Cross-country skiing at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009

At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec

Liberec

Liberec is a city in the Czech Republic. Located on the Lusatian Neisse and surrounded by the Jizera Mountains and Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge, it is the fifth-largest city in the Czech Republic....

, Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

, twelve cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...

events were held with six for men and six for women. The format of the program has been unchanged since the 2005 World Championships in Oberstdorf

Oberstdorf

Oberstdorf is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in southwest Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps.At the center of Oberstdorf is a church whose tall spire serves as a landmark for navigating around town. The summits of the Nebelhorn and Fellhorn provide...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. For the men's events, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

won five of the six events and a total of six medals with Petter Northug

Petter Northug

Petter Northug Jr. is a Norwegian cross country skier and double Olympic champion. He has 9 World Championship and Winter Olympic gold medals with 13 medals overall, and nine individual FIS Cross-Country World Cup wins with 20 podium places...

winning golds in the pursuit, 50 km and relay events. Ola Vigen Hattestad

Ola Vigen Hattestad

Ola Vigen Hattestad is a Norwegian cross country skier who has competed since 2002. Competing in two Winter Olympics, hea earned his best finish of fourth in the individual sprint event at Vancouver in 2010....

won two golds in the sprint events (individual and team). The only event the Norwegians

Norway

did not win was in the 15 km event (Eldar Rønning

Eldar Rønning

Eldar Rønning is a Norwegian cross-country skier. He skis with the Skogn IL club, in Nord-Trøndelag. He's 178 cm tall and weighs 73 kg . He skis with Rossignol boots and skis, and Rottefella bindings.In 2004/05, he achieved three podium finishes in World Cup Sprint events, including a win at Reit...

would be the highest finisher at seventh.), won by Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

's Andrus Veerpalu

Andrus Veerpalu

Andrus Veerpalu is a former and so far the most successful Estonian male cross country skier.On 17 February 2006 he won his second Winter Olympics gold medal , becoming the fourth Estonian to have won two Olympic gold medals Andrus Veerpalu (born 8 February 1971 in Pärnu) is a former and so far...

who became the oldest world champion ever.

Norway would win only one medal in the women's event with a silver in the pursuit event by Kristin Størmer Steira

Kristin Størmer Steira

Kristin Størmer Steira is a Norwegian cross-country skier who has competed since 2002. At the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, she has seven medals with two gold , two silvers , and three bronzes Kristin Størmer Steira (born April 30, 1981) is a Norwegian cross-country skier who has competed...

. Dario Cologna

Dario Cologna

Dario Cologna is a Swiss cross-country skier. He has two overall World Cup victories, one Olympic medal, and two Tour de Ski victories in his career so far.-Athletic career:...

of Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, the overall World Cup leader entering the championships, had a disappointing championships with a best finish of fourth in the individual sprint event. For the women's events, the biggest winners were Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

's Aino-Kaisa Saarinen, the women's overall World Cup leader entering the championships, and Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

's Justyna Kowalczyk

Justyna Kowalczyk

Justyna Kowalczyk is a Polish cross country skier who has been competing since 2000.Kowalczyk is an Olympic Champion, a double World Champion and a triple winner of the FIS Cross-Country World Cup...

, the women's World Cup leader in the distance event, winning four and three medals respectively with golds in five of the six events (three for Saarinen and two for Kowalczyk). The only event not won by either Saarinen or Kowalczyk was the individual sprint which was won by Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

's Arianna Follis

Arianna Follis

Arianna Follis is an Italian cross country skier who started competing in 1995. Competing in two Winter Olympics, she earned a bronze medal in the 4 x 5 km at Turin in 2006....

.

