Cross-Country skiing: Ladies' Skiathlon preview
Aug 31, 2018·Cross-Country
Friday, 9 February 2018 - 17:47
PYEONGCHANG - Marit BJOERGEN (NOR) is aiming for her third consecutive Olympic title in the ladies' skiathlon, which is held on Saturday 10 February at the Alpensia Cross-Country Centre.
BJOERGEN has won the Olympic title in the ladies' skiathlon at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games and Sochi 2014 and could become the first cross-country skier, male or female, to win three Olympic gold medals in one individual event.
BJOERGEN is hoping to become the first woman to have won seven Olympic gold medals in cross-country skiing.
BJOERGEN shares the record of six titles with Lyubov YEGOROVA (EUN/RUS).
BJOERGEN's tally of 10 Olympic medals is a joint-high in ladies' cross-country skiing. Raisa SMETANINA and Stefania
BELMONDO (ITA) are also on 10 podium finishes.
No other female athlete has claimed more gold medals (6) and more podium finishes (10) in any sport at the Olympic Winter Games than BJOERGEN.
Ole Einar BJOERNDALEN (13, NOR) and Bjoern DAEHLIE (12, NOR) are the only athletes to have won more medals at the Olympic Winter Games than BJOERGEN (10).
BJOERNDALEN and DAEHLIE (both 8) are also the only athletes with more gold medals in history of the Olympic Winter Games than BJOERGEN (6).
BJOERGEN will be 37 years and 326 days old on the day of this event and could become the oldest Olympic champion in an individual ladies' event in any sport. Sylke OTTO (GER) holds the record. She was 36 years and 222 days old when she won the women's singles in luge on 14 February 2006 at Torino 2006.
BJOERGEN has recorded a top-four finish in 14 of her last 15 appearances in the skiathlon in major competitions (world cup, world championships, Olympic Winter Games), including nine wins. The only exception in this run was a sixth-place finish at the world championships in 2015.
Only the Soviet Union (37) has won more Olympic medals in ladies' cross-country skiing than Norway (36).
Charlotta KALLA (SWE) could become the first cross-country skier from Sweden to win three Olympic titles in ladies' events. She shares the Swedish ladies' record of two Olympic gold medals with Toini GUSTAFSSON. KALLA previously won the 4x5km relay (2014) and the 10km free (2010).
No cross-country skier from Sweden has collected more Olympic medals in ladies' events than KALLA (G2-S3-B0), who took silver in this event at Sochi 2014.
The only female athlete from Sweden with three Olympic gold medals in Olympic or Olympic Winter Games is Agneta ANDERSSON, who won two gold medals at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games and one at Atlanta 1996 in canoe sprint.
KALLA (5) needs one more podium finish to join Johan OLSSON (SWE, 6) and Gunde SVAN (SWE, 6) in second place on Sweden's all-time Olympic medal list in cross-country skiing (men's and ladies') behind Sixten JERNBERG who won nine medals.
KALLA, Heidi WENG (NOR), Anna HAAG (SWE) and Justyna KOWALCZYK (POL) could all join BJOERGEN, YEGOROVA and Katerina NEUMANNOVA (CZE) as the only multi-medallists in this event in Olympic history (incl. 15km free and 15km classic).
KOWALCZYK (G2-S1-B2) already is the most successful athlete from Poland, male or female, in history of the Olympic Winter Games and the only one to have reached the podium in three different editions.
The last time KOWALCZYK won a cross-country event (World Cup, world championships, Olympic Winter Games) was on 4 February 2017, when she won the 2x7.5km skiathlon World Cup race in PyeongChang.
