Marit Bjoergen gave to Norwegian fans firts Gold medal. Probably the least expect one. Bjoergen dominated the sprint and beat Arianna Follis of Italy and Petra Majdic of Slovenia.
Marit Bjoergen was very strong the whole day. She won qualifying session and dominated all the heats. In the final she spurted everybody and seized gold medal. Defending champion Arianna Follis of Italy finished second. Petra Majdic brought to Slovenia bronze medal.
Ladies quarterfinal was marked with several crashes. Big favorite Kikkan Randall of USA slipped over Ida Ingemarsdotter's skis turned around and almost fell. When she got back in good direction the other five were already gone. Silver medalist Arianna Follis also had problems in the semfinal but went on to the final as one of the lucky losers.
Slovenian sprinters showed their teeth with Petra Majdic and Vesna Fabjan in the final. Marit Bjoergen, however, had the whole final heat under control and did not alow any drama in the finish stretch. She spurted over Follis and Majdic and brought first gold to Norway. More than 20.000 specators in the sold out Holmenkollen arena were cheering on their World Champion.
Quotes
Marit Bjeorgen NOR
Today's victory was the most incredible thing I've ever experienced. The atmosphere was thrlling. I could hear the crowd chanting Marit! Marit! I made some good decisions during the race and it's a fantastic start for me. I usually win the bronze in the opening race. I wasn't sure if I had it under control. I just went for it in easier parts of the course. It was so much fun, I even got to win Norway's 100thgold in WSC-history.
Arianna Follis ITA
I hoped for a medal today as I won two years ago in Liberec. I'm very happy for teh silver medal. In every heat it was a tough fight with Marit Bjoergen. She has been very strong and it was fun to race with her. The race in Drammen was a good test for me. I'm in a good shape at the World Championships. I will probably go the team sprint and I hope the Italian relay will be strong.
