A world record and double Madshus podiums in the Ski Classics finale and at the Norwegian national championships cap off another marvelous season.
Johan Kjølstad (NOR) and John Kristian Dahl (NOR) were first and second respectively at the 65km Årefjällsloppet in Sweden on Saturday, which was the final event in the 2016 Ski Classics long-distance series.
The efforts in the Swedish mountains this weekend lands Dahl in third place in the overall Ski Classics, Johan Kjølstad in fourth overall and their team United Bakeries in second place overall after all nine events are completed.
Also, Emilia Lindstedt (SWE) won the Youth bib in the Ski Classics, while Stian Hoelgaard won the men’s youth bib competition. But while Lindstedt earned her overall title by hundreds of points, Hoelgaard clinched his title by the skin of his teeth. He was 41 points ahead of Anders Høst (NOR) at prior to the final. Høst was 15th at Årefjällsloppet and Hoelgaard 26th, but at the end of the day, Hoelgaard was able to clinch the bib he has had dibs on throughout the season.
Complete results and standings 2016 Ski Classics
Also this weekend, Heidi Weng and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg were on the podium both in the 5km freestyle event on Friday April 1, as well as in the 30km freestyle on Saturday. OnFriday, Østberg was second and Weng was third, on Saturday the roles were reversed.
The Weng-Østberg duo has dominated the podiums both at the FIS World Cup, the World Cup tours and in the national championships this season, further strengthening their position at the top international level. On Thursday, Weng helped her club mate to second place in the team sprint, which was the opening event at the national championships in Beitostølen.
Complete results for the Norwegian National Championships
Additionally, Swedish amateur skier Erik Wickström opened the weekend with a new world record: He double-poled 438.5km in 24 hours, the longest distance ever recorded for this 24-hour challenge. The world record attempt started at 7:20am on Thursday, March 31, and ended at 7:20am on Friday, April 1. It took place in Vålådalen, where Wickström completed 1,064.5 laps on a 412-meter loop.
The 33-year-old father of two beat the previous record by more than 5km and will be in the next edition of the Guinnes Book of Records.