It took a long time to get sufficient grip. In the race, it was on point. It was sensitive ski, but extremely slippery, Ahonen described.

Iivo Niskanen's Favorite Collapses During His MM Battle