February 15, 2014 (Sochi, Russia) – In a nail-biting finish to the women’s 4x5km relay Swedish superstar, Charlotte Kalla, had fans glued to the edge of their seats as she erased a 25.7-second deficit to catch and pass race leaders, Krista Lahteenmaki (FIN) and Denise Herrmann (GER) with 100m to go, to claim the gold medal in dramatic style.
It was Olympic racing at its best as Kalla’s skiing panache also ended a 46-year drought for Sweden to reach the podium in the relay while marking their first relay gold since 1960. Kalla is also the first athlete to win three medals at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games – two silvers and a gold – as Sweden is emerging as the powerhouse of the Games ending Norway’s reign as the defending Olympic relay champions, and their domination of the relay since 2009.
Finland’s Lahteenmaki, who battled with Herrmann at the front of the race until Kalla spoiled the party, prevailed in the final sprint to the line for the silver as her German rival, a known sprinter, settled for the bronze as an already astonished crowd watched the drama unfold.
For the North American fans it was a tough day as Team USA, touted for a medal and on the podium in third this past Dec. at the relay in Lillehammer, Norway, finished a valiant but disappointing 9th. Canada ended the day in 14th as warm conditions once again made for challenging skiing at the Games.
The US team was in trouble early as lead-off skier Kikkan Randall, who looked strong in the first lap was suddenly mid-field on lap two with Norway’s Falla also struggling (almost in last place) as the Czech Republic’s Eva Vrabcova-Nyvltova took the lead with Germany and Russia just behind. As the lap ended Randall found herself in 12th, Canada’s Perianne Jones was 14th, while Falla regrouped back to 4th as Russia’s Julia Ivanova had a 7-second lead alone at the front.
“That was a tough one today. I kind of went deep into the hurt box, and unfortunately kept getting slower and slower at the end-not what I wanted to do today,” said the Randall, the World Champion from Anchorgae. “I had a great first lap. I was staying up near the front, feeling good. The pace accelerated on the second lap, and I just flooded and couldn’t keep my tempo up.
“That’s where you really start to lose time. I’m kind of at a loss as to why. I had a great workout on the course two days ago and felt totally ready coming into today. I love the excitement of the head-to-head racing in these relays. It’s just a real bummer when you’ve got three teammates waiting for you. I really wanted to put us in a better position today.”
Randall tagged Sadie Bjornsen who went to work with the 7th best time in her race bringing the US back to 9th, but during this leg a group of seven chasers caught the Russian and the 8-strong leaders were away with Justyna Kowalcyzk (POL) in 9th at 22 seconds. As Finland’s Aino-Kaisa Saarinen attacked at the front the lead group was split with Germany’s Stefanie Boehler and Sweden’s Emma Wiken keeping pace. Wiken took back the lead as Kowalcyzk picked off skiers to bring Poland into fourth at the exchange. Canada’s Daria Gaiazova had the 11th best time but the team remained in 14th trying to claw back time.
SkiTrax caught up with Bjornsen who skied the second classic leg.”Today I was sent out on the chase from the start. So that was fun just looking up the hill, seeing a person, trying to catch them and just knowing that every second I was picking away was a second more for those next girls. We all kept fighting today.
“We’re at the highest level right now. We’re at the Olympic games and everyone is at their top shape. Just a small fraction off is where we are today and I think that we’re completely capable of winning medals. Today was maybe not our best day but that’s totally part of it. They salted the course today so it was a bit harder and and nice.”
As the third leg began it was Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen driving the pace with Germany’s Claudia Nystad – who announced her retirement after 2010 but came back to race this Olympic year – and Sweden’s Anna Haag in tow as three chasers including Norway, Poland and France were at 20 seconds behind. The USA’s Liz Stephen battled with Italy in 9th while Canada’s Emily Nishikawa chased from the back. Nystad and Niskanen dropped Haag setting up the final match up for the last leg.
“We all fought as hard as we could and my brain was in it the entire time. I pretended Italy and I were out for silver and gold and went my hardest,” commented Stephen post-race. “I know Jessie did the same and I know Kikkan and Sadie did too. That’s relay day. I’m very proud of our team and I can’t believe how lucky I am to be on such a strong women’s team. It might never be as amazing in the next ten years as it is right now, so I’m enjoying every second.
“Today was about maybe we can bring one home, but win, lose or draw we are a fighting team that really embodies the team spirit of the Olympics and of sport. So I couldn’t be prouder.”
As the final lap began Lahteenmaki and Herrmann were away when Haag tagged Kalla with a gap of 25.7s. Norwegian anchor, Marit Bjoergen, was not far behind at 33s but she was no match for Kalla who was on a mission today. Bjoergen initially dropped France’s Coaline Hugue and Poland’s Paulina Maciuszek, but Hugue regrouped at the end to claim fourth as Bjoergen settled for 5th.
The USA’s Jessie Diggins raced hard to move into 8th ahead of Italy’s Ilaria Debertolis but was going so hard she missed the finishing lane at the end and had to make a slight detour going into the stadium and finished 9th just behind Italy. Canada’s Brittany Webster brought the team home in 14th.
With expectations placed on many teams to perform, Diggins summarized the pressure of today’s race. “This morning there was a ton of pressure and expectation with everyone saying, ‘This is it! This is your shot to win a medal. Realistically there were six or seven teams that had a shot to win that gold medal today, and as you saw, things didn’t shake down exactly how you might have expected them to at any other World Cup weekend.”
Another surprise today was France poking their heads out in front with 22-year-old Celiea Aymonier pushing ahead of veteran Norwegian Therese Johaug in the second leg. The French battled back and forth with the favoured Norwegians, finishing just ahead of Norway in fourth. For the team that featured four top-ranked skiers in the overall World Cup standings, Heidi Weng, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen, along with Johaug and Bjoergen, this was a huge upset for the Norwegians who had not lost a relay since 2009. Norway finished 53.6 seconds behind Sweden.
Stephen recalled Randall’s reaction following her disappointing crash in the sprint at the Nordic Worlds in Oslo which inspires her to this day. “I remember quite well when Kikkan fell in Oslo. The first thing she said after she picked herself up and crossed the finish line was thank-you. Thank-you to the fans for pushing me and supporting me.
“That’s exactly what she said this time too. Of course we want to be the best, but what’s good enough for our team is to be the best we can be every single day. That’s what our team meeting was about last night. It doesn’t matter what we bring home today maybe it’s nothing and maybe it’s gold but we’re the same people, and I think we’re really proud of that. ”
“My key race is the 30km. That’s one week away. I’m going to do just prepare and fight my hardest and give the best next Saturday.”
In the same vein Diggins took missing the finishing lane and having to circle back in stride. “I’m really proud with how I skied. I pushed myself really hard. You know when you cross the finish line and you desperately need to puke that you’ve pushed hard. I know my teammates did the same.
“That’s how we ski relays, we just give it everything we have. Sometimes that means we’re in the hunt for medals and sometimes that means we’re in the back of the pack, but I’m really proud with how we worked our best. We prepared as well as we could, we pushed ourselves as hard as we could, we believed in each other and that’s what matters.
“I just focused on the things I could control: when I was going to eat breakfast, how I was going to test my skis, when I was going to get on course to warm up. I memorized the course. I visualized it a ton of times. I prepared as well as I could and I know that my teammates prepared themselves as well as they could.”
Results here.
Results detail here.