TESERO, Italy (AP) — Ebba Andersson pulled away from the pack to win the 50-kilometer mass start cross-country ski race Sunday that served as redemption for her disastrous crash that cost Sweden a gold medal in the team relay at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Norway’s Heidi Weng, who was in the foursome that seized the gold from Sweden in the relay, won silver and Switzerland’s Nadja Kaelin got the bronze.
U.S. star skier Jessie Diggins was in a group of five that sprinted for the bronze, but she couldn’t keep up with her rivals on the final climb and finished fifth.
Andersson's medal was the fifth cross-country gold for Sweden, which won every women's cross-country ski event here except for the 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay. In addition to the team silver, Andersson also won a pair of individual silvers in the skiathlon and the 10-kilometer interval start.
Both those races were won by Sweden's Frida Karlsson, who was sick and did not race in the final cross-country event of the Olympics. Teammate Jonna Sundling, who placed second in the women’s sprint and won the team sprint for Sweden together with Maja Dahlqvist, was also out with a cold, Swedish ski federation spokeswoman Ulrika Sterner told The Associated Press.
Karlsson and Sundling were teamed up with Andersson in the Swedish team that won silver in the relay.
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics