Sweden’s Linn Svahn won gold in the women's classic cross-country ski sprint on Tuesday at the Milano Cortina Olympics.
Compatriots Jonna Sundling and Maja Dahlqvist won silver and bronze, respectively. The 26-year-old dug deep in a spectacular performance, finishing in 4:03.05, almost a second ahead of compatriots Jonna Sundling (4:04.64) with Maja Dahlqvist in third (4:07.88).
"Finally, I managed to show the world what I was capable of at an Olympic event. And two teammates on the podium. Sport is nice when you succeed with the achievement, but even nicer when you share it," said Svahn to SVT after the performance.
"There have been championships that have not gone my way. To manage to win a medal and a gold that I have worked so long for - at the Olympics - that is a nice story."
Linn Svahn described her tactics in the final:
"I had a weapon in my body. I have tried to save energy as much as possible. Then I had a weapon in my skis too. I went on a second pair all the way to the final and knew that I could sharpen it and pick out my favourite pair when it really mattered. It was nice to feel secure. Then I could just go for it."
Never before have three Swedish women stood on the podium in an Olympic sprint before. The last time there was a triple Swedish podium in the Olympics was in the five-mile in Saint-Moritz in 1928.