December 18, 2011 (Rogla, Slovenia) – Xmas came early for Canada’s Chandra Crawford as she scored World Cup silver in the women’s sprint while her American friend Kikkan Randall, the WCup Series leader who looked dialed for another top podium finish, suffered a crash just after the start in the final that ended her day. Fans were hoping for a North American podium but it was not to be.

Crawford skied smart near the front staying out of trouble and powered up the final climb in a battle with Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla as the two began to pull away from the field on their own. As they crested the hill Falla surged down the finishing stretch ahead of Crawford to claim the gold as Ida Ingemarsdotter from Sweden, the top qualifier, took home the bronze.

“There were some rough years,” said 28-year-old Crawford in a phone interview with SkiTrax post-race, “but my mental approach has always been positive and now the physical side is finally kicking in. The hard work through the summer and new initiatives like the great Women’s Alliance camp we had with the US team in Alaska are all paying off. I’m so excited for our team that has been pushing so hard – it’s great to see some personal bests for both teams.”

“I’ve been working on having a stronger finish and the distance racing is also helping me build stamina and strength. Following Dusseldorf and Davos I’ve been feeling more confident and my plan today was to stay out to trouble and tuck in behind Kikkan. When she crashed out I kept near the front and attacked on the climb but couldn’t catch Falla in the end – I’m so happy with today’s result.”

It was the first silver medal of Crawford’s career. The 2010 Torino Olympic gold sprint medallist also has two World Cup gold medals and two bronze podium finishes to her credit.

Randall, who handily won her quarter-final (over Saarinen) and her semi-final heat (over Falla), was disappointed but has already put it behind her. “Someone caught my ski and before I knew it I spun out and went down. Then as I tried to recover my pole broke – either I broke it or another skier did somehow. The good news is I feel strong and ready for the next challenge. I’m really happy for Chandra and it was a great day for Ida [Sargent] and Simi [Hamilton].”

Daria Gaiazova had a super day as well for Canada as she ends the first part of the Euro campaign with a personal best of 9th in the skate sprint – her best result in the classic sprint is 8th. Gaiazova qualified 22nd and aced her quarter final with a strong push up the final hill and then a big kick at the finish to place second. In her semi the same strategy didn’t work but she was buoyant about her result.

“I knew the uphill was a good place to attack and it worked well in my first heat but I had less snap in the semi. Still it’s my best skate sprint result and I’m happy to end the last Euro weekend before the holidays on a positive note which wasn’t the case last year,” commented Gaiazova.

The USA’s Ida Sargent had a breakthrough day as well placing 30th in the qualifications for her first crack at the quarter final sprint heats. Despite being eliminated early she gained all important points and excellent experience.

“Last weekend in Davos I paced the qualifier and that didn’t work so today I just went for it from the start and it was awesome to squeak into the heats. In the quarterfinal I wasn’t aggressive enough out of the start and was boxed in when I tried to move up, but I’m super psyched with the race and it was a great confidence builder.”

Women Qualifications HERE.
Women’s Final HERE.