Norwegian walk in the park at women’s relay

Finland.Ski World Championships 2017 LahtiFinland.Ski World Championships 2017 Lahti:The Norwegian winning team was represented by: Maiken Caspersen Falla, Heidi Weng, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen and Marit Bjørgen.Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB scanpix

Norway won the gold medal in the women’s 4 x 5 km event of the cross-country World Championships in devastating style. Leaving the chasing pack led by Sweden more than one minute behind.

The Norwegian winning team was represented by: Maiken Caspersen Falla, Heidi Weng, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen and Marit Bjørgen.

The bronze medal went to Finland after Krista Pärmäkoski lost at the finish line against Sweden’s Stina Nilsson.

Last time the champs where held in Lahti, Finland (2001) the winning nation Russia won the also had a winning margin of 1 minute, but this was surpassed by 1 second this time around, making it the making It the biggest winning margin in modern times.

Solid statistics

Thursday’s gold medal was also Norway’s record breaking 100th win in cross-country World Championships context, confirming the Norwegian women’s fantastic relay statistics.

More than seven years of water has passed under the bridge since Norway has been defeated in a relay race neither in the World Cup nor at the World Championships. The last time it happened was In November 2009, when Sweden proved too strong during the World Cup’s opening race at Beitostølen.

Marit Bjørgen secured a fifth gold medal of her career in a Championship relay.

This means that the cross-country queen now only has two women in front of her in the statistics. Russians Nina Gavrilyuk and Larisa Lazutina both won six relay gold medals during their eventful careers.

The gold was Norway’s 20th World Championship medal in relay on the women’s side, which is also, is a new record. The former USSR stopped at 19 gold medals according to the statistics of the International Skiing Federation (FIS), with Finland in third with 16.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today