Winter Olympics: Norway claims gold in women's cross-country relay after Swedish crash
- - Winter Olympics: Norway claims gold in women's cross-country relay after Swedish crash
Sean LeahyFebruary 14, 2026 at 9:13 AM
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Sweden's chances at a gold medal in the women's 4 x 7.5km relay on Saturday were derailed following a pair of crashes that opened the door for Norway.
The Norwegian team of Kristin Austgulen Fosnæs, Astrid Øyre Slind, Karoline Simpson-Larsen, and Heidi Weng finished with a time of 1:15:44.8, 50.9 seconds ahead of the Swedes, who ended up with silver.
Gold was potentially lost during the second leg when Ebba Andersson crashed twice and was forced to race with one ski for 30 seconds. A ski tech who was hustling to get her a replacement also fell in the slushy snow.
Absolute cinema from Sweden recovering from a crash and claiming the silver medal! 👏 pic.twitter.com/obTwg5etNC
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 14, 2026
The Norwegians took advantage and went ahead thanks to Slind in Leg 2. That put a lot of work in front of the Swedes with Frida Karlsson, beginning 78 seconds behind. She would make up time to keep them in medal contention despite Andersson's trouble.
“I actually didn’t realize there was so much drama," Slind said afterward. "They were just ahead of us, but I wasn’t paying much attention. I could see we had a really good gap, so we hoped for the gold already. We are so proud."
Jonna Sundling anchored for Sweden and ended up passing Finland for silver, finishing over 23 seconds ahead in second place.
The U.S. team, anchored by four-time Olympic medalist Jessie Diggins, finished in fifth place, 1:52.2 behind Norway.
Source: “AOL Sports”
