The first set of medals from the Olympic Winter Games has been awarded. In the skiathlon, Therese Johaug confidently became the first gold medalist in Beijing. The world champion from Norway came over the 15 kilometers (7.5 km in classic technique and 7.5 km in skating) after 44:13.7 minutes and clearly relegated the competition to the top.
World Cup leader Natalia Nepryaeva (44:43.9) from Russia won silver. Bronze went to Teresa Stadlober from Austria (44:43.2).
For Johaug “a dream comes true”
“Today a dream came true. I have trained for many years and thousands of hours for this”said Johaug after crossing the finish line with tears of joy.
Sauerbrey convinced in 13th place.
From a German perspective, Katherine Sauerbrey (46:37.5) surprised with a strong 13th place in difficult conditions in Zhangjiakou. “Normal is different, but I think we made the best of it. We fought our way through,” Sauerbrey said: “I’m really happy that it was 13th. I’m a bit surprised myself that it turned out so well. It was really tough.”
Hennig sees “asterisks”
Katharina Hennig (47:11.8) came in 15th. “I’ve seen stars before and then I had cramps”, she said after the race that she had started too quickly. Sofie Krehl (47:41.6) as 17th and Pia Fink (25th, 48:29.6) rounded off the good overall German result.