February 05, 2017 (Soldier Hollow, UT) – Canada’s Dahria Beatty was the top North American in 19th as Norway’s Lotta Udnes Weng closed out the USANA FIS U23 World Championships with gold in the Skiathlon at Soldier Hollow.

Weng came from behind to overtake Finland’s Johanna Matintalo, who took silver. Russia’s Yana Kirpichenko won bronze. Canadian Katherine Stewart-Jones finished 21st while teammate Frederique Vezina was 29th. Jesse Knori was the top American in 30th with Alayna Sonnesyn 31st. Nicole Bathe (USA) placed 33rd with Corey Stock 36th. Canada’s Jennifer Jackson did not finish.

A stronger classic skier, Matintalo took an early lead in the opening 7.5k classic leg, battling back and forth with Lotta’s twin sister Tirol Udnes Weng, who was second at the exchange. Matintalo carried a three-second margin over Tiril Weng at the halfway mark.

In the Freestyle leg, Matintalo continued to lead with Kirpichenko and Lotta Weng skiing up to join the battle. On the final climb before dropping into the stadium, Weng put on a final push to take the lead and build a small gap. She won by 3.8 seconds over Matintalo, with Kirpichenko another 10 seconds back.

The gold medalist is a first-time U23 competitor who was sixth in the classic sprint to open the Championships. Weng is a six-time Junior Worlds medalist.

The U23 World Championships concluded with the Skiathlon, with the final Junior Worlds relays set for Sunday.

Results here.