February 26, 2015 (Falun, SWE) – The Women’s 4x5km Relay was full of surprises and drama as Norway took no prisoners on their way to a resounding victory as they handled the pressure and reclaimed the top on the throne. Sweden looked strong to contend for the gold but a fateful crash by Maria Rydqvist at the beginning of the third leg put them in a see-saw battle with Finland for the silver which went to the host nation.

Norway wins Women's Relay © Nordic Focus

Team USA came ready to play but they too suffered an unexpected crash on the first leg by Sadie Björnsen that scuttled their chances for a podium finish. But the American team skied with heart battling back from 8th to finish 4th ahead of Poland and Germany to match their result at the Worlds in Val di Fiemme. Canada did not field a team.

”I had incredibly fast skis and today so it was a bit hard to maneuver them on the downhill and unfortunately someone came in on the track on top of me and kind of spun me around,” said Bjornsen.

”I tried so hard to come back but I flushed my legs pretty bad trying to get back on pace. I did the best that I could but sometimes stuff like that happens. The other girls skied incredibly well and I think that’s the thing about our team. I’m so very proud of them being able to fight their way back up and finish in 4th, a huge success..”

Sadie Bjornsen (USA) © Nordic Focus

On the first leg Norway’s Heidi Weng and Finland’s Aino Kaisa Saarinen set a really fast pace on the second lap but Sweden’s Sofia Bleckur recovered and pulled back to within 12 seconds of them at the exchange.

”I was nervous. But how wonderful it is to win today. In Sochi, we were number five and now we are the best again,” said Weng.

For Bjornsen it was a tough pill to swallow as she was in third before her fall at 2.5km but dropped 46 seconds at the 4km mark and at the exchange she was 50 seconds behind when she tagged Rosie Brennan in 6th.

The drama began to unfold on the second leg as Norway’s Therese Johaug pulled away from Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen but Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla had other plans putting in the best time – ten seconds faster than Johaug and 27 seconds faster than Niskanen.

Kalla was on fire passing Niskanen and chasing down Johaug as both had great skis. She clawed back to within 7-8 seconds and with super glide heading down into the stadium she almost caught Johaug and put in an extra effort to tag Rydqvist only 1.6 seconds behind Johaug.

”I had good skis and just tried to relax and keep my shoulders down and get good grip with the skis,” commented Kalla post race.

Charlotte Kalla (SWE) © Nordic Focus

Brennan, who was racing in her first relay for the US team, lost a bit of ground falling to 7th place when she switched over to Liz Stephen at 1:40 behind Finland and Norway.

”It was really good and I’m happy with the way I skied – I was really excited. It means a lot to be on this team,” shared Brennan. “I never imagined I would be in a position to be racing the relay at World Championships so I am very excited about today and really happy to be racing alongside my three teammates.

”It’s been a really amazing experience. Really enjoyable. Our team’s success here is gonna help the sport a lot back home and give us some more support,” she concluded.

Fate was not on Sweden’s side as Rydqvist got tangled up and fell early in the third leg fell and lost her chance to catch Astrid Jacobsen and battle for the gold.

”I didn’t see it happen but Maria is a tough girl and she can come back after such a thing…and get positive again and think about the right things,” commented Kalla.

”The fall was so unnecessary. I was a little too excited at the start. After I was able to recover and the finish was good. Since I’m in good shape I can handle stressful things, otherwise it is easy to become over-stressed. I was able to continue,” explained Rydqvist.

It became a battle for silver as Finland’s Riitta-Liisa Roponen attacked but Rydqvist was able to respond and they duked it out finishing the leg together at the exchange.

Behind American Stephen had a very fast leg earning the second best time behind Germany’s Denise Herrmann and tagged off to Jessie Diggins in fifth.

”I felt great today. My energy is awesome and I was going out to chase as hard as I could. I really proud of our fourth place, for sure. It’s not the podium we’re dreaming of but it’s damn close,” said Stephen.

Liz Stephen (USA) © Getty Images

”I didn’t see Sadie’s fall… I heard about it right before I started. It’s too bad for sure but it doesn’t mean we give up and it doesn’t mean you stop fighting. We had good skis. Our techs have been rocking and all the girls that were here and not on todays relay were out cheering,” she added.

The last leg belonged to Norway and Marit Björgen as she crossed the finish line with a comfortable 30-second margin over Sweden and Finland where a close battle played out.

”I’m grateful for the starting position the other girls gave me. It felt good from the start and I was told I had  a 24 second lead after 1km. Then I just had to stay on the skis. It was great to get into the stadium and take the Norwegian flag. Heidi was meeting me almost before the finish line,” said Bjorgen. “This was great for many Norwegians today. Two days ago we were far behind with bad skis. It’s great to come back and win.”

Sweden’s Stina Nilsson, the sprint silver medalist, did not trying to chase Bjorgen as she and Finland’s Krista Parmakoski were locked in a battle for the remaining two medals.

”I had clear directives. I should stay just behind Finland. So then I did it,” said Stina making it sound easy. “I am very pleased and the body responded very good. I felt fine the whole way.”

Jessica Diggins (USA) © Nordic Focus

Nilsson, 21, had the upper hand when the two finally came into the stadium and hit the home stretch as Finland’s Parmakoski settled for the bronze as the stadium erupted as Nilsson brought home the silver.

Another battle was raging not far behind as Jessie Diggins was battling with Poland and Germany for fourth place. In the final push into the stadium Diggins was unstoppable dropping her rivals as she crossed the line with the third-best leg time, only 12s behind Bjoergen.

”I was really excited to race and really proud of our team and I was psyched to be on the chase. When I caught up to Poland and Germany on the first lap I was trying to drop them. But when I realized that wouldn’t work I eased up and rested and then I thought okay I will push over the top on the last sprint climb and then drop them coming into the stadium and that worked out really well.

”I’m very proud of Sadie as she skied and gave it everything she had in a tough situation. I was really impressed as our skis were really fast and I had confidence in that if I was resting and skiing tactically smart I could make a good move at the end.”

US Women's Relay Team (l-r) Diggins, Stephen, Bjornsen, Brennan ©

We caught up with Stephen as she’s now fired up for the 30km CL. ”I’m going for the 30km now. It’s been a really fun championship and Falun has done a just amazing job hosting it through the cloudy weather and the snow. The volunteers are all smiling. It’s been a wonderful place.”

”I think we should make sure that we acknowledge Kikkan [Randall]. She was the one who taught us to dream and to believe. I mean it’s weird not to have here on the team today but she was out there and she’s in our hearts. She led the way and that can’t be forgotten. It’s really the ups and downs in people’s careers…she taught us how to dream big.”

Full results here.

Team USA © Johan Trygg