Østberg, Nepryaeva ensure their positions, Diggins fights for 3rd place
Jan 03, 2019·Cross-CountryNorwegian Ingvild Flugstad Østberg starts into the 10km pursuit race in Free technique with a 0:24 second margin to Russian athlete Natalia Nepryaeva.
Østberg and Nepryaeva both kept their position and ensured the gaps despite having to fight through the race without having a fellow athlete to compare the pace. Nepryaeva ended her strong race on the 2nd place, +30.4 seconds behind Østberg who finished at 26:21.2.
A tough fight with constantly alternating the lead was raced by Jessica Diggins (USA), Krista Pärmäkoski (FIN) and Yulia Belorukova (RUS). With a spectacular photo finish, Jessica Diggins managed to push through over the finish line +0.1 second before Belorukova.
![The fight for the 3rd place](https://assets.fis-ski.com/f/252177/08e7fca117/pursuit-ladies-dig_belo.jpg/m/2880x0/smart)
The fight for the 3rd place
A happy Jessica Diggins, picture by Nordic Focus