Individual sprint silver medalist Kikkan Randall

Kikkan Randall

Kikkan Randall is an American cross-country skier from Anchorage, Alaska. She is the niece of former cross-country skiing Olympians Betsy Haines and her brother, Chris Haines...

became the first American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

woman to medal in cross-country skiing at the World Championships and the second American overall to do so (Lindsey Van

Lindsey Van

Lindsey Van is an American ski jumper who has competed since 2002. Van won a gold medal in the inaugural women's ski jumping event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec and has a total of eight Continental Cup victories in her career.In 2008, Van's knee cartilage was crushed on...

had won a gold medal in the women's ski jumping individual normal hill event at the championships four days earlier.). Cross country World Cup Sprint leader Petra Majdič

Petra Majdic

Petra Majdič is a Slovenian former cross-country skier. Her best results came in classic style races. She won twenty-four World Cup races, twenty in sprint races, but she also won a marathon in Trondheim in 2009...

of Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

had a disappointing championships, earning her best finish of ninth in the pursuit event. Nine countries would win medals at the championships with Finland winning eight, Norway winning seven; and Germany and Italy each winning four medals.

Individual sprint freestyle

24 February. Jens Arne Svartedal

Jens Arne Svartedal

Jens Arne Svartedal is a Norwegian cross country skier who has competed since 1996. He represents Trøsken IL from Sarpsborg in Norway. His greatest achievement is winning the individual sprint gold medal at the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Sapporo...

of Norway

Norway

was defending champion, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals at these championships. It was the first individual medal for all three finishers.

Medal	Athlete	Time
Gold		3:00.8
Silver		+ 0.4
Bronze		+ 1.0

Team sprint classical

25 February. Italy

Italy

's Renato Pasini

Renato Pasini

Renato Pasini is an Italian cross country skier who has been competing since 1996. He won the gold medal in the team sprint at the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Sapporo...

and Christian Zorzi were the defending champions. Zorzi did not compete, but Pasini did though he was eliminated in the semifinal round with teammate Fulvio Scola

Fulvio Scola

Fulvio Scola is an Italian cross country skier who has competed since 2001. His best finish at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships was eighth in the individual sprint event at Liberec in 2009....

. Hattestad and Kjølstad, the gold and silver medalists in the individual sprint event the day before, teamed up to win the gold medal in the team sprint event while Jauhojärvi and Nousiainen earned their first championship medals. Germany beat Finland in a photo finish.

Medal	Athletes	\|Time
Gold	Ola Vigen Hattestad Ola Vigen Hattestad Ola Vigen Hattestad is a Norwegian cross country skier who has competed since 2002. Competing in two Winter Olympics, hea earned his best finish of fourth in the individual sprint event at Vancouver in 2010....	22:48.5
Gold	Johan Kjølstad Johan Kjølstad Johan Kjølstad is a Norwegian cross country skier who has competed since 2002.Born in Levanger, he represents the sports club Skogn IL....	22:48.5
Silver	Axel Teichmann Axel Teichmann Axel Teichmann is a German cross-country skier.- Background :...	+ 0.5
Silver	Tobias Angerer Tobias Angerer Tobias Angerer is a German cross country skier, and skies with the SC Vachendorf club. He graduated from the Skigymnasium Berchtesgaden in 1996. His occupation is "Sports Soldier"...	+ 0.5
Bronze	Sami Jauhojärvi Sami Jauhojärvi Sami Jauhojärvi is a Finnish cross country skier who has been competing since 2000. His best finish at the Winter Olympics was fifth in the 4 x 10 km relay at Vancouver in 2010....	+ 0.5
Bronze	Ville Nousiainen Ville Nousiainen Ville Nousiainen is a Finnish cross country skier who has been competing since 2002. He finished fifth in the 4 x 10 km event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver....	+ 0.5

15 km classical interval start

20 February. A 10 km qualification event took place on the 18th. Norway's Lars Berger

Lars Berger

Lars Berger is a Norwegian biathlete and cross-country skier. Fellow biathlete Tora Berger is his sister. Berger's family moved to Lesja, Oppland, in 1985. At the age of six, Berger started cross-country skiing, but during his teens he decided to try out the biathlon.Berger joined the national...

was the defending champion, but could not defend his title to his involvement at the 2009 Biathlon World Championships

Biathlon World Championships 2009

The 43rd Biathlon World Championships were held in Pyeongchang, South Korea from February 13 to February 22, 2009. It was the first time that the Biathlon World Championships were held in Asia ....

in Pyeongchang, South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

which was going on at the same time of the Nordic skiing world championships. The top ten finishers in the qualification event advanced to the 15 km event on the 20th. Heikkinen had the fastest time at 5 km while Bauer had the fastest time at 10 km. This was Veerpalu's third medal overall and first since the 2001 championships. The top three qualifiers from the 10 km event finished 66th, 63rd and 65th, respectively. Veerpalu is the oldest world champion ever, having turned 38 earlier that month.

