Junior Fossesholm bags her first World Cup podiums

January 24, 2021
Madshus turbo junior Helene Marie Fossesholm made her definite breakthrough at the international senior level with a splash this weekend,..

Madshus turbo junior Helene Marie Fossesholm made her definite breakthrough at the international senior level with a splash this weekend, posting not one but two podium performances in her first World Cup races in 2021, and bagging her first ever World Cup podiums.

Coming off a week of national championships in which the Fossesholm snagged a gold and a silver medal, the 19-year-old went straight for the same at the World Cup in Lahti: On Saturday, she snagged her first World Cup podium with a downright impressive second place in the 15km skiathlon in Lahti (FIN).

On Sunday, Fossesholm battled Norway into first place in the women’s 4x5km relay. The junior prodigy skied the critical third leg and sent the Norwegian anchor out in the lead with a comfortable margin.

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At the same time, Lovisa Modig helped Sweden to second place, and Finnish World Cup veteran Krista Parmakoski anchored Finland to third place in the relay on home turf.

By the way, the 2021 Norwegian national championships, which concluded on Tuesday, January 19, were a giant party for the young Madshus athletes:

First, Mathilde Myhrvold opened the 4-day championships with a solid fourth place in the sprint on Saturday, January 16, just shy of a medal and putting in a solid bid for a spot on the World Championship team.

On Sunday, January 17, Fossesholm muscled her way to the bronze medal in the skiathlon at the Norwegian national championships – her second at the senior level.

Then, on Tuesday, January 19, she parked the established elite and won the gold medal in the 10km skate race at the Norwegian National Championships by a landslide.

Later that Tuesday afternoon, 22-year-old Harald Østberg Amundsen pulled off an amazing finish to his 15km skate race and took home the bronze medal in a fierce fight for the podium. Combined with three podium finishes in the 15km earlier this season, Østberg Amundsen has made a solid argument for a ticket to the FIS World Championships next month.

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Meanwhile, on the IBU biathlon World Cup, Norwegian national team rookie Sturla Holm Lægreid continues to collect podium finishes. On Friday, Lægreid pulled in to second place in the 20km individual competition in Anterselva (ITA).

The next day, the 23-year-old skied the opening leg and helped Norway to second place in the men’s 4×7.5km relay, where Matvey Eliseev skied the second leg for the Russian team that finished third.

Finally, on Sunday, Vanessa Hinz skied the opening leg for Germany and set her team up for second place in the women’s 4x6km relay, while Anaïs Bescond did the same for France in third place.