Cross-country skiing : “I’m very impressed with her race today”, says Marit Bjoergen
This weekend, Norway’s Karoline Groetting discovered the cross-country skiing World Cup circuit in Oberhof (Germany) and she didn’t have any complexes. After finishing thirtieth in the skate sprint on Saturday, the 24-year-old cross-country skier created a surprise on Sunday in theindividual classic, taking a remarkable fifth place after a long wait for her first podium finish.
“I’m so happy! I would never have believed it. I was hoping to be in the top 10, but I wasn’t thinking about the top 5 at all. And not in the classics: skateboarding is more my thing”, she confided to NRK after the finish.
A real revelation in January, Karoline Groetting confirmed her impressive momentum. She had just completed a double (individual classic and individual skate) at the Scandinavian Cup in Vantaa (Finland), before taking second place on Thursday in the individual skate at the Norwegian championships in Steinkjer. These high-level performances now continue on the world stage.
Her performance was hailed by her coach, Norwegian legend Marit Bjoergen: “I’m very impressed with her race today. The level was very high. We’d already seen, both in the Scandinavian Cup and the Norwegian Championships, that she skied very fast. To see her succeed in her first World Cup race is really pleasing.
These high-level performances could well open the door to her Olympic selection for the Milan/Cortina Games, where four places remain to be filled in the Norwegian women’s team.
Read also
- Cross-country skiing | Oberhof: Moa Ilar wins the individual classic by a whisker ahead of Teresa Stadlober
- Cross-country skiing | Norwegian Championships in Steinkjer: Kristin Austgulen Fosnæs takes gold in the individual skate… one breath ahead of Karoline Groetting and Nora Sanness
- Cross-country skiing | Scandinavian Cup: another Norwegian lesson in Vantaa, Kasper Andersson Herland and Karoline Groetting win
- Cross-country skiing | Scandinavian Cup in Vantaa: Edvard Sandvik and Karoline Groetting win the individual 20km classic race
