“Oh heck! Oh boy” — Norwegian winner broke rules on his phone as Iivo Niskanen struggled in icy form

Norway dominated the men’s 10 km freestyle at the Cross‑Country World Cup in Trondheim, sweeping the top seven places. The victory went to Einar Hedegart, who defeated compatriot Andreas Fjorden Ree by just 0.4 seconds in a tense time‑trial finish.

In the mixed emotions at the finish, Ree, angry at missing his first World Cup win, kicked an advertising board with his ski. Hedegart, meanwhile, followed the live split times on his phone from the leader’s chair and admitted to spinning up an Instagram livestream. He told NRK he received a stern warning a few minutes in because such streaming is not allowed, joking that his stream drew nearly 6,000 viewers who might have left NRK’s broadcast for his.

Finland’s Arsi Ruuskanen delivered a standout performance, finishing 8th as the best non‑Norwegian and tying his career‑best World Cup result. He trailed Hedegart by 32.3 seconds. Niko Anttola achieved a career‑best 15th place, while Joni Mäki finished 24th.

Finnish star Iivo Niskanen had a difficult day, placing 30th, 1:02.2 behind the winner. Yle expert Kalle Lassila said Niskanen lost time steadily after the first climb and assessed that several of Finland’s usual medal contenders—such as Kerttu Niskanen, Iivo Niskanen, and Krista Pärmäkoski—have struggled early in the season. By contrast, sprinters Lauri Vuorinen and Jasmi Joensuu are on schedule for success in sprint events. The 10 km freestyle is also on the program for the February Olympics, adding urgency to Norway’s internal fight for Olympic spots.

The article was updated to include Hedegart’s comment about breaking the rules with his phone livestream.