February 27, 2010 (Whistler, BC) –
Various countries went to the front and strung the group out as the demanding weather took its toll, but none of this seemed to affect the two engines at the front. By the 20km mark, the two skiing queens had broken away from Finland’s Aino-Kaisa Saarinen, and in the space of the last 10km opened up a gap of 1:05:0. Their sprint will go down in history as one of the most exciting moments at a winter Olympics.
Leading into the last 5km Bjoergen would gain ground on the corners but Kowalczyk would charge back on her with seemingly endless energy. Then with 1km to go Kowalczyk sprinted by Bjoergen with the Norwegian answering back just as swiftly. As they flew into the finishing stretch they were side by side, double poling as if they were in a sprint competition. It looked like Bjoergen would take it as her cadence moved up to an even higher rate, but Kowalczyk wanted the gold medal that had alluded her in these Games a little more, and pushed the pace even more.
In the end it was Kowalczyk by 0.03 seconds over the Norwegian triple gold medalist in 1:30:33:7. Both went down in Olympic history: Bjoergen as the Norwegian who has won the most medals in any Olympics, and Kowalczyk as the second Olympic gold medalist for Poland at the Winter Games.
Saarinen took the bronze, adding it to her bronze from the 4×5 relay. She was 1:05:0 minutes back. German skier Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle, who has been a factor in every race she entered, and has won two medals at these Games placed 4th, 1:19:2 minutes back. Japanese skier Masako Ishida had a phenomenal race, taking 5th place 1:22:8 back, while Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla, who pushed the pace for the first half of the race finised in 6th 1:23:9 behind.
Canada’s Sara Renner was the first North American in 16th spot, 3:30:5 back, while American Kikkan Randall had an excellent transition from sprint skater to distance classic skier as she came 24th, 4:25:3 minutes back. Teammate Brooks Holly was 36th, 7:40:8 back, while Canada’s Madeleine Williams was 46th, 12:00 back.
“I actually don’t remember anything,” said Kowalczyk after the race. “The last 5km I was thinking only about fight, fight, fight. The Norwegian girls made a small surprise, after 20km they attacked. I was fighting. It was a big surprise for me that Marit attacked 10km before the finish. I was really tired, but she was also really tired. I was thinking, ‘You must ski faster, faster, faster.’ Marit is just behind. I don’t even remember the last 200 metres, but this is the Olympics, you must fight. I’m happy and I’m tired. It was great because she is really strong. It is great to be Olympic champion.”
Bjoergen also commented on the intensity of the race saying, “I’m very happy. Today was the hardest race and it was very close. I was just looking for Kowalczyk, but I knew there were lots of people here watching, which is great. I was very tired and the only focus was to win. I didn’t but it was close and I am satisfied with silver. The tactic was to be behind and see…and I changed my skis when the was 10km to go and I got a gap. I was fighting to the end, but she was stronger today. I tried my best. I had one dream of taking one gold and now I have five medals, three golds. That is so many dreams. I am very happy, very satisfied.”
The skiers are now allowed to change skis three times in long distance classic races because their wax can slow down or wear off over this length of race. Vancouver was the first Olympics where this was allowed. All three medalists were on klister as opposed to “zero” skis designed to grip and glide in zero degrees without wax.
Finland’s Saarinen went into the race with a strategy in terms of exchanging skis. “It was a hard fight, but I made a plan. Three times I changed the skis. I saved the last change for the last five kilometres because I knew I had to have a good glide there. We knew, and we have seen in this competition, when you come into the stadium you have to have good glide.”
But Saarinen said the plan wasn’t as easy as she hoped because, “My fingers were totally frozen so it was hard to get the bindings open and closed, because you don’t feel your fingers. I almost couldn’t move those. That made it complicated.” She added that after 10km she was cold because of the constant rain, but she also wanted to wait until the end to change to her last pair of skis. “Maybe the others thought I was gone, and I was there [thinking she had no chance] when I didn’t get the skis for the first time. But then I noticed that I had a great vibe and it was the right decision. I think it is the reason I got the bronze.” Sure enough Saarinen was able to stay with the Swedes, Germans and Norwegians for the first 23 km and with less than 7 km to go made her move. “When I got to the first downhill after the [last] exchange I looked back and forward and then I knew I could get the bronze.”
Randall, who competed in four events at these Games and set a new Olympic record for US women with her eighth-place classic sprint finish, opted not to change her skis at lap intervals. “Today was a really solid race for me,” Randall said. “I haven’t done a 30km at a major championship before. It was nice to get in and ski with a bunch of really fast women.”
“It was nice coming through the stadium and getting a little bit of an advantage on people,” she added. “I cramped up pretty bad on the last lap, but I managed to hold it together, so I’m pretty happy with it. The Olympics overall have been a fantastic two weeks for me. I hit my goals in the sprint and the team sprint, and finished it off with a solid race today.”
As Renner spoke to the media at her last Olympic Games she was unable to keep some tears back while describing what it has been like to represent Canada at four Games and what it will be like not be part of the Canadian team. “I definitely felt it yesterday. The four of us were skiing up the hill, side by side and I thought, ‘this is the last time I’m going to be doing this’.”
“I’ll miss the camaraderie. It’s such a great sport. It’s given so much to me. One of my goals is to turn on the TV and see Canadians excelling – we’re there. We’re a Nordic country,” said a clearly emotional Renner. Her last race was doubly emotional because partner Thomas Grandi and daughter Aria were cheering her on at the last climb into the stadium.
In terms of the race, Renner said she “went into survival mode. I just left everything out there today. To hear everyone cheering for me is absolutely inspiring. The women are so strong. It’s such an opportunity to race at home and give back to the sport in the way that it’s given to me. If I had the chance, I would do it again. I think I’ll always be active. I’ll always ski. I think it’s something I’ll do for my whole life. I probably won’t put on a bib though. I think we’ll give back locally and definitely mentor others.”
Full results here.
Results (brief)
1. Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) 1:30:33.7
2. Marit Bjoergen (NOR) +0.3
3. Aino Kaisa Saarinen (FIN) +1:05.0
16. Sara Renner (CAN) +3:30.5
24. Kikkan Randall (USA) +4:25.3
36. Holly Brooks (USA) +7:40.8
46. Madeleine Williams (CAN) +12:00.0