10 km qualification results

Position	Athlete	Time
1		31:22.9
2		+ 22.4
3		+ 34.5

Medal	Athlete	Time
Gold		38:54.4
Silver		+ 6.3
Bronze		+ 16.4

15 km + 15 km double pursuit

22 February. Germany

Germany

's Axel Teichmann

Axel Teichmann

Axel Teichmann is a German cross-country skier.- Background :...

was the defending champion and would finish seventh in the event. The top three leaders at the classical part were Södergren, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

's Johan Olsson (he would finish 16th), and Italy

Italy

's Pietro Piller Cottrer

Pietro Piller Cottrer

Pietro Piller Cottrer is an Italian cross-country skier who won gold medal in the 4 x 10 km relay at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. He was born at Sappada, province of Belluno....

(he would finish 32nd), while the fastest pit time belonged to Finland

Finland

's Matti Heikkinen

Matti Heikkinen

Matti Heikkinen is a Finnish cross country skier and World Champion who has competed since 2002. Heikkinen won his first World Championship at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 in Holmenkollen 2011. Winning 15 km, he is the first Finnish men's World Champion for over a decade...

. Mathias Fredriksson

Mathias Fredriksson

Mathias Fredriksson is a Swedish cross country skier who has competed since 1993. He earned a bronze medal in the 4 x 10 km at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin...

of Sweden had the fastest time in the freestyle leg to move from 39th at the end of the classical portion to finish 17th. Northug and Södergren earned their first individual medals at the championships.

Medal	15 km classical time	Pit time	15 km freestyle time	Finish time
Gold	38:40.1 (22)	26.2 (5)	36:46.0 (3)	1:15:52.4
Silver	38:34.3 (1)	26.9 (8)	36:54.3 (5)	+ 3.1
Bronze	38:38.3 (16)	29.0 (tied at 29)	36:56.8 (6)	+ 11.9

50 km freestyle mass start

1 March. Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset

Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset

Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset is a Norwegian cross-country skier who has competed since 1993.A classical technique specialist, Hjelmeset's biggest success is the gold medal in the 50 km event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007 in Sapporo...

of Norway was the defending champion, but did not participate due to this event being held in free technique. The race was an exciting one in which the lead was different at every interval mark on the official report. At the 12.5 km mark, the three leaders were Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

's Christian Hoffman (he would finish 25th), Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

's Alexander Legkov

Alexander Legkov

Alexander Gennadiyevich Legkov is a Russian cross country skier who has been competing since 2002...

(he would finish 18th), and France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

's Jean Marc Gaillard

Jean Marc Gaillard

Jean Marc Gaillard is a French cross country skier who has been competing since 2000. His best finish at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships was 7th in the 50 km event at Sapporo in 2007...

(he would finished 23rd). By the 20 km mark, the top three were Italy

Italy

's Pietro Piller Cottrer

Pietro Piller Cottrer

Pietro Piller Cottrer is an Italian cross-country skier who won gold medal in the 4 x 10 km relay at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. He was born at Sappada, province of Belluno....

(who would finish 11th), his teammate Christian Zorzi (would finish 12th), and Russia's Vylegzhanin. The top three at the 27.5 km mark were Zorzi, Switzerland

Switzerland

's Curdin Perl

Curdin Perl

Curdin Perl is a Swiss cross country skier who has competed since 2001. His best finish at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships was seventh in the 4 x 10 km at Liberec in 2009 while his best individual finish was 27th in the 50 km event at those same championships.Perl's best...

