Drama between Jasmi Joensuu and Norway’s Skistad in Trondheim sprint; Swedes sweep, Klæbo gets 100th World Cup win

Finnish skier Jasmi Joensuu placed seventh in the classic sprint at the Trondheim World Cup, matching her result from Ruka a week earlier. In the semifinal, Joensuu faced four Swedes and Germany’s Coletta Rydzek. She edged out Rydzek, as well as Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist and Moa Ilar, but finished third behind Linn Svahn and Jonna Sundling after a photo finish. Fighting back tears, Joensuu told Viaplay she was disappointed but saw many positives, especially her finishing double-pole.

The key drama came already in the quarterfinals, where Joensuu won a dramatic heat over Sweden’s Sundling and Norway’s Kristine Stavås Skistad. Leading into the finishing straight, Joensuu took her line from the inside. Skistad tried to pass on the outside, was forced beyond the prepared tracks, lost speed, and was then also passed by Sundling. The Ruka sprint winner Skistad was eliminated on time.

Yle commentator Kimmo Porttila reminded viewers that the leader has the right to choose her lane. Analyst Kalle Lassila said Joensuu did the right thing, taking her preferred line and accelerating into the finish. In Norway, NRK’s Jann Post and experts Fredrik Aukland and Pål Golberg also criticized Skistad’s choice, calling it a tactical mistake. Skistad admitted it was her own error, adding that Joensuu’s move was probably the only way to beat her in that situation.

Joensuu said her qualification win, quarterfinal victory and powerful finishing double-pole were the day’s highlights and that she proved to herself that top results are possible.

On the men’s side, Lauri Vuorinen, who made the sprint final in Ruka, missed the Trondheim final. He was fifth in his semifinal with the same time (to the hundredth) as Norway’s Ansgar Evensen but placed behind him on the results sheet. Vuorinen finished 10th overall.

The women’s final turned chaotic but ended in a Swedish 1–4: Johanna Hagström won ahead of Emma Ribom, with Linn Svahn third and Jonna Sundling fourth after several crashes and broken poles involving Svahn, Sundling and Germany’s Laura Gimmler. In the men’s sprint, Norway’s superstar Johannes Høsflot Klæbo dominated and celebrated the 100th World Cup victory of his career.

Finnish expert Kalle Lassila noted that aside from Joensuu and Vuorinen, other Finns exited in the quarterfinals, a disappointment on an important weekend for selections toward the Milano–Cortina 2026 Olympics, where the sprint will also be held in the classic technique.