Mixed gender test events to conclude World Cup season
Mar 13, 2022·Cross-Country
The final day of the FIS Cross-Country World Cup season marked a historic day in terms of formats for the future. Competitions that are equal for all gender needs to find it’s place in the future of Cross-Country skiing too and therefore, the testevents were a pivotal part for it’s implementation.
The general feedback was very positive and the Mixed Relay as well as the Mixed Team event gave the final day of the season the perfect frame.
Mixed Relay
The regulations were clear: one athlete could only participate in either the Mixed Relay or the Mixed Team Sprint - the distances were the same for all and the race was held in Free technique.
5km per athlete was on the menu for the Mixed Relay in the order Woman / Man / Man / Woman. The course track was set to an intermediate difficulty so that the speed of the race remained high throughout.
Heidi Weng (NOR I) started out with Kerttu Niskanen (FIN I), Julia Kern (USA I) and Katharina Hennig (GER I) in the lead. In the Men’s first leg however, Team Norway II took charge with Sjur Røthe up front. Simen Hegstad Krüger took over from Røthe and skied along Didrik Tønseth who seemed to prosper on the course set once more. Iivo Niskanen was fired up by his sister along the course and passed on a top position to Krista Pärmäkoski as the final leg.
The grand finals saw Pärmäkoski in the direct fight off with Jessie Diggins and Therese Johaug. It was Jessie Diggins who managed to open a gap up front and crossed the finish line first with a margin of 3.8 seconds.
Team Norway I and Finland I with Johaug and Pärmäkoski ended in a tight Sprint, which Krista managed to win for Team Finland I before Norway I.
Mixed Team Sprint
The afternoon was reserved for the testevent for the Team Sprint in mixed gender. As in the Relay, two teams per nation were allowed to be entered. And back in front of the cheering Swedish crowd, Team Sweden I had their top stars lined up together. Jonna Sundling and Calle Halfvarsson sped right from the start.
Six laps of each 1km ensured a fast pacing competition – as already in the morning. The crowd was cheering for their superstars and the competition for the remaining top spots ended in a duel between the Norwegian teams. Martin Nyenget Løwstrøm and Tiril Udnes Weng snatched the second place before Tiril’s twin sister Lottal Udnes Weng who was teamed up with Harald Østberg Amundsen.
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