WSC: Hansen claims gold ahead of Armbruster and Kasai
Feb 25, 2023·Nordic Combined
Gyda Westvold Hansen defended her World Championship title in Planica today.
The Norwegian was already in the lead after the Ski Jumping competition on Planicas HS 102 this noon.
Under a cloudy sky the Norwegian jumped 91 meters at the women's Individual World Championship competition and took the lead with a total of 114.1 points. Therefore, she was the first one to start into the 5 km Championship race at the Planica Nordic Center this afternoon.
Rank 2 after jumping went to Nathalie Armbruster from Germany, who reached the furthest distance of the day with 98 meters (109.4 pts) and went into the course 20 seconds after Hansen.
Japanese Haruka Kasai (96.5 mts, 107.5 pts) placed third, 28 seconds behind the leader, while her sister Yuna Kasai (94.5 m, +30 sec) took fourth place.
The demanding Championship Cross-country course pushed the athletes to their limits.
After Hansen was able to extend her lead to 30.1 seconds after 2 km, the Norwegian, who was unbeatable this season, suffered a heavy fall in a sharp bend, which luckily she survived unscathed.
As a result, however, she lost some of her lead, so that after 2.5km Armbruster was only 20.2 seconds behind her.
Meanwhile, Ida Marie Hagen, also from Norway, rushed up and was in third place after half the race (+20.3 sec), just ahead of the Kasai sisters (+20.8 sec).
In the last lap, the Norwegian launched an attack and came within 13.5 seconds of her teammate. But on the difficult course her strength slacked off, so that Armbruster passed her at the entrance to the stadium, as did Haruka Kasai.
While Hansen defended her 2021 world title and won gold, Armbruster (+16.3 sec) reached the finish line second and took silver. Haruka Kasai won the bronze medal in third place, 17.9 seconds back.
Ski Jumping Results: WSC, Individual NH/5km, Women, Planica, 24.2.23
Overall Results: WSC, Individual NH/5km, Women, Planica, 24.2.23
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