Women's skiathlon

LIVE from 2 p.m.: Will Stadlober win the skiathlon?

Ebba Andersson(Bild: AP/Matthias Schrader)

Cross-country skier Teresa Stadlober experienced a disappointment at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim! In the 20 km skiathlon on Sunday in rainy conditions, the skier from Salzburg was unable to finish higher than 16th place. The 32-year-old must therefore continue to wait for her first medal at her seventh World Championships participation, and the 2022 Olympic bronze medallist was 2:08.0 minutes behind the victorious Swede Ebba Andersson in her showpiece discipline.

In front of the Norwegian King Harald, who attended the World Championships in person for the first time on Sunday, and Queen Sonja, defending champion Andersson beat local hero Therese Johaug by a wafer-thin margin after a photo finish in a thrilling sprint to the finish in front of around 16,000 spectators in the Granåsen cross-country stadium. Bronze in the 2 x 10 km race with ski technique change went to the Swedish sprint world champion Jonna Sundling (+10.2 sec.) despite a fall shortly before the last lap. While the 36-year-old Johaug, who celebrated her comeback after a two-year break following the birth of her daughter at the start of the season, narrowly missed out on her 15th World Championship gold medal, Andersson celebrated her fourth World Championship title.

Teresa Stadlober(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

Stadlober disappointed
Stadlober was admittedly unhappy after the botched race. "That really hurts. Having a day like this today is really tough," said the 32-year-old dejectedly. She had had a bad day and had also been nervous the day before. "Something I'm not used to. It all came together. The icy conditions don't suit me at all," she explained, referring to the salted trail. That's why the skiathlon runner-up from Val di Fiemme wasn't able to enjoy the atmosphere on the course.

Stadlober lost touch with the leaders right at the start of the race and skied alone for a long time. By the time she changed skis halfway through the race, she was already one minute behind in 14th place. "Then you're just gone," emphasized Stadlober, who was unable to keep up in the classic style, her stronger technique. "It's brutal mentally when you're running behind and you have other dreams. It's just bitter when you have a good season and it doesn't work out at all." The red-white-red World Championship debutant Katharina Brudermann finished 34th.