Helen Hoffmann cracks the top ten as Sweden dominate Trondheim 10 km freestyle

Germany’s Helen Hoffmann delivered a breakthrough performance in the Trondheim Cross‑Country World Cup, finishing ninth in the women’s 10 km freestyle—her first top‑ten result at World Cup level. Hoffmann, 23 and from Altötting, backed up a strong skiathlon on the previous day, where she also secured her Olympic qualification, by ending just 33.5 seconds behind the winner.

Sweden dominated the race. Ebba Andersson claimed victory in 26:05.3, with teammate Moa Ilar just 2.0 seconds behind for a Swedish one‑two. Jessie Diggins of the United States broke up a potential Swedish sweep by taking third at +16.5, while Sweden’s Jonna Sundling finished fifth (+19.8).

Host nation Norway trailed the Swedish contingent on home snow: Astrid Øyre Slind was the top Norwegian in fourth (+19.4), and Heidi Weng faded late to finish 35.5 seconds back. Finland suffered a blow when pre‑race contender Krista Pärmäkoski withdrew on Sunday morning.

From a German perspective, Pia Fink was close to Hoffmann through 6.9 km but slipped to 14th at the finish (+48.8). Sofie Krehl started aggressively but drifted back over the distance, while Anna‑Maria Dietze and Katherine Sauerbrey—who met Olympic criteria earlier in Ruka with two 14th places—were outside the top times.

The race was part of the Cross‑Country World Cup stop in Trondheim, Norway, on the Granåsen courses.