– All honor to the priest in Bragernes church who opened the door and let Kristine go to heaven here today, says Lage Sofienlund to NRK.
The Konnerud coach has just seen his pupil, Kristine Stavås Skistad, wreak havoc with the rest of the world elite in sprints.
The 25-year-old was in a class of his own and parked his rivals towards the finish right in front of the steps to Bragernes Church in Drammen.
The fact that Sofienlund thanks the priest has its own explanation.
HOME JUBILEE: Lage Sofienlund and Kristine Stavås Skistad could celebrate with the Konnerud flag outside Bragernes Church on Tuesday afternoon.
Photo: Anders Skjerdingstad / NRK
– A cool place
– I made a phone call to the priest in the church here. We are happy to find a quiet place. I am concerned with tranquility. Finding a calm around us when we have to work. Today it was the church, in other places it might be the basement of a clubhouse or the shower in a cloakroom, but here it is fortunately Bragernes church. It’s a cool place to be and do that work between heats, smiles Sofienlund.
– What did the priest say when you called?
– He thought it was just incredible fun that I wanted to use the church.
According to the protagonist, it is not the first time.
– We have a permanent rest station in the church, so it’s a tradition now, says Skistad.
Kristine Stavås Skistad put everyone in place during the sprint at home in Drammen.
– Like a god
Admittedly, NRK’s commentator Jann Post did not know anything about this when he commented on the final in the following way:
– She works like a god in the center of Drammen. She completely crushes the Swedes!
For the second time in a row, Skistad’s biggest rival, Linn Svahn, had to settle for second place.
DEMONSTRATION OF POWER: Kristine Stavå’s Skistad coped with the pressure at home and took a superior victory in Drammen.
Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB
– It’s the best I know, and at home I feel like it’s my duty, so today it’s the easiest, says Skistad to NRK.
American Rosie Brennan was third.
Already in the semi-finals, Skistad showed that she was a force to be reckoned with on home soil. She had the pulley on the pole destroyed, but still managed to fight her way to a final place.
– It is impressive that she managed to move into second position with pole trouble, exclaimed NRK expert Fredrik Aukland on the radio broadcast.
Photo: Anders Skjerdingstad / NRK
In the final two weeks after heart surgery
One who also impressed in Drammen was Swiss Nadine Fähndrich. She finished fifth in the final – just two weeks after heart surgery.
– I had a heart rhythm disorder. I had to fix it, says Nadine Fähndrich to NRK.
And elaborates:
– I have had big problems all season. Especially in the distance races. Also when I think back to last season, but it wasn’t such a big problem, she says.
Healthcare writes on its website that cardiac arrhythmia means that the heart beats too fast, too slowly or irregularly, and ranges from harmless to life-threatening conditions.
HEART SURGERY: Nadine Fähndrich.
Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB
Had to break in Canmore
Fähndrich says that the plan was to first participate in Falun at the weekend, but that she got the green light earlier than expected.
– Yes, they said it wasn’t such a big deal. And when everything went well, I could return quickly, she says.
Fähndrich reveals to NRK that it was the heart problems that caused her to break the race during the World Cup in Canmore.
– Why did you choose to have surgery in the middle of the season?
– I wanted to do it as quickly as possible, because if I had continued, it would have been like playing the lottery. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Then I said to myself: “It’s better to do it in the middle (of the season), so that I can be in the last races”, she replies.
Klæbo completely superior
It wasn’t just Skistad that delivered in the sunshine. Just a few minutes later, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo took his fifth straight victory in Drammen.
Klæbo came straight from a strong victory during the Femmila in Holmenkollen, and had good control over the competitors in the sprint.
With Håvard Solås Taugbøl in second place, and Even Northug in third place, it was an all-Norwegian podium.