Norway won the women’s 4x7.5km cross-country skiing relay with a substantial lead after Sweden suffered two crashes in the second leg of the race on Saturday, Feb. 14, at Milan Cortina 2026.
Norway's team Kristin Austgulen Fosnaes (classic), Astrid Oeyre Slind (classic), Karoline Simpson-Larsen (free), and Heidi Weng (free) skied a time of 1 hour 15 minutes. The weather was rainy, causing treacherous slushy conditions at the Lago di Tesero Cross Country Stadium that troubled Team Sweden — before they recovered to win silver about 50 seconds behind. Finland win bronze about 1 minute 14 seconds behind.
“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."
The Swedes were the heavy gold medal favorite for the relay after their performance at these Games. Their team was made up of Linn Svahn (classic), Ebba Andersson (classic), Frida Karlsson (free), and Jonna Sundling (free). In the first leg of the race, Svahn led the pack. But their fate changed when Andersson crashed on a downhill and then again later, breaking the binding off one of her skis. The second crash was hard to recover from as Andersson skied on one foot until a ski tech could give her a replacement. (After retrieving the broken ski, the ski tech also went down in the slushy snow.)
"It was a tough day for me and unfortunately, that made it a tough day for the team," Andersson said about falling twice. "But we share victories and also when it's not going that well. Today was one of those days."
Taking the crashes as an opportunity, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, and Italy clamored for the top spot in Leg 3. Norway's Slind took the opportunity and skied to the front of the pack before exchanging to a confident Simpson-Larson. With her strength and speed, Sweden's Karlsson made up as much time as she could to close the gap.
In the final leg, Norway's Weng led with a substantial margin. Sweden's Sundling grinded away with her skiing prowess, making steady progress on the field. She anchored the team from crash to Silver, passing Finland on the way.
Team USA, who wore their lucky relay socks, finished in 5th place — the same as at 2018 PyeongChang. The team was comprised of Julia Kern (classic), Rosie Brennan (classic), Novie McCabe (free), and Jessie Diggins (free). At the start of the race, Kern was at the back of the pack, but with each passing lap and exchange the team moved up. As the anchor Diggins started to race, she skied the team to fourth before she was passed by the German team late.
U.S. Ski Team wrote on social media: "5th for USA! We do this as a team — all together from the start line to the finish line."
Sweden was not the only team that crashed in the poor weather conditions with temperatures in the upper 30s. With the win, Norway earned its first women’s cross-country skiing gold at Milan Cortina. Finland earned its second medal of the Games.