Swedish jab after Skistad shock: “Thanks and goodbye!”

Kristine Stavås Skistad’s form deserted her in the classic sprint at the World Cup in Granåsen on Friday, an event that mirrors the Olympic sprint in February. The Norwegian star finished third in her quarterfinal behind Finland’s Jasmi Joensuu and Sweden’s Jonna Sundling, and her time was not enough to advance as a lucky loser. Mathilde Myhrvold was also eliminated in her heat, meaning Norway’s two biggest sprint hopes were out early.

Skistad told NRK she “wasn’t alert enough and got boxed in,” accepting responsibility for the result and saying it was “just to go home.” The outcome came a week after she had put Sweden “in their place” in Ruka, prompting a measure of Swedish payback in Trondheim. Viaplay’s Swedish commentator Jonas Karlsson delivered a cutting line on air: “It’s thanks and goodbye to Skistad.”

Norway still had a bright spot: Ingrid Bergene Aabrekk was the only Norwegian to reach the final and finished fifth, bolstering her case for Olympic selection. The race mattered greatly for Norwegian selection because the classic sprint is on the Milano–Cortina 2026 program. Sweden swept the podium with Johanna Hagström taking the win ahead of Emma Ribom and Linn Svahn.

The Granåsen sprint therefore sharpened the selection battle, with strong showings viewed as a direct audition for Olympic tickets to Italy in February.