– I woke up today and did not think that I would be on the podium, because there were strong competitors. Suddenly I heard that I was leading on the last lap. I couldn't believe what I heard, Ligrid told NRK after the victory and continues:
– Patrick (Oberger) told me on the last hill “Sturla you are driving!”, and then I had to go with everything I had, he says.
Because it was a battle that lasted for seconds until the finish line.
If Lægreid had a chance at World Championships gold, he should have entered with 8 seconds to spare over Johannes Thingnes Bø, who took the lead at the finish line.
Sturla Holm Lægreid cheers for WC gold. Photo: Roy Kenneth Sidneys Jacobsen.
Then the Baroom runner found the instinct to pee in the remaining minutes from the finish line. This meant he was 3.5 seconds ahead of Thingnes Bø. And yet world champion.
Cheers then erupted for the 26-year-old, who pointed to his ear in the goal area. A message whose meaning he does not want to reveal.
-It's a secret sign for someone back home. A little hello, Ligrid says vaguely.
– You don't want to reveal anything?
– No, it was a greeting.
Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen was third.
Sturla Holm Lægreid cheers for WC gold. Photo: Roy Kenneth Sidneys Jacobsen.
Today everything has become just a dream. That bronze medal is like a gold medal for me. It's very delicious, Siastad Christiansen tells NRK.
He struggled for large parts of the season
Lægreid struggled with illness for most of the season before Christmas. During the World Cup in Lenzerheide, he carried out a serious attack inside the athletes' hotel. The incident that marked him to heroism.
– I felt pressure before the World Cup to win when others have achieved it this season. WC's victory stands tall. It is a milestone to win the gold medal in the speed race. “Now I can be sick for the rest of the tournament, but I will still be happy,” says Ligrid.
It is characterized by nerves
– I won a silver medal before today, but of course it's boring to lose by 3.5 seconds, says loser Thingnes Bø to NRK after “losing” the gold medal.
Thingnes Bø had big ambitions to be tough on himself both on the track and on the podium, after he was disappointed in the mixed relay on Wednesday.
But even before the start, the current world champion appeared to be nervous.
Johannes Thinges Boe.
Image: NTP
– He may not be completely confident in what he is doing, said NRK's expert commentator Ola Lunde, when Thingnes Bø had to film more sequences than usual during filming.
However, his nerves seemed to have calmed down as he took the lead down the track. Going into the first shot, he was three seconds ahead of teammate Johannes del Skiveddahl, but like the latter, there was a mistake.
– Torgeir Bjørn said he could hold on after Frenchman Quentin Fillion Maillet made a mistake in throwing the ball while standing.
Thingnes Bø continued to push forward doggedly towards what could be another gold in the toilet. This hope became even greater when he got all the blinkers.
– It could be a golden race, as Torgeir Bjørn said about Thingnes Bø.
Thus, he took the temporary lead, 20 seconds ahead of Frenchman Emilien Jacquelin. But a complete crack on the final lap by the Frenchman, who lost 24 seconds to Tarjei Bø on the final lap, meant Thingens Bø was just over half a minute ahead of his big brother at the finish line.
– The master has returned. “He's running his best race of the season, and that's in the World Championship,” Torgeir Bjørn said of Thingnes Bø.
He still didn't hold his own against his teammate Lægreid.
“Infuriatingly humble internet trailblazer. Twitter buff. Beer nerd. Bacon scholar. Coffee practitioner.”
