TRONDHEIM, Norway : Defending champion Ebba Andersson of Sweden won gold in the women’s 20km skiathlon race at the Nordic Ski World Championships on Sunday, beating Norwegian Therese Johaug in a thrilling photo finish.
Andersson, who retained the 2023 title she won in Planica over a 15-kilometer distance, raced to gold in a dramatic sprint finish to win in a time of 47 minutes 57.1 seconds.
Johaug, who won three skiathlon world golds and was in the leading pack throughout the race after coming out of retirement, lost by the narrowest of margins.
The four-time Olympic champion announced her return to competitive skiing in August, having retired from the sport to become a mother shortly after winning three gold medals at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.
Norwegian Heidi Weng was first out after the ski switch from classic to freestyle at the 10km mark but finished fifth after losing around six seconds when she crashed into Joanna Sundling, who took bronze.
Sundling fell with less than four kilometres to go as she was halfway through a swing, leaving the final race to Johaug and Andersson before the last round.
A bronze medallist from Planica, Norwegian Astrid Oeyre Slind finished eighth after briefly losing one of her skis following the ski exchange.
As she moved to switch skis, she accidentally tapped one of them and was forced to sprint after it having sent it sliding several meters away across the snow.
With continuous heavy rain prompting a flood warning in the area, organisers decided to salt the tracks on the morning of the race.
