– She completely knocked Frida Karlsson out of action here – NRK Sport

– I promise you I was the revenge the week after yesterday’s race, so it was incredibly good to be able to get revenge today, Johaug told NRK after the race, where she referred Karlsson to second place and Heidi Weng provided two Norwegians on the podium with her third place.

Brought and moved

It was only halfway through the start of Sunday’s 10km freestyle that Johaug managed to regain Karlsson’s 13-second lead.

The question was whether the Norwegian ski star had any other gear.

She had.

For the last two rounds, she didn’t let the Swedish favorite get anything for free. After 6.1 kilometers Johaug had a small gap and after 7.5 kilometers it looked like the duel was settled. Then there were a narrow five seconds between the two rivals.

Upon arrival, it was still two seconds.

– Boring

When Johaug first crossed the finish line, NRK expert Torgeir Bjørn said that “the queen of skiing is still the queen of skiing”, if anyone doubted after Johaug was set up with insistence by Karlsson during Saturday’s race.

Johaug tells NRK that she enjoys the duel against Karlsson.

Men:

“I have to honestly admit that I didn’t completely love myself yesterday,” she said.

Karlsson acknowledged that she may not have been as healthy in her legs on Sunday, but she was happy with her run.

– It’s a bit annoying that I couldn’t bite myself when she passed. Therese was strong today, Karlsson told NRK.

Mentally tough with all the due dates

But it was uncertain whether Johaug would claim his 78th World Cup victory on Sunday. The 33-year-old admits the charge was mentally difficult to handle.

The ladies started the warm-up well before the race which should have started at 10.20 am. But due to freezing cold and a degree that in some places on the track reached minus 23 degrees, the decision to postpone the race was set for 12:00 p.m., before it finally became clear that it should start at 2:45 p.m. Finnish time.

In the meantime, all Norwegian male runners had thrown in the towel. No one would start the hunt for fear of losing important weeks and months in an Olympic season. The consequences could be significant, especially since the airways could be too badly affected.

Cursed and Wanted Cancellation

Then a large part of the Norwegian women’s team announced that they did not want to compete for the same reasons. Except for Johaug and Heidi Weng, who both eventually started.

– We started warming up for a race that was actually supposed to start at 10:20 a.m. and then 12:00 p.m. I have to honestly admit I was a little pissed off when I left here after starting to warm up and it got delayed.

– And then you put yourself in a bit of doubt when the whole team of boys and the other girls got away with it. It went like this, “should I go or not? “, describes Johaug.

– When you left here after the first warm-up, did you wish it was cancelled?

– Yes, I could, says Johaug, and clarifies:

– Because you’re going to motivate yourself, and then we would have started to warm up. If only we had been told it was rescheduled to 2:45 immediately, that would be much better.

She still decided she wanted to go cross-country skiing. She knows she can handle the cold and she needs all the competition she can get. Johaug doesn’t have the toughest racing schedule ahead of the Olympics and won’t be competing in the Tour de Ski.

“Oi, I fight for the podium”

Heidi Weng started as number ten at the start of the hunt, but as Johaug had a dream day on the track.

The 30-year-old became “winner of the day”, or in good Norwegian got the best hunting start time of the day. She beat Johaug by 4.1 seconds. On arrival, there was a little more than half a minute difference between the only two Norwegian elements in Ruka this Sunday.

Weng was understandably happy after Sunday’s good experience.

– He went all alone in three laps. Suddenly I saw numbers three and four, so I thought, “Oh, I’m fighting for the podium. I had very good skis. I could just walk and walk, but I was glad that wasn’t the case anymore. Because I got it, too, Weng told NRK after the race.

Weng found himself in a pool with athletes behind Johaug and Karlsson. In a duel with Krista Pärmäkoski, Rosie Brennan, Ebba Andersson and Katharina Hennig, Enebakk’s daughter drew the longest straw.