World Championships in Trondheim

LIVE from 12.30 pm: Will the ÖSV surprise at the start of the World Championships?

Top favorite Johannes Hösflot Kläbo was unbeatable.(Bild: GEPA)

The red-white-red cross-country skiers Benjamin Moser and Magdalena Scherz were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the skating sprint at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim. Moser crashed in his run and had to settle for 28th place. Scherz finished 20th in her World Championship debut. The first gold medals at the championships in Norway were won by the Norwegian top favorite Johannes Hösflot Kläbo and Sweden's Jonna Sundling in front of a full house on Thursday.

Moser got caught up with the Norwegian Matz William Jenssen while in second position and therefore had no chance of reaching the semi-finals or final. "The odds would have been relatively high today. It's very bitter," said the 27-year-old Tyrolean, who had reached the sprint quarter-finals for the first time in his fourth World Championships appearance. "I got off to a good start and was exactly where I wanted to be. Then, unfortunately, my colleague got on my skis. I couldn't run any further to the right. It went badly, but there's nothing you can do about it now."

Previously, Michael Föttinger (45th) and Lukas Mrkonjic (128th) had clearly missed the top 30 in qualifying. Mrkonjic was particularly disappointed in the finish area, as the 26-year-old from Salzburg lost a lot of time due to a stomach stain. Kläbo, however, brought the host country its first gold medal in Trondheim in front of an atmospheric backdrop at the Granåsen Skisenter; it was the 28-year-old cross-country star's tenth gold medal at the World Championships. The 30-year-old Sundling celebrated her third World Championship title in a row in front of the Swedish royal couple.

Jonna Sundling(Bild: AFP/JONATHAN NACKSTRAND)

Scherz satisfied on debut
Scherz qualified for the knockout heats in 24th place and thus achieved her goal. "Yesterday I was talking about a top 20 finish, and I achieved that. All in all, I'm really happy with my first World Championships," said the 23-year-old, who finished fourth in her heat. In the team sprint next Wednesday, Scherz will compete with Katharina Brudermann in the classic technique.

Meanwhile, two Scandinavian medal candidates were missing due to injury. Sweden's Linn Svahn will miss the entire World Championships due to a concussion sustained in a training crash the day before. Norway's Erik Valnes had to miss out due to a back injury, but could return for the next competitions. In addition, a number of registered participants fell ill.

Cross-country - women, sprint, skating:
1st Jonna Sundling (SWE) 3:03.36 min.
2. Kristine Stavaas Skistad (NOR) +2.13 sec.
3. Nadine Fähndrich (SUI) +2.84
Further (out in the quarterfinals):
20th Magdalena Scherz (AUT)

Men, sprint, skating:
1st Johannes Hösflot Kläbo (NOR) 2:45.74 min.
2nd Federico Pellegrino (ITA) +0.67 sec.
3. Lauri Vuorinen (FIN) +4.79
Next (out in quarter-finals):
28th Benjamin Moser (AUT)
45th (out in prologue) Michael Föttinger (AUT)
128th Lukas Mrkonjic (AUT)