Third Place Ebba Andersson Disqualified Dramatically – Kerttu Niskanen Complained About Fateful Start Number
Originally published in Yle on March 15, 2025
Therese Johaug returned to victory on her home trails following the World Championships. In the women's 20 km classic interval start competition, Krista Pärmäkoski needed extra grip on her skis.
Ebba Andersson skied third but was disqualified due to receiving her second yellow card of the season for a technical violation. This elevated Germany's Victoria Carl to third place instead. A protest filed by Sweden regarding the disqualification was dismissed.
Edging past Johan Häggström, Johaug acknowledged that her familiarity with the trails aided her strategy during the race. "In the end, I felt I still had energy left. It feels good to show that I'm fit after the World Championships. The seconds did not favor me there, but today they did," Johaug reflected to Yle.
Astrid Öyre Slind secured second place for Norway, finishing 16.5 seconds behind Johaug's winning time of 49:59.9.
Norway's Therese Johaug again triumphed at Holmenkollen. Photo: Tomi Hänninen/Chilipictures
Ruotsin Ebba Andersson, who finished third, received her second yellow card this season for a technical infringement and was therefore disqualified. Thus, Germany's Victoria Carl moved up to third place. According to Expressen, Sweden lodged a protest regarding the decision, which was denied.
"Now I'm quite annoyed. According to the jury, I took too many skating strides. I adjusted my skis so I wouldn't fall. The judging panel and I, along with the team leaders, completely disagree on this," Andersson stated to SVT.
Kerttu Niskanen, the top Finn, finished fourth, trailing 55.8 seconds behind the leader. She was still sixth at the 11.7-kilometer checkpoint but surged past Norway's Heidi Weng and Sweden's Moa Ilar.
Niskanen, who skied pacily towards the end, fought for third place against Germany's Victoria Carl but fell just over two seconds short.
Niskanen expressed relative satisfaction with her performance despite always wanting to podium in classical interval start races. "But the season is long, and the strain is beginning to show. Today was a battle in my head, and I just had to keep going. The weather changed dramatically during the race, and that required stamina," Niskanen recounted.
Krista Pärmäkoski was the second-best Finn in 14th place. She revealed last week that she was diagnosed with a strain in her hip flexor over a month ago.
Pärmäkoski, however, persevered to finish the race, albeit requiring some atypical adjustments for her condition. "Due to my leg, I had to request more grip on my skis. It showed especially during the climbs when my skis didn’t glide as smoothly in classical skiing. Under the circumstances, I had to play it differently," Pärmäkoski added.
Among other Finns, Johanna Matintalo placed 23rd, Jasmin Kähärä was 29th, Vilma Nissinen finished 36th, and Vilma Ryytty came in 44th.
