EYOF: Ström secures first Norwegian gold

Eidar Johan Ström won the boys’ six kilometer Gundersen event at EYOF 2022. His gold was the first at these games for Norway which is usually dominant in winter sports.
“I feel great after winning. It’s an honor to win for my country and I hope this medal is the first of many for us.”

The Norwegian jumped 94 meters from the HS 100 hill and started the skiing section third, 18 seconds behind the leader, France’s Marco Heinis. The Frenchman couldn’t keep up with the Norwegian and fell to third place. So, the race for gold was to be fought between Ström and Czech Jiri Konvalinka.

The top three were still together, when the final two kilometer lap began. However, at the start of the final long climb, Konvalinka and Ström attacked and Heinis dropped. The destiny of the gold was resolved in the final sprint, in which the Norwegian triumphed.

Ström was extremely pleased as he thought the final sprint wasn’t his strong suit.
“I tried to make my move earlier but they just stuck on. When Marco (Heinis) couldn’t keep up on the final hill and I came to the stadium together with Konvalinka, I was worried. Luckily, it went great.”

Eelis Meriläinen had been strong on the cross-country track at Junior World Championships in Poland and was able to benefit from the gruelling tracks of Lahti. He climbed from tied seventh place after the Ski Jumping all the way to fifth, losing 13 seconds to bronze. Even though the gap was 56 seconds to Heinis, the Finn knew that a top-class skiing performance might have been enough for a medal. Today, the wrong choice of skis was probably the crucial mistake.
“The jump today was okay and my goal was to get a medal. Perhaps, I chose the wrong pair and couldn’t be as fast as needed”, Meriläinen analyzed.

Text: Topias Mikkonen / EYOF