February 24, 2011 (Oslo, Norway) – Despite the partisan crowd of Norwegians at the Holmenkollen, it was the Swedes who dominated the men’s 1.5km sprint from the qualifications to the final with Jesper Modin setting the fastest qualifying time and teammate Marcus Hellner taking the gold in commanding style, while fellow Swede, Emil Joensson, grabbed the bronze.

Norway’s Petter Northug crashed the Swedish party by besting Joensson for the silver but Norway could not defend the title as Northug’s teammate Ola Vigen Hattestad, the reigning world champ settled for 4th, as Modin placed 5th and Estonia’s Peeter Kummel was 6th.

The Swedes were relentless in the final going to the front and sprinting up both climbs on the 1.5 km course. With three members of their team in the final, they showed no mercy and had great gliding ability on the flowing descents that put them out in front with Northug constantly fighting to keep contact.

Hellner charged up the first hill with Hattestad in tow as Northug smartly took the inside lane. But Hellner was going for broke and as he kept accelerating the others lagged not expecting his ferocious move.

At the second climb Hellner attacked again and only Joensson and Northug could muster a counter attack but all was in vain. On the finishing straight the wily Swede romped in for the gold as Northug passed Joensson for the silver but ran out of track to catch Hellner who was in a class of his own today.

“I was focused to have good shape for the world championship,” said the winner, “I haven’t thought so much about particular races. I was expecting maybe I could make it to the final, but honestly never thought that gold was a possibility for me.”

Canada’s Alex Harvey lead four North American qualifiers in 9th and had stellar races in the quarter and semi finals to finish 7th overall. Yet teammate Devon Kershaw, who won his first WCup in the freestyle sprint this year at the Tour de Ski, was not one of them just out in 31st.

North America’s bad luck was like a dark cloud over the sprints on day one at the Worlds as Harvey fell at the start of his quarter final yet recovered to come second behind Joensson in a photo finish and advanced to the semis. Clearly the Norwegian crowd loved the grit Harvey showed as he caught and then moved through the pack to catch Joensson.

In his semi he tangled with Switzerland’s Martin Jaeger and lost precious seconds coming third behind Hellner and Joensson and was out. Harvey didn’t like missing the final, especially after his silver medal at the World Cup sprint in Drammen the week before.

“I’m quite disappointed with my semi-final,” Harvey told Trax. “I felt really strong and in control but then all of a sudden, the Swiss skier got pushed into me, broke a pole and we both almost crashed. I stopped skiing for 3-4 seconds and that’s how the two Swedes got a gap. I was able to catch on back near the end, but it was too little too late.”

Andy Newell, who finished 10th on the day said it was tough to recover from the qualifications where he placed an uncharacteristic 24th. Newell went out too fast and “really bonked pretty hard.” But as the day went on, he felt better. He had Hatesstad and Swiss skier Dario Cologna in his quarter-final which meant a blistering pace that put Newell into the semis as a lucky loser.

“I continued to feel stronger for the semi finals and was able to put a charge in on the big uphill and get into a good position. But before we came down into the stadium I ran into Alex Harvey and a Swiss skier,” Newell told SkiTrax post-race.

“It knocked me back a few spots. I actually had to push Alex out from between my legs in order to stay on my feet and it really killed my speed. But at the end of the day it was a decent race. Of course I wished for more, but it was still a really fun race and it’s hard to complain with a top 10. I’ve never raced in front of such a loud mob of people. It was also great to see so many Americans in the heats especially some of our younger rookie skiers.”

Canada’s Lenny Valjas qualified 21st showing strong form but had to settle for third in a tie with Italy’s David Hofer in his 1/4 final but his slower heat meant he did not move on as a lucky loser.

The USA’s Simi Hamilton qualified 29th setting an unprecedented US record with five athletes in total (three women and two men) qualifying for the heats – more than any previous World Championships or Olympics. Hamilton placed 5th in his quarter final to finish 25th overall.

Other North American skiers that did not advance included the USA’s Torin Koos in 36th, Stefan Kuhn (Can) in 51st and Kris Freeman (USA) who placed 58th.

“Andy had a bit of bad luck in his semi final getting tangled with Alex [Harvey],” said US xc head coach Chris Grover. “He admitted that he did not pace the qualification well but felt better as the day went on. On a positive note, we were excited to have five Americans in total make the final – the most athletes we have had in a sprint final at a major championships which bodes well for Sochi and beyond.”

Northug was a bit philosophical at the press conference. “It’s good to get a good skate in at the championships. There has been extra pressure before the race with a home crowd. But I know I was an outsider in this event, so it feels good.

“To start the championships with a medal in the sprints is good for me. The world’s best sprinter attacked at the last hill – he was so strong today, but the other guys were tired. He used his weapon which was to attack on the last climb. I am amazed he was so strong that he could ski away from the rest of us.”

Joensson looked at the Swedish program on the whole for his success. “We have a good sprint team and are having a good season. A lot of guys are pushing each other. The distance and the sprint train skiers together and everyone ends up going fast. Marcus showed how it is done.”

When asked if he had planned in advance to attack on both hills, Hellner was non-committal. “I took the chance. I am very happy I could hold it and felt like I was going for gold – but tried not to think about it. In the heats I focused on skiing and learning the parts of the track for my tactics – that was my weapon today. I could do a strong uphill today.”

Hellner, who had a bit of a war with words with Northug prior to the Worlds, skied the perfect race and day, and said he didn’t worry about who to beat, but rather, on how to ski and win.

“To have a medal in the first distance is good for me and the team. You want to get out on the tracks and compete. I feel joy in the tracks. I just went for it,” said the Hellner.

Qualifications HERE.
Finals HERE.