January 14, 2018 (Ruhpolding, GER) – Canada’s Rosanna Crawford delivered a gutsy perfect 20/20 score again in the women’s 12.5K Mass Start on the final day in Ruhpolding but ran out of steam to end up fourth as Kaisa Mäkäräinen (FIN) bested Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier in the final 100 meters for the win.

Veronika Vitkova of Czech Republic suffered two penalties like Mäkäräinen and Dahlmeier but was able to just catch Crawford  before the line for third at 4.6 seconds behind the winner.

It was truly a battle to the finish as Crawford cleaned the final standing shoot with a 16.4-second margin over the three chasers. Dahlmeier passed the Canadian with 800 meters to go followed by Mäkäräinen who took charge as the duo entered the stadium.

Crawford skied valiantly but could not hold off Vitkova yet it was affirmation that her perfect score in the 15km individual on Friday was hers to keep.

“I really thought if I made it to the stadium in front of Vitkova I’d be able to hold her off, but she had the slip stream and I my legs just felt like concrete. I was pretty disappointed when I crossed the line in 4th, but as time went by I got more and more happy. To have hit another 20/20 is fantastic, especially in the high pressure situation of a Mass Start. With that race I went 50/50 in Ruhpolding,” commented Crawford.

“It was so amazing having my whole team out cheering for me! Brendan was waiting for me in the finish pen and got to see me in the flower ceremony. These women and men I train with are incredible supportive and I hope these good results help fuel and motivate us into the Olympics.

“The crowd was amazing in Ruhpolding this whole week! I loved having my first podium at one of the most popular World Cup venues. We had incredible skis all week and our techs worked so hard, a big shout out to them! I think none of them have voices this morning from cheering so hard in yesterday’s race,” added Crawford.

Results here.