Strong Olympic bids on a chaotic Norwegian day: “A nightmare for the Norwegians”

A chaotic day for Norway in the Davos World Cup freestyle sprint opened the door for challengers to bolster their Olympic hopes.

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo suffered a rare early exit, going out in the quarterfinals after twice losing time in the same icy corner on the 1.2 km course. Although he stayed on his feet, the lost seconds left him fourth across the line and outside the advancing times. Cameras caught a visibly frustrated Klæbo packing up, as sprint coach Arild Monsen urged space while emotions cooled. It was Klæbo’s first missed World Cup sprint final in nearly two years.

Even Northug, aiming to rebound from a fall in Trondheim the previous week, crashed in the very same Davos corner just before the finish and was eliminated in the quarterfinals—his second consecutive sprint weekend ended by a fall.

Norway’s top female sprinter, Kristine Stavås Skistad, appeared to make the final but was disqualified for obstruction after the semifinal, prompting Swedish headlines labeling the day a “nightmare for the Norwegians.”

With the pre‑race favorites gone, others stepped up. Mathilde Myhrvold unleashed a powerful finish in the women’s final, losing to Sweden’s Jonna Sundling by just eight hundredths of a second after a photo finish to claim second place. On the men’s side, 21‑year‑old Oskar Opstad Vike secured another podium with third, following his runner‑up result in the classic sprint in Trondheim a week earlier.

The podiums for Myhrvold and Vike were timely statements in the race for Milano–Cortina 2026 Olympic sprint spots, while Klæbo remains a lock for the Games despite this setback.