(who would finish 27th), and his teammate Remo Fischer

Remo Fischer

Remo Fischer is a Swiss cross country skier who has competed since 2000. He competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, finishing 21st in the 50 km and 36th in the 15 km + 15 km double pursuit events....

(who would finish 19th). With 7.5 km left in the race, the top three were Fischer, Norway's Tord Asle Gjerdalen

Tord Asle Gjerdalen

-Career:In his early career, he finished ninth in the 30 kilometres event at the 2003 Junior World Championships. He made his debut in the World Cup in February 2004 in Trondheim, where he finished 67th in the sprint race. He also competed in the 50 kilometre event in Oslo the same month, where he...

(who would finish 20th), and 2006 Winter Olympic

2006 Winter Olympics

The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...

50 km gold medalist Giorgio Di Centa

Giorgio Di Centa

Giorgio Di Centa is an Italian cross country skier who won two gold medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics, including the individual 50 km freestyle race...

of Italy (who would finish fourth). Northug, seventh at the 42.5 km mark, would win his third gold medal at the championships and fourth overall. It was Vylegzhanin's first world championship medal and Angerer's sixth career medal. The top 19 finishers all competed the course in under two hours while the top 22 finishers were separated by no more than 26 seconds at the finish. During the event, Angerer had to change skis.

Medal	Athlete	Time
Gold		1:59:38.1
Silver		+ 0.7
Bronze		+ 2.0

4 × 10 km relay

27 February. The Norwegian

Norway

team of Eldar Rønning

Eldar Rønning

, Hjelmeset, Berger and Petter Northug

Petter Northug

were the defending champions and repeated for the fifth straight time with Hofstad taking Berger's spot on the relay team. Germany

Germany

's Filbrich had the fastest first leg time with the top three positions at the first exchange being Germany, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

(who would finish fifth), and Estonia

Estonia

(who would finish eighth). Jauhojärvi of Finland

Finland

has the fastest second and in the classical style to move his country from fifth to second at the second exchange. The leader at the second exchange was Germany with Estonia being third. Italy

Italy

's Pietro Piller Cottrer

Pietro Piller Cottrer

Pietro Piller Cottrer is an Italian cross-country skier who won gold medal in the 4 x 10 km relay at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. He was born at Sappada, province of Belluno....

had the fastest third leg, moving his team from tenth to fifth (The Italians

Italy

would finish fourth.) with leaders at the third exchange being Germany, Norway and Finland. France

France

's Emmanuel Jonnier

Emmanuel Jonnier

Emmanuel Jonnier is a French cross country skier who has been competing since 1998. His best finish at the Winter Olympics was fourth in the 50 km event at the 2006 games in Turin....

had the fastest anchor time and freestyle technique time to move the French

France

from 12th to ninth. Norway's Northug used his leg to move past Germany to win the gold.

