There is much evidence that the national ski team can count on one or more Olympic medals when the final session in the classic sprint is decided later today.
The blue-and-yellow women's quartet impressed greatly in the qualifiers.
Linn Svahn finished strongly on the long, demanding sprint course. With a time of 3:36.21, she was just over a second faster than reigning champion Jonna Sundling. Johanna Hagström, third in the qualifier, was just over two and a half seconds behind Svahn. Maja Dahlqvist had the seventh-best time.
One who didn't have the same speed under the skis was Norwegian Kristine Stavås Skistad. She was more than nine seconds slower than Svahn, but it was enough to advance by a comfortable margin. Skistad finished in 16th place in the qualifiers.
In the quarterfinals, which begin at 11:45, the Swedes will compete in four different heats. The first will be a real hornet's nest with Sundling, Skistad and Finland's Jasmi Joensuu, who was fourth in the qualifiers.
The final will be decided at 1:24 p.m.
