Marcus Hellner grabbed the first gold medal at the Swedish national championships as he wins 30 km skiathlon over Johan Olsson.
30 km skiathlon was a true thriller towards the end of the race. Johan Olsson came to the stadium in the first place but was beaten by sprint World Champion Marcus Hellner. In total six skiers were involved in the medal fight but it was Jens Eriksson who stole the bronze medal. Marcus Hellner was controlling most of the race from the third place in the leading group. “In these conditions it was difficult to escape,” he said to www.sweski.com.
Anders Soedergren was hammering strong and tried to stretch the field especially in the free technique part. “I was pushing probably too much. In the end I was empty,” Soedergren said. Being no sprinter he finished in 5th place.
Instead, it was Johan Olsson, who took over the initiative towards the finish and came first in home straight. Youngster Jens Eriksson has carried on the momentum from Otepää and has finally found shape scoring bronze medal.
Results
You can find complete results at http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.html?sector=CC&competitorid=110942&raceid=19712
Contributed by Kjell-Erik Kristiansen, www.sweski.com