Medal	Athletes	\|Time
Gold	Eldar Rønning Eldar Rønning Eldar Rønning is a Norwegian cross-country skier. He skis with the Skogn IL club, in Nord-Trøndelag. He's 178 cm tall and weighs 73 kg . He skis with Rossignol boots and skis, and Rottefella bindings.In 2004/05, he achieved three podium finishes in World Cup Sprint events, including a win at Reit...	1:41:50.6
	Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset is a Norwegian cross-country skier who has competed since 1993.A classical technique specialist, Hjelmeset's biggest success is the gold medal in the 50 km event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007 in Sapporo...
	Tore Ruud Hofstad Tore Ruud Hofstad Tore Ruud Hofstad is a Norwegian cross-country skier who competed from 1998 to 2010. A freestyle specialist, Hofstad is best noted as a member of the Norwegian relay team during three successful FIS Nordic World Ski Championship campaigns...
	Petter Northug Petter Northug Petter Northug Jr. is a Norwegian cross country skier and double Olympic champion. He has 9 World Championship and Winter Olympic gold medals with 13 medals overall, and nine individual FIS Cross-Country World Cup wins with 20 podium places...
Silver	Jens Filbrich Jens Filbrich Jens Filbrich is a German cross-country skier who has been competing since 1998. He won two medals in the 4 x 10 km relay at the Winter Olympics with a silver in 2006 and a bronze in 2002...	+ 2.6
	Tobias Angerer Tobias Angerer Tobias Angerer is a German cross country skier, and skies with the SC Vachendorf club. He graduated from the Skigymnasium Berchtesgaden in 1996. His occupation is "Sports Soldier"...
	Franz Göring Franz Göring Franz Göring is a German cross country skier who has been competing since 2002. He won a silver medal in the 4 x 10 km event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec and had his best individual finish of sixth in the 15 km at the 2007 championships in Sapporo.Göring also...
	Axel Teichmann Axel Teichmann Axel Teichmann is a German cross-country skier.- Background :...
Bronze	Matti Heikkinen Matti Heikkinen Matti Heikkinen is a Finnish cross country skier and World Champion who has competed since 2002. Heikkinen won his first World Championship at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 in Holmenkollen 2011. Winning 15 km, he is the first Finnish men's World Champion for over a decade...	+ 43.9
	Sami Jauhojärvi Sami Jauhojärvi Sami Jauhojärvi is a Finnish cross country skier who has been competing since 2000. His best finish at the Winter Olympics was fifth in the 4 x 10 km relay at Vancouver in 2010....
	Teemu Kattilakoski Teemu Kattilakoski Teemu Kattilakoski is a Finnish cross country skier who has been competing since 1996. His best finish at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships was sixth in the 4 x 10 km event in 2007 while his best individual finish was eighth in the 50 km event in 2003.Kattilakoski's best individual finish at...
	Ville Nousiainen Ville Nousiainen Ville Nousiainen is a Finnish cross country skier who has been competing since 2002. He finished fifth in the 4 x 10 km event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver....

Individual sprint freestyle

24 February. Norway's Astrid Jacobsen

Astrid Jacobsen

Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen is a Norwegian cross-country skier. She skis with the IL Heming club in Oslo, near Holmenkollen...

was the defending champion, but did not make past the qualifying round. It was Follis's first gold medal at the championships. Randall became the first American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

woman to medal in cross country skiing at the championships while Muranen, the 2001 champion under her maiden name Manninen, became the first woman to medal in this event twice in the championships. Fourth-place finisher Natalya Matveyeva

Natalya Matveyeva

Natalya Konstantinovna Matveyeva is a Russian cross country skier who has been competing since 2004. Matveyeva skis for Dynamo Moscow. She has a total of four victories since 2004, including three in the 2006–2007 season...

of Russia would be banned for doping

Doping (sport)

The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport is commonly referred to by the term "doping", particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of performance enhancing drugs is mostly done to improve athletic performance. This is why many sports ban the use of performance...

on 23 December 2009 though she had tested positive at the 2010 Winter Olympic

2010 Winter Olympics

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...

test event at Whistler Olympic Park

Whistler Olympic Park

The Whistler Olympic Park is the location of the Nordic events facilities for the 2010 Winter Olympics and is located in the Madeley Creek basin in the Callaghan Valley, west of Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. The facility hosted the biathlon, cross-country skiing, nordic combined, and ski...

in Canada

Canada

which were held a month prior to the world championships. The results were changed as of 20 March 2010 to show Matveyeva's doping disqualification.

Medal	Athlete	Time
Gold		2:39.3
Silver		+ 0.6
Bronze		+ 0.7

Team sprint classical

25 February. Finland

Finland

's Riitta-Liisa Roponen and Virpi Kuitunen

Virpi Kuitunen

Virpi Katriina Sarasvuo is a Finnish cross country skier who competed from 1995 to 2010. She won a bronze medal in the team sprint event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and earned her best individual finish of fifth in the individual sprint event in those same games...

were the defending champions Kuitunen defended her title with Aino-Kaisa Saarinen. The Finns led at every exchange until the last rounds at the finish to win by 20 seconds. This event was Saarinen's third medal at these championships. Anna Olsson earned her first championship medal while Andersson, Longa and Follis earned their second medals at these championships.

