After last weekend's fourth place (in the sprint) and second place (in the mass start over two miles) in Ruka, Jonna Sundling got to step up to the top of the podium in Lillehammer.
Both her form and skis were top-class – and Sundling just enjoyed herself.
I had a good day today and it was a little extra fun to compete when my body responded so well and all the other puzzle pieces fell into place. It's not every day you feel this alert and strong, she says to Viaplay.
Sundling put on a show from start to finish in the freestyle sprint.
In the morning's qualifying round, she was over six seconds faster than the next closest skier.
From the quarterfinals and semifinals, the 29-year-old advanced with total control, without being the slightest bit threatened.
Won with three seconds
Then Sundling finished off by crushing all opponents in the final. The class difference was enormous, and Sundling crossed the finish line three seconds ahead of teammate Johanna Hagström, who won the sprint in Ruka last week.
What a season I've started with now. I can hardly understand that I'm on the podium again. Awesome, says Hagström to Viaplay.
Julie Myhre, Norway, joined the Swedes on the podium. Emma Ribom also reached the final, where she finished fifth.
Norway's big sprint star Kristine Stavås Skistad, on the other hand, had no successful comeback after her stomach operation. Skistad was indeed fourth in the qualifying round, but the home favorite was eliminated directly in the quarterfinals, where she finished third in Sundling's heat. The Norwegian was later disqualified for obstruction, but her time would not have been enough to advance anyway.
Tough for the men
The Swedish men experienced no joyful ski weekend in Lillehammer. After the fiasco in Friday's 10 km race, it went tough again in the sprint. Edvin Anger and Emil Danielsson were the only ones to advance from the qualifying round, but were then eliminated directly in the quarterfinals.
Sprint king Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, back after a cold, made sure the home crowd got to cheer in the end when he easily won the men's final. It was also Norwegian on second place through Even Northug, while Italian Federico Pellegrino took third place.
The competitions in Lillehammer conclude on Sunday with 20 km skiathlon for both women and men.