Medal	Athletes	\|Time
Gold	Virpi Kuitunen Virpi Kuitunen Virpi Katriina Sarasvuo is a Finnish cross country skier who competed from 1995 to 2010. She won a bronze medal in the team sprint event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and earned her best individual finish of fifth in the individual sprint event in those same games...	19:43.7
Gold	Aino-Kaisa Saarinen	19:43.7
Silver	Anna Olsson	+ 20.0
Silver	Lina Andersson Lina Andersson Lina Andersson is a Swedish cross country skier who has competed since 1998. She won a gold medal in the Team sprint at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and also finished 11th in the Individual sprint in those same games.Andersson also won three medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships...	+ 20.0
Bronze	Arianna Follis Arianna Follis Arianna Follis is an Italian cross country skier who started competing in 1995. Competing in two Winter Olympics, she earned a bronze medal in the 4 x 5 km at Turin in 2006....	+ 23.8
Bronze	Marianna Longa Marianna Longa Marianna Longa is an Italian cross country skier from Livigno. She started the professional career in 1997, and the first appearance in a world cup race was March 17, 2000 in Bormio. Longa is currently part of the Fiamme Gialle, and the Italian cross country national team. Marianna is also a...	+ 23.8

10 km Individual Classic (interval start)

19 February. A 5 km qualification for this event took place on the 18th. Organizing Commiittee chair Katerina Neumannová

Katerina Neumannová

Kateřina Neumannová is a retired Czech cross country skier. She was a flatwater canoeist and downhill skier before moving to cross country skiing at sixteen...

of the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

is two-time defending champion, but retired after the 2006–07 season. The top ten finishers of the 5 km event advanced to the 10 km event on the 19th. Saarinen won her first individual gold medal as a follow-up to her relay gold medal at the previous championships in Sapporo, leading at all time marks. Longa and Kowalczyk both earned their first medals at the championships. The top three 5 km qualifiers, Smyth, Li and Kashiwabara, finished 51st, 55th, and did not start respectively.

5 km qualification results

Position	Athlete	Time
1		17:24.9
2		+ 4.7
3		+ 10.2

Medal	Athlete	Time
Gold		28:12.8
Silver		+ 4.2
Bronze		+ 11.5

Pursuit 7.5 km Classic + 7.5 km Free

21 February. Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

's Olga Zavyalova was the defending champion though she only finished 34th at this year's championship. The top three after the classical part of the event were Saarinen, Italy

Italy

's Marianna Longa

Marianna Longa

Marianna Longa is an Italian cross country skier from Livigno. She started the professional career in 1997, and the first appearance in a world cup race was March 17, 2000 in Bormio. Longa is currently part of the Fiamme Gialle, and the Italian cross country national team. Marianna is also a...

, and Steira, while the top three during the pit portion were Saarinen, Longa, and Valentina Shevchenko

Valentina Shevchenko

Valentina Shevchenko is a Ukrainian cross country skier who has been competing since 1994. She won the bronze medal in the 30 km event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec....

of the Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

. Kowalczyk and Saarinen switched medal positions from the 10 km event two days earlier.

Medal	7.5 km classical time	Pit time	7.5 km freestyle time	Finish time
Gold	21:35.8 (4)	26.2 (4)	18:53.2 (1)	40:55.3
Silver	21:34.9 (3)	26.7 (6)	18:55.2 (2)	+ 1.7
Bronze	21:33.7 (1)	24.5 (1)	19:05.0 (3)	+ 8.0

30 km freestyle mass start

28 February. Finland's Kuitunen was the defending champion, but did not finish the event at this championships, having dropped out after the 15 km mark. The top three leaders at 7.5 km were Therese Johaug

Therese Johaug

Therese Johaug is a Norwegian cross-country skier. Johaug has competed for the clubs Tynset IF and IL Nansen.-Athletic career:...

(who would finish fourth) and Kristin Størmer Steira

Kristin Størmer Steira

(who would finish fifth) (both of Norway

Norway

) and Kowalczyk. At 15 km, the top three were Steira, Johaug, and Finland's Aino-Kaisa Saarinen (who would finish seventh). At 22.5 km, the top three were Steira, Kowalczyk and Saarinen. Kowalczyk pulled away at the last 7.5 km to win her second gold medal by 8.8 seconds and third overall at the championships. Medvedeva, Shevchenko and Johaug had a fight to finish with Johaug losing the bronze by 0.6 seconds. It was Medvedeva's and Shevchenko's first individual championship medals.

Medal	Athlete	Time
Gold		1:16:10.6
Silver		+8.8
Bronze		+9.3

4 × 5 km relay

26 February. The Finnish

Finland

team of Kuitunen, Aino-Kaisa Saarinen, Roponen and Pirjo Manninen

Pirjo Manninen

Pirjo Muranen is a Finnish cross country skier who has competed since 1998. She won a bronze medal in the 4 x 5 km relay at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver...

(Muranen since June 2007) were the defending champions and repeated albeit in a different starting order. The top three at the first exchange with Poland

Poland

(who would finish sixth), Finland

Finland

and Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

(who would finish eighth), with Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk

Justyna Kowalczyk

Justyna Kowalczyk is a Polish cross country skier who has been competing since 2000.Kowalczyk is an Olympic Champion, a double World Champion and a triple winner of the FIS Cross-Country World Cup...

having the fastest first leg. Finland's Kuitunen would have the fastest time in the classical technique and the second leg to propel her team from second to first with Norway

Norway

(who would finish fourth) and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

(who would finish seventh) rounding out the top three at the second exchange. Germany's Gösnner had the fastest time of the third leg, moving her team from sixth to fourth. At the third exchange, the top three teams were Norway, Finland and Poland. Sweden

Sweden

's Kalla had the fastest time in the freestyle technique and the anchor leg to propel her team from sixth to the bronze medal, losing the silver to Germany by 0.4 seconds. Saarinen of Finland would win the gold by 13.0 seconds.

Medal	Athletes	\|Time
Gold	Pirjo Muranen	54:24.3
	Virpi Kuitunen Virpi Kuitunen Virpi Katriina Sarasvuo is a Finnish cross country skier who competed from 1995 to 2010. She won a bronze medal in the team sprint event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and earned her best individual finish of fifth in the individual sprint event in those same games...
	Riitta-Liisa Roponen
	Aino-Kaisa Saarinen
Silver	Katrin Zeller Katrin Zeller Katrin Zeller is a German cross country skier who has competed since 1997. She won a silver medal in the 4 x 5 km relay at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver....	+ 13.0
	Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle is a German cross country skier from Reit im Winkl who has competed since 1998...
	Miriam Gössner Miriam Gössner Miriam Gössner is a German-Norwegian biathlete and cross-country skier. Noted for her fast skiing performances, she won two junior world championship titles in biathlon in 2008 and 2009...
	Claudia Künzel-Nystad
Bronze	Lina Andersson Lina Andersson Lina Andersson is a Swedish cross country skier who has competed since 1998. She won a gold medal in the Team sprint at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin and also finished 11th in the Individual sprint in those same games.Andersson also won three medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships...	+ 13.4
	Britta Norgren Britta Norgren Britta Johanna Helena Johansson Norgren is a Swedish cross country skier who has been competed since 2002. She won a bronze medal in the 4 x 5 km at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec...
	Anna Haag Anna Haag Anna Margret Haag is a Swedish cross-country skier who has been competing since 2003. She won a bronze medal in the 4 x 5 km at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec....
	Charlotte Kalla Charlotte Kalla Charlotte Kalla is a Swedish cross-country skier who has been competing since 2004. She won a bronze medal in the 4 x 5 km relay at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec...

External links

RESULTS from FIS-ski.